Supplied by Ally Springett
If you’re a frequent guest of Richmond Civic Theatre and you love comedies, then you’ll probably already be familiar with Ken Ludwig’s work. “Lend Me A Tenor,” “The Three Musketeers,” “Twentieth Century,” and “Moon Over Buffalo” have all been performed at RCT.
The most recent addition to the list is “Leading Ladies,” the story of two British actors who are down on their luck. After a poorly-received Shakespeare performance at the Shrewsbury Moose Lodge, Jack and Leo come across a newspaper article that mentions an elderly woman’s search for her relatives, to whom she’s leaving a sizable inheritance.
When they discover that the woman’s search has thus far yielded no results, Leo hatches a plan to convince the woman that he and Jack are her long-lost relatives. The plan seems simple enough, until they discover that the relatives are not nephews, but nieces! Hilarity ensues as they try to pass themselves off as women.
Becky Jewison and Nathaniel Arnett directed the performance, and they worked with a small cast of excellent actors to really make the show shine. Of particular note was Kim Dearing’s performance; from his first scene to his last, the way he paraded around quoting Shakespeare to his flouncing about in a dress, he really threw himself into his role and made the scenes stand out.
The only criticism to be found was that during one act there seemed to be trouble with the mics, which resulted in the dialogue sounding a bit hollow and distant. Minor tech issues aside, the show was flawless, and if you need a night full of laughs, you won’t regret heading to the theatre for this one.
If you haven’t seen Leading Ladies yet, there’s still time; tickets are still available for the 17th and 18th at 7:30 p.m., and the 19th at 2 p.m. at RCT, 1003 E. Main St., Richmond. The box office phone is (765) 962-1816 and website is gorct.org.

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