SUNDAY, OCTOBER 24, 2010 THEATER With ‘Fox,’ Ken Ludwig takes farce to the green
Writer uses small cast, golf milieu to skewer country club culture
by Nelson Pressley Ken Ludwig doesn’t like the word
“farce.” He worries that the public holds it in low regard. Yet the Washington-based dramatist is one of the country’s leading comic play- wrights, thanks to such fat and loopy hits as the musical “Crazy for You” and the ev- ergreen “Lend Me a Tenor,” the mashup of opera and mistaken identity that was re- vived on Broadway last year (and is nearly always playing somewhere).
Still, when Ludwig writes about the
style that’s dearest to him, as he did in the current edition of the Yale Review, he identifies with a form that goes beyond what he calls “mere farce.” He labels it the “great tradition” of comedy — a big- hearted genre that runs from Shake- speare through Sheridan to “Kiss Me Kate.”
Ludwig’s latest venture is “A Fox on the
Fairway,” which follows the shenanigans of rival country clubs entering their an- nual grudge match. The show, now in pre- views at Arlington’s Signature Theatre, ex- ploits the drives — lusty, egocentric, etc. — of a half-dozen men and women in the rig- id milieu of (hushed tones now) golf. So what kind of play is this? “It’s a farce, for sure,” says Jeff McCar-
thy, who plays the wily president of the host club. “It’s a broad, loud, physical comedy. It’s a hard workout for all six of us.”
“Fox” director John Rando, whose cred- its include the Broadway musical “Urine- town” (with McCarthy) and comedies by Neil Simon and David Ives, praises Lud- wig’s fine eye, calling him a “watchmaker.” Rando does indeed see Ludwig as a sort of “great tradition” throwback, saying, “He is keeping the ‘Front Page’ tradition, the ‘Room Service’ tradition, alive in the American theater.” Rando characterizes “Fox” as following
the pattern established in “Tenor,” which debuted on Broadway in 1989 and fea- tured characters who the director says are “willing to burst a blood vessel” to get what they want. “It has a tight, small cast,” Rando says of “Fox,” and features — yes — “a farcical world.” Even Ludwig doesn’t claim that his comedies are above cross-dressing and slapstick. “Leading Ladies,” which ap- peared at Ford’s Theatre in 2005, involved
JAHI CHIKWENDIU/THE WASHINGTON POST PAR NONE: Ken Ludwig’s “A Fox on the Fairway” is his first premiere at Signature since 2003’s “Twentieth Century.”
two struggling thespians who don drag to dupe a dowager out of her dough. Ten years earlier, “Moon Over Buffalo” had Carol Burnett and Philip Bosco co-star- ring on Broadway as has-been hams bick- ering and getting their repertory of plays mixed up in mid-performance. (The docu- mentary “Moon Over Broadway” cap- tured the real production’s ups and downs.) Still, it’s easy to grant the affable Lud- wig the distinction he seeks: that while farce can be ruthless and brittle, his works cast a kinder eye on their characters. Ran- do speaks of the “joy” and “heart” of Lud- wig’s comedy, and Ludwig makes it clear that’s what he’s about.
An ironic District tale “I’m innately an optimistic person, a
hopeful person,” Ludwig says, sitting in a conference room upstairs at Signature earlier this month. “What I’m trying to do, especially in terms of my career as a whole, is write about things that are en- hancing to us as human beings.”
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The oft-told Ludwig story is that he came to Washington in the late 1970s sim- ply because his brother, Eugene, moved here. Both were lawyers, but Ludwig gradually withdrew from Steptoe and Johnson when “Tenor” and “Crazy for You” made it clear he really could make it writing for the stage. He still rhapsodizes about the city, saying it’s been a great place to raise kids (now 14 and 18) with his wife, Adrienne George, and that the theat- rical scene here is “a very happy place to be. It’s just as good as any place on Earth.” Ludwig’s show-biz success has always prompted people to ask why he hasn’t moved to New York, but the more inter- esting question may be why someone who saw himself as a playwright from the age of 6 never saw himself living the fantasy
Manhattan penthouse life. “I think in New York,” Ludwig muses, “where you’re constantly in competition and seeing what everyone else is doing — I think it probably would have made me crazy. I never wanted to live there.” The punch line: “If my brother had moved to New York, I’d be in New York right now.”
‘Like Teflon guy’ Ludwig is hard-pressed to name other
playwrights writing comedy as he does, aiming for effervescence rather than dark edges and irony. And critics haven’t al- ways rushed to lionize his larks, no matter how traditional his templates have been. “I’m pretty resilient,” Ludwig says with
a shrug and a smile. “I’m sort of like Teflon guy.” Reviews in these pages have gone both
for and against Ludwig over the years, and last spring the New York Times was moved to explore Ludwig pro and con within a week. Charles Isherwood round- ly knocked the revival of “Tenor” that starred Stanley Tucci, Anthony LaPaglia
and Tony Shalhoub, but quickly followed up with a considered acknowledgement that the tide of amusement in the audi- ence made the critic, in Isherwood’s phrase, the “odd man out.” So while Ludwig laments that his own mode isn’t chic, Rando observes, “His plays are audience favorites and actor fa- vorites. They get done everywhere be- cause of that.” Indeed, Ludwig almost bashfully notes that his plays are on the boards somewhere every night of the year. His oeuvre has certainly been more vis- ible here in recent seasons. Once a writer whose plays were largely done every- where but Washington, Ludwig has now been produced all over town — Arena Stage, the Olney Theatre Center, even the Shakespeare Theatre Company, where Ludwig’s version of George Farquhar’s “The Beaux Stratagem” (working from an unfinished adaptation by Thornton Wild- er) was a noteworthy success. “A Fox on the Fairway” marks the sec- ond time Ludwig has premiered a play at Signature; the last time was in 2003 with “Twentieth Century,” an adaptation of the 1932 Ben Hecht-Charles MacArthur com- edy. The Roundabout Theatre subse- quently produced it on Broadway with Alec Baldwin and Anne Heche, and while there’s no telling whether such a gold- plated fate awaits “Fox,” Ludwig can ex- pect New York producers to give “Fox” a sniff. (He already has interest from Lon- don.) Ludwig, who finished the play last year, has been tweaking the script during rehearsals with Rando, though not med- dling with the basics, according to the di- rector. “It’s whether this gadget or spool needs to be bigger or smaller — that kind of thing,” says Rando, who directed the pre- miere of Ludwig’s “Be My Baby” at Hous- ton’s Alley Theater four years ago. “Get- ting a screwdriver in to make it all tick.” Meantime, in addition to working on
the Yale Review article, plus a book called “Teach Your Children Shakespeare” and a forthcoming anthology of his plays, Lud- wig has written two more comedies. One, a mystery called “The Game’s Afoot,” was workshopped last month at the Kennedy Center’s Page to Stage Festival. The other is “Midsummer/Jersey,” transferring the events of “A Midsummer Night’s Dream” to today’s Jersey shore. “I just love to write,” Ludwig says of the continual output. “It’s all I do. What would I do? No, I’m serious. . . . I have to get up in the morning and do something. What am I gonna do?”
style@washpost.com Pressley is a freelance writer. Engagements | Weddings | Anniversaries ——Engagements——
Elizabeth Snyder& Matthew Bowman —May 2011—
——Engagements——
Erin Stagmaier& Jeffrey Fuge, Jr. —Spring 2011—
Mr. and Mrs. Kurt Stagmaier of Chat- tanooga, Tennessee announce the engagement of their daughter Erin Lindley Stagmaier to Jeffrey Charles Fuge, Jr.
The bride groom to be is the son of Mr. and Mrs. Thomas Allen Faries of Potomac, Maryland and Manalapan, Florida and Mr and Mrs Jeffrey Charles Fuge of Chevy Chase, Maryland.
Mr. and Mrs. David Szczepanek
The future bride is a graduate of College of Charleston where she earned a Bachelor of Science degree in International Business and minored in Spanish.
Matthew Bowman and Elizabeth Snyder
photo credit: Deb Lindsey (
www.deblindsey.com) Mr. & Mrs. Jeffrey Lee Snyder of Okla- homa City, Oklahoma. are pleased to announce the engagement of their daughter, Elizabeth Marie Snyder, to Mr. Matthew Cross Bowman, son of Mr. and Mrs. Richard McIntosh Bow- man of Bloomfield Hills, Michigan.
The wedding is planned for May 2011 in Washington, D.C. at the National Society of the Daughters of the Ameri- can Revolution.
