On June 11 at 8 pm, the Mendocino Theatre Company opens Ken Ludwig’s hilarious farce “Leading Ladies” directed by visiting Bay Area guest Director Virginia Abascal. “Leading Ladies” is a comic romp in which two down-on-their-luck Shakespearean actors learn of an elderly, very rich dowager’s search for her two long-lost English relatives, Max and Steve, to leave all her fortune to. They decide to impersonate the nephews and snag the million bucks, only to discover that her heirs are actually nieces, Maxine and Stephanie! Undeterred, they decide to go “on with the show”, which gets even more zany when they meet Meg, a legitimate niece! What follows is a quickly paced, light-hearted scamper that will have you smiling from ear to ear and holding your sides in laughter. Leading Ladies features local favorites Rachel Archuletta, Mervin Gilbert, Henriet Roher, Paul Townsend and David Woolis, along with MTC newcomers Doug Waldo, Crystal Rowley and Bill Bjerre III.
“Leading Ladies” plays Thursday through Sunday, June 11 through July 19. Helen Schoeni Theatre, Mendocino Art Center. 707-937-4477
