Ken Ludwig, acclaimed contemporary writer of farces (Lend Me a Tenor, Moon Over Buffalo), has created a farce in Leading Ladies that is as traditional as they come. Elements we’ve come to expect from farces include: guys dressed as women; a crotchety old biddy on her deathbed with a will in the balance; a sweet girl betrothed to an idiot; a dopy doctor; his idiot son; a dumb blonde; a little larceny; quick changes; and a lot of miscommunication. Ludwig’s 2004 script is tailor-made for Phoenix Theatre, a company that excels at this type of fare. The director (Brad Carroll) knows how to keep a show moving and comes up with dozens of little sight gags to supplement the silly script. The cast is superb, jam-packed with the Valley’s A-list of actors. The design element is polished. For me, however, despite all of the wonderful points in its favor, I couldn’t help but feel a teeny bit disappointed with the script, which brought me to the edge of hilarity, but never quite pushed me over.

But, I mean, hey, c’mon, it’s still got a lot going for it, right? The two cross dressers are played by Dion Johnson and Christian Miller. The sweet girl and potential love interest for Johnson’s Leo is Katherine Stewart. The idiot, in this case Minister Duncan, is given life by Brian Runbeck. Old biddy (Peggy Lord Chilton), dopy doctor (Mike Lawler), idiot son (Brad Grubenhoff), and dumb blonde (Ashley Stults) are all great performers doing what they do best. Johnson and Miller are in synch like a well-oiled pratfall duo. Stewart is playing a defiant homebody who dreams of being a Shakespearean actress. Hell-ooo? Runbeck is duplicitous and mugs as only a farcical villain should. Chilton’s charge is snide, Lawler’s doctor obnoxious. Grubenhoff plays sweetly inane, while Stults has the squeaky voice of a blonde we can’t help but love. It’s the kind of casting most directors can only dream of. Carroll has a well-stocked arsenal, and he uses them to their strengths.

Gregory Jaye’s set is flashy with lots of excellent playing spaces. If it doesn’t quite scream York, Pennsylvania in 1956 (I had to look at the program to figure it out), it still fits the role of a door slamming farce set. Jason Diaz’s lighting has a lot of nice elements. Gail Wolfenden-Steib’s costumes are nicely period specific.

Good. Very good. Edging on gut-bustingly great. It’s probably that I’m too picky, so if I say it’s that close, you’ll probably take the extra step. However, even edging still makes it very worthwhile. Go and decide for yourself.