——Anniversaries——
Law 60th Anniversary —October 23, 1950—
She is a Client Assistant with Morgan, Lewis and Bocklus inWashington,D.C.
The future bride groom graduated from College of Charleston. He earned a Bachelors of Art degree in History and minored in Business Administra- tion.
He is Vice President of Institutional Sales with B.G.B. Securities Incorpo- rated, Arlington, Virginia.
A Spring wedding is planned in Palm Beach, Florida.
Mr. and Mrs. Quinn Bradlee Photo Credit: Neshan H. Naltchayan
Pary Anbaz Williamson and Josiah Quinn Crowninshield Bradlee were married Sunday, October 10, 2010 at the National Cathedral inWashington, D.C. The Very Rev. Samuel Lloyd, III, Dean of the Cathedral performed the ceremony.
The groom is the son of Sally Quinn and Benjamin C. Bradlee. Ms. Quinn is a columnist and founder and moder- ator of The Washington Post’s “On Faith”. Mr. Bradlee, the former Editor of the Washington Post, is currently Vice President at Large of the news- paper.
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Mr. and Mrs. Aurelius Law Congratulations Aurelius and Geraldine Law
We have been blessed to witness your incredible love for one another and to last 60 years is quite phenomenal.You are an inspiration to everyone. With love from your children
Mrs. Bradlee, a writer, personal train- er and yoga instructor, grew up in Northern Virginia. Mr.Bradlee, attend- ed the Lab School of Washington, the Gow School in Buffalo, New York, and Landmark College in Putney,Vermont, all schools for those with learning differences. He also attended Amer- ican University and the New York Film Academy. He is the author of “A Different Life: Growing up with learning disabilities and other adven- tures” and “A Life’s Work: fathers and sons” which he co-authored with his father. He is the producer of several videos, including “You are not alone”, on learning disabilities, “Life with VCFS”and the upcoming HBO Documentary titled “I Can’t Do This, But I Can Do That” based on his book, “A Different Life”. He is moderator of the website “
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Mr. and Mrs. James Heaton
Laura M. Adams, daughter of Loran and Priscilla Adams of McLean, Vir- ginia, married James R. Heaton, son of Richard and Cherry Heaton of Honley, West Yorkshire, United King- dom, on May 29, 2010 at Glen Echo Park, Maryland.
The bride is a graduate of James Madison University and Goldsmiths College, University of London and works in transportation policy for the Royal Borough of Kensington and Chelsea, London.
The groom received his B.Mus, also from Goldsmiths College, and is head of operations at the Roundhouse Theatre, Camden.
The couple make their home in Lon- don.
Mr. and Mrs. George Wilson
George W. and Eunice N. Wilson are celebrating their 50th Wedding Anniversary. The Wilsons’ were mar- ried October 15th 1960 at the Base Chapel at Fort Ord California. They have been blessed with four children, nine grandchildren and one great- grandchild. George is a retired Army Officer, and Eunice is a retired Fairfax County, Virginia High School educa- tor. They currently reside in Lusby, Maryland and are members of Calvert County Baptist Church, Prince Freder- ick, Maryland. In honor of this occa- sion, their children and grandchildren are hosting a celebration in October 2010 at the Rivers Edge Conference Center, in Patuxent River, Maryland.
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Mr. and Mrs. Orin L. Montgomery of Alexandria, Virginia are delighted to announce the marriage of their daugh- ter, Jillian Gail Dewey to David Szczepanek. The couple exchanged vows on October 23, 2010 at St. Louis Catholic Church with a reception at the Old Town Alexandria Hilton. David is the son of Mrs. Shirley Szczepanek and the late Adalbert Szczepanek of Depew, New York. Jillian is also the daughter of the late Raymond Andrew Dewey.
Jillian is a Controller for a Government Contractor and David is a Teacher with Fairfax County Public Schools.
After a honeymoon trip to Aruba, the happy couple will reside in Bristow, Virginia.
To place an announcement: email:
weddings@washpost.com phone: 202-334-5736 fax: 202-334-7188 ——Weddings——
ParyWilliamson Marries Quinn Bradlee —October 10, 2010—
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——Anniversaries—— Wilson
Golden Anniversary —October 15, 1960—
——Weddings——
Jillian Dewey Marries David Szczepanek —October 23, 2010—
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