‘Leading Ladies’ Has Successful Weekend

Great River Players presented their second show of their 2018-19 season over the weekend with ‘Leading Ladies.’

According to Stage Agent, the show is, “Set in the 1950s, Leading Ladies focuses on two English Shakespearean actors, Jack and Leo, who find their careers in a rut. They are currently performing “Scenes from Shakespeare” on the Moose Lodge circuit in the Amish country of Pennsylvania. When they hear that an old lady in York, PA is about to die and leave her fortune to her two long lost English nephews, however the actors resolve to pass themselves off as her beloved relatives and get the cash. Hilarity ensues when it turns out the relatives are actually nieces and not nephews. Things get even more complicated when Leo falls madly in love with the old lady’s vivacious niece, Meg, who’s engaged to the local minister.”

Play director Merissa Lewiston said she picked the play to give people a laugh in what can be somewhat of a disappointing month of February.

“Despite containing Valentine’s Day (February) doesn’t tend to be the happiest month for people. It’s not a good month to do a big serious drama in,” Lewiston said.

Charlie Hayner and Sheldon Rooney were cast in the male lead roles Leo and Jack, respectively, and their female counterparts, Maxine and Stephanie.

After Meg, played by Brianna Newlon, and her friend Audrey, played by Alyssa Lawson, discover the men’s secret, Meg decides to get revenge and catch Leo in his lie.

She tells him she would like to speak to both of them and get advice at the same time. Due to this, Leo is forced to switch between the two personas several times in a matter of minutes.

Hayner said this caused some problems while rehearsing the scene and preparing for the show.

“Figuring out the wigs and figuring out how to get in between suits and dresses as quick as I can,” Hayner said.

The scene was very exhausting and tricky for him, but he thoroughly enjoyed playing both characters.

The rest of the cast included Jared Jinkens as Minister Duncan Wooley, who spends nearly the entire show trying to prove Maxine and Stepahanie are frauds, and Connie McCracken as the elderly Aunt Florence Snider.

Finally, Tim Snyder and Brandon Nott were part of the cast as the father-son duo of Doc and Butch Myers.

Lewiston faced some challenges initially with casting, but the process of rehearsals went well and smoothly.

She believes the weekend was an overall success and loved the audiences that were in attendance.

“The most fun thing for me is how each audience reacts differently,” Lewiston said. “Teaching the actors to be prepared for that is always a lot fun.”

Great River Players will now turn their attention to the final show of their season, ‘Beauty and the Beast.’

Rehearsals for the show begin Monday and will have a very large cast attempting to put on the classic musical.

“By the first weekend in May, we should have what’s effectively a small opera here at the Grand. So that’s going to be more of a challenge, for sure,” Lewiston said.

Lewiston said there are around 55 cast members in the ensemble and while it will be a challenge, GRP is used to it.

“Plays are hard, musicals are harder,” Lewiston said.

‘Beauty and the Beast’ will run May 3-5 at the Grand Theatre to close out the 2018-19 season for GRP.