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ARTS + ENTERTAINMENT JANUARY 16, 2025
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Playwright Ken Ludwig talks about his Asolo Rep world premiere, ‘Lady Molly of Scotland Yard.’
SPYSTORY greatest fiction. I decided not to directly adapt the “Lady Molly” stories, but instead took the title and created my own characters in a new adventure set during World War II. It’s a completely different story.
MARTY FUGATE CONTRIBUTOR
T
he prolific playwright Ken Ludwig has 34 plays and musicals to his credit. His work has been staged around the world and across the U.S. Asolo Repertory Theatre has produced five of his works, including “Moon Over Buffalo” and “Lend Me a Tenor.” But Ludwig’s “Lady Molly of Scotland Yard” will be his first world premiere on the Asolo Rep stage. Ludwig’s new work is a theatrical adaptation of Baroness Orczy’s lesser-known “Lady Molly” stories. Ludwig’s “Lady Molly of Scotland Yard” transports Orczy’s female sleuth to World War II. Ludwig has reimagined her characters, and put them in a gripping tale of murder, espionage and codebreaking set in the dark days of the Nazi blitz against Great Britain. His ripping yarn does justice to that era’s real-life heroes — and blends Ludwig’s signature wit with historical intrigue. Before its Asolo Rep premