As Larry and I pulled into the parking lot for the opening night showing of Leading Ladies at the Gulfshore Playhouse, I searched our vehicle for something to freshen my breath. I found a small spray bottle with the name and logo of Larry's dentist on it. Perfect. Spray, spray, spray, spray, spray, pause... "That's hand sanitizer, isn't it." Larry says. Belly laughing ensued and it didn't stop until a few hours later after the show ended.
As we walked beneath the strings of Edison lights on the patio and entered the lobby there was a buzz in the room. It was more than just the anticipation of another great production by Gulfshore Playhouse; it was old friends reconnecting post-hurricane, the bonds formed through shared suffering, and the collective celebration of a new beginning.
Ken Ludwig's Leading Ladies was the perfect way to kick off the new season. It was, as I had predicted in my previous blog, wild. Think Wedding Crashers, but if Vince Vaughn and Owen Wilson had to pull off the same stunt dressed as women. The audience was roaring throughout the entire show.
Perhaps my favorite part was the way it ended, after the plot was resolved and the story had ended -- sort of like where the credits would go in a film. Without spoiling it, they created an ending that I have only seen done in movies with still images using a very creative and hilarious method that I promise you haven't experienced in live Theater. It's worth the price of admission alone.
So, go check it out. The play is running from November 4th through December 10th at the Norris Center. Visit www.gulfshoreplayhouse.org or call 1-866-811-4111 for tickets.