Mask & Mirror Has Fun With Leading Ladies

Jeff Ekdahl and Kira Smolev
Photo by Tony Smith

By Tina Arth

Does the world need yet another production of yet another “men in drag” farce? Mask & Mirror explores this question with its current production of Ken Ludwig’s Leading Ladies, billed as the playwright’s “love letter to Billy Wilder’s Some Like It Hot and William Shakespeare’s Twelfth Night.” The answer is, at least to me, clearly no – but at the same time, this kind of theater is a marvelously therapeutic way to get away from CNN (or Fox News – name your poison) and remind yourself of the critical role of laughter in troubled times.  The story is predictably silly; on opening night, director Janet Steiger Carr and her cast definitely milk it, generating two acts of repeated laugh-out-loud moments from an appreciative audience.

The story is set in the 1950s; Leo Clark and Jack Gable (get it? Clark Gable!) are down-on-their luck British Shakespearean actors who find themselves broke and stranded in York, Pennsylvania, a couple of hundred miles but light years away from the bright lights of Broadway. Learning that elderly Florence Snider has left her substantial estate to niece Meg and two missing heirs, Max and Steve, the two men decide to impersonate the missing nephews and claim 1/3 of the loot. Naturally, things get complicated - first, Aunt Florence is still alive and kicking, and second, Max and Steve are actually women, Maxine and Stephanie. The eager Leo and a very reluctant Jack raid their theatrical costume trunk and arrive at the estate in drag, pretending to be the missing heiresses. Leo quickly becomes enamored of his “cousin” Meg, who is inconveniently engaged to a very austere local minister – but his ability to woo her is inhibited by the fact that he’s posing as a woman. Of course it all works out in the end (except, perhaps, for two discarded suitors – Jack also falls for Meg’s friend Audrey).

Kira Smolev’s take on heroine Meg is superb – she’s cute, expressive, and just wacky enough to sell the role without being annoyingly dumb.  Jeff Ekdahl’s Leo is a smooth con man, high-toned verging on supercilious until he falls for Meg and finds his true character – and his “Max” is an eccentric, pushy drama queen who flips the hair on his/her long black wig with abandon. Ted Schroeder is the polar opposite – awkward, negative, cautious as Jack, and clearly uncomfortable with his female persona – a discomfort amplified by the fact that he is supposed to be deaf and dumb.  Schroeder does a terrible job of impersonating a woman – but fortunately, that’s exactly what he is supposed to do.

Stan Yeend, in the comparatively small role of inept local medico Doc Meyers, delivers the surprise standout performance of the evening. His timing, inflection, and facial expressions reflect his real mastery of comedy; he is coarse, a bit sly, and consistently hilarious. Mark Putnam is staid to the point of rigidity as minister Duncan Wooley, Meg’s extremely uptight fiancé – it’s easy to understand why she so readily dumps him for Leo once the gender deception is revealed.

No discussion of this production is complete without a heaping helping of praise for the set, with design credit shared between John Knowles, Don Scorby, and director Carr.  Kudos also to set dressers Cindy Zimmerman and Roni Sidman – the end result of their efforts is an attractive, detailed set that provides a great backdrop for the action. Costumes are also the product of collaboration, and the result is sometimes lovely (like Smolev’s red dress) and sometimes funny (like Schroeder’s bloomers).

I would never suggest that Leading Ladies is a brilliant show, or that the Mask & Mirror production is flawless – but it’s solid, undemanding farce that delivers laughs where it should.

Mask & Mirror’s Leading Ladies runs Fridays and Saturdays at 7:30 pm and Sundays at 2:30 pm through November 17th at “The Stage” at Calvin Church, 10445 SW Canterbury Lane, Tigard, 97224.