A hilarious comedy about two English Shakespearean actors, Jack and Leo, who find themselves so down on their luck that they are performing "Scenes from Shakespeare" on the Moose Lodge circuit in the Amish country of Pennsylvania. When they hear that an old lady in York, PA is about to die and leave her fortune to her two long lost English nephews, they resolve to pass themselves off as her beloved relatives and get the cash. The trouble is, when they get to York, they find out that the relatives aren't nephews, but nieces! Romantic entanglements abound, especially when Leo falls head-over-petticoat in love with the old lady’s vivacious niece, Meg, who’s engaged to the local minister. Meg knows that there’s a wide world out there, but it’s not until she meets “Maxine and Stephanie” that she finally gets a taste of it.

Reviews

"Ludwig’s newest comedy is so funny, it will make sophisticated and reasonable men and women of the 21st century cackle till their faces hurt."
The Houston Press

"Leading Ladies is consistently funny - indeed, increasingly hilarious as it progresses."
The Houston Chronicle

"Look for Leading Ladies to become a staple of summer stock and community theatres. And, mind you, I mean that as a compliment."
Variety

"Ken Ludwig gives the audience something powerful and potent: laughter and a guiltless evening of Theatre-going."
Village News

"Leading Ladies is a highly combustible and continuously hilarious new comedy by Ken Ludwig, Broadway's reigning comic writer."
The Cleveland Plain Dealer

"Ludwig's laugh-a-second (yes, they do come that fast) farce, will surely join "Charley's Aunt" ... in the repertories of regional and community theatres for decades to come."
The San Diego Union-Tribune

"Ken Ludwig has hit it out of the park, or theatre rather, again!"
Stephens College

"Two English Shakespearean actors are down-on-their-luck - so down-on-their-luck, in fact, that they end up performing Shakespeare on the Moose Lodge circuit in Pennsylvania's Amish Country. Enter romantic interest and the need to become legitimate. This play just gets funnier as Jack and Leo hatch a plot to pass themselves off as two English women to scam an elderly woman of her fortune. Disastrous decisions lead to hilarious comedy worthy of Ken Ludwig who also penned Lend me a Tenor."
Pittsburgh Live on Leading Ladies at The Mountain Playhouse

"Ken Ludwig's Leading Ladies is a laugh riot! ...One heck of a lot of fun!"
The Ottawa Citizen

"This is a crowd-pleaser if there ever was one...the comedy is ferocious!"
Vancouver Province

Full Reviews

The Alley Theatre Production
Houston Chronicle, Oct 22, 2004.

The Cleveland Playhouse Production
Cleveland Plain Dealer

Ford's Theatre
Ludwig's 'Ladies' a hoot

North Coast Repertory Theatre
San Diego Union-Tribune

The Phoenix Theatre
The Arizona Republic

Bowie Playhouse, Bowie MD
Bowie Playhouse, Bowie, MD

Kanata Theatre, Ottawa, ON
The Ottawa Citizen

Cascades Theatrical Company
Central Oregon Critic

The Gateway Theatre, Richmond, BC
Vancouver Province