Hershey Area Playhouse Presents LEADING LADIES, Now thru 5/4

Two English Shakespearean actors 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.

The pair hope to turn their luck around in Central PA when they hear of an old woman in York is about to die and leave her fortune to her two long lost English nephews. That's because they decide to get in on the act by posing as the beloved relatives to get the cash. It turns out the relatives are actually nieces!

Romantic entanglements (and petticoats) abound, especially when Leo falls for the old lady's vivacious niece, Meg. Too bad Meg is engaged to the local minister. Grasping for a taste of the real world, Meg finally get it when she stumbles upon "Maxine and Stephanie" in Leading Ladies.

Jeff Cartwright directs this comedy by Ken Ludwig, author of Lend Me A Tenor and Moon Over Buffalo. "Laughter is the best medicine and luckily we have a 'doctor' character in the cast and a 'doctor' who is a director," says Cartwright. "Both say that if you want to cure what ails you, come to Leading Ladies!" The cast includes: Keith Alcorn, Mark Cuddy, Monica DePaul, Barbara Ellis, Brian Phillips, Rob Kopko, Jayme Paluskievicz, and Amiekay Rickcrick.

The show is produced by Lisa Greene and will be presented today, April 24 to 27 and May 1 to 4, 2014. Shows are Thursdays through Saturdays at 7:30pm and Sundays at 2pm. Tickets are $20 for adults and $17 for children 12 and under and may be reserved at www.HersheyAreaPlayhouse.com or by calling the box office at 717-533-8525.

Pictured: Two down on their luck Shakesperian actors, Leo (Jayme Paluskievicz) and Jack (Brian Phillips), perform in the Shrewsbury Moose Lodge.