Ken Ludwig's Leading Ladies - A Comedy of Cross-Dressing and Deception
Jack and Leo, two Shakespearean actors, pretend to be women to secure an elderly woman's fortune, leading to comedic chaos. As they navigate deceit, love, and betrayal in the 1950s setting, their desire for more causes complications and unexpected twists, especially when Leo falls for the woman's niece. The play explores themes of satisfaction, ambition, and the consequences of elaborate schemes for wealth.
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Maddie Arbogast Pd. 4 KEN LUDWIG S LEADING LADIES
Play Info Author: Ken Ludwig First performed in 2004 Published in 2006 Title significance: Jack and Leo (male characters) cross-dress as women in order to get a dying woman s fortune, so these ladies are actually men
Setting Takes place in the 1950 s The majority of the play is set in what is described as a large, handsome living room in York, Pennsylvania In scene 2 of act 1, the action takes place on stage in front of a curtain (Shrewsbury, PA. Moose Lodge) Scene 3 of act 1 is set in a train
Setting continued The way the living room is set up (the furniture) shows the time period The significance: People of the 1950 s (more specifically the upper class) would not be supportive of these cross-dressing men making this specific setting extremely crucial to the plot
Theme Be satisfied with what you have/ Work for what you want Jack and Leo aren t happy with what they re doing so they put themselves through a lot more trouble than necessary. If they were satisfied with what they had, and worked harder for what they wanted, they never would have gotten themselves tied up in such a complicated scheme for money Love, friendship, betrayal
Conflict The main conflict for Jack and Leo is when they find out if they want the money, they have to act as a woman s nieces rather than nephews Protagonist: Meg- she s a very outgoing character and Maxine and Stephanie give her a bad first taste of the real world Antagonist: in a way, it s the old woman, Florence Snider. She s a bit of a hypochondriac and makes everything difficult for everybody. (does this a few times throughout the play- she s a bit aggressive) Jack and Leo- they re practically trying to trick this woman into giving them her money
Summary Jack and Leo, two Shakespearean actors, are trying to gain more money when they find out about an elderly woman being ill. They decide to pose as this woman s nephews to get her money, but when they arrive, they find they must instead pose as her nieces. During this process, Leo falls in love with the woman's real niece, Meg, who is already engaged to a minister.
Inciting Incident/ Climax Inciting incident: when Jack and Leo decide to go and pretend to be the long lost nephews, and still don t hesitate even when they discover they must become her nieces Climax: when Leo and Jack come clean about what they ve done. At this point, Duncan ( Meg s fianc ) gets the police involved and we get a little bit of a taste for how Florence feels about the whole situation. At this point, we also get the heightened emotions when its revealed that her real nieces have arrived
Characters Leo- actor from England, in his 40 s, he s very emotional Jack- actor from England, in his late 30 s, he s the nice guy Meg- warm, good sense of humor, in her 30 s Florence- a hypochondriac, woman in her 60 s Duncan- minister, engaged to Meg, in his 40 s Audrey- a bit of an airhead barbie , rollerskates everywhere, in her 20 s Doc- doctor, Butch s father, in his 50 s Butch- an airhead, big guy (large build), in his 20 s
Quote by Leo We ll get off at the next stop get on out costumes, get back on the train and then its on to York, Pennsylvania! This is said once Jack finally agrees to dressing as a female to gain one million dollars
Conversation between Meg and Leo Now get out of here, fast. the police are here! but I cant leave you. you have to! You ll be arrested! Meg, I love you. I know that! And I love you! You do? Yes. Will you marry me? Yes! In the middle of all the chaos of the climax, these words are exchanged between Leo and Meg. This is what comes of their feelings for one another, even after the truth of the situation comes out
Vocabulary/ References Diaphanous- light, delicate, translucent (fabric) Gyrate- to move in a circle or spiral, especially quickly There are many references made to characters in Shakespeare's works including Sir Toby Belch, and Titania, queen of the faries
Personal reactions I found this play to be a bit ridiculous but in a humorous way. I really enjoyed the little bits and pieces that twisted the plot throughout the play, it kept it interesting. I would definitely recommend reading this play.
