Photo Flash: Ken Ludwig's LEADING LADIES Opens In Manila

Co-written by Precious Lee Cundangan

Manila, Philippines, February 11, 2012 – Premier theater company Repertory Philippines (Rep) opened Ken Ludwig’s (Crazy For You, Lend Me A Tenor) rib-tickling play Leading Ladies last night at Onstage Theatre, Greenbelt 1, Makati City. Circle in the Square School (N.Y.)-trained actor Topper Fabregas and Rep regular James Stacey topbill the production.

According to the play’s press notes,  Leading Ladies is about “two English Shakespearean actors, Jack (Fabregas) and Leo (Stacey), who find themselves so down on their luck that they are performing ‘Scenes from Shakespeare’ on the Moose Lodge circuit in the Amish country of Pennsylvania. When they hear that an old lady in York is about to die and leave her fortune to her two long lost English nephews, they resolve to pass themselves off as her beloved relatives and get the cash. The trouble is, when they get to York, they find out that the relatives aren't nephews, but nieces! Romantic entanglements abound, especially when Leo falls head-over-petticoat in love with the old lady’s vivacious niece, Meg, who’s engaged to the local minister. Meg knows that there’s a wide world out there, but it’s not until she meets ‘Maxine and Stephanie’ that she finally gets a taste of it.”

Fabregas and Stacey are joined by Cris Villonco as Meg, Gianina Ocampo, Jamie Wilson, Juno Henares, Hans Eckstein, and Oliver Usison.

Theater stalwart Michael Williams, who was last seen as Captain Hook in Rep’s hit musical Peter Pan, takes directing reigns on Ludwig’s comedy. Baby Barredo (artistic director), Menchu Lauchengco-Yulo (associate artistic director), John Batalla (lighting designer), Denis Lagdameo (set designer), Gidget Tolentino (production manager), Ayam Barredo (company manager), Dingdong Rosales (stage manager), Pol Roxas (sound technician), Pablito Salvador (lighting technician), and Adul Lasin (set execution and scenic artist) make up Leading Ladies’ artistic and production teams.

For tickets to the play, visit BroadwayWorld Philippines’ show listings section [Click Here]. Leading Ladies runs from February 10 to March 4 with shows on Fridays and Saturdays at 8:00 p.m., and matinee shows on Saturdays and Sundays at 3:30 p.m. All performances are at Onstage Theatre.

Photos by Jory Rivera