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| Show 45 of 2016 |
The Sunday of a very lazy Thanksgiving we skidded into the Jewel Box Theatre in Oklahoma City to see Leading Ladies three minutes after the show was set to start. We ran into traffic on the way to Oklahoma City and I really thought we were going to miss the show. I dropped my mom off at the door and went to park the car expecting a call that it was sold out or they had closed the doors.
Before I go much further let me just say a few things in praise of the Jewel Box Theatre. First off I feel like I should apologize to them because I always forget about their shows and thus in all my years of theatre going had only seen two shows prior to Leading Ladies. I am really sorry about this because this theatre is just darling. I kind of wish I had gotten involved with them when I was in Norman because they just appear to be a ridiculously solid community theatre (and quite possibly my favorite in the OKC metro if we are being honest). Jewel Box is a very small theatre in a little dome part of the First Christian Church of Oklahoma City. For the most part it is a theatre in the round. I really need a refresher on technical theatre terminology because I am choosing to not go any farther than that for fear of calling it the wrong thing (I’ll study up before the next show I see there!)
Back to the show, as I said we skidded in just before they started, but they were so gracious and held curtain a few moments for us to get settled. The Oklahoma Shakespearean Festival did this show during their summer season and my friend Dani raved about it so I very much wanted to see it when I found it playing again.
Leading Ladies was written by playwright Ken Ludwig. I was the assistant stage manager in Norman for another show he wrote, Moon Over Buffalo, several years ago and we had such a great time putting it on. Everything that I have seen of his has been top notch comedy and Leading Ladies did not disappoint.
The premise of the story is two down on their luck Shakespearean actors who have no money to their name and very little prospects of work. One of them reads in a local newspaper that a {very, very rich} elderly woman is on her death bed and just wants to see sister’s children, Max and Steve, one last time before she dies. The two men think they can pull off being her nephews, who were raised in England, until they learn the nephews were actually nieces. What are Shakespearean actors to do? Throw on their best female costumes and join the family!
This show had a small cast of ridiculously talented actors. It never ceases to amaze me the talent that come out of the woodworks when auditions happen, even in community theatre. The two men turned women spoke with flawless British accents (well flawless to this Okie!). The love triangles, squares, and pentagons in this show and the hilarity of physical comedy made for a perfect afternoon of theatre.
Due to the constraints of the theatre they had to work with a minimalist set. As I have said before and will say a million more times, minimalism in stage craft is my favorite. I find this absolutely hilarious because I am a photographer and realism of photography is my preferred form of art. That is what theatre does though, it challenges you to rethink what you thought you were certain of, and that may be my favorite part about it as I tend to be very set in my ways.
I have yet to see a show at Jewel Box that has been less than absolutely wonderful. They do a six show season and their shows run for three or four weekends which makes scheduling them in rather easy (as I type this I still wonder why I have not been to more). Their next production, 37 Postcards, opens January 19 and I believe they are running a special for tickets to their final three shows (which includes South Pacific!) for $20. Check out their website for more information and get yourself to a show at this ‘jewel’ of a theatre!
For more information:
Production: Leading Ladies
Company/Venue: Jewel Box Theatre
City: Oklahoma City, OK
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