Leading Ladies: Con men in drag get the belly laughs

Provided all the right elements are firmly in place – solid acting, keen-eyed direction, fast-paced scene changes and a top notch witty script – con men in drag is a surefire winning theatrical combo.

Once again the award-winning ITOPA proves itself more than up to the task of producing high quality community theatre and the result is a delightfully hysterical adaption of Ken Ludwig’s riotously silly Leading Ladies, an almost non-stop excursion into frenetic comic scenes a la Marx Brothers, rapid-fire costume changes (Cher could take lessons here) and double entendres that do the aforementioned Marx Brothers’ Groucho proud.

Director Terry Todd knows exactly how to pace the proceedings moving the two-act play along at a nice speed, fast enough to keep the comic momentum going but with plenty of time to catch the well-placed nuances, one-liners and punch lines abound in Ludwig’s wonderfully funny script. The eight-member cast responds accordingly, drawing rounds of laughter at regular intervals throughout the nonsensical proceedings.    more.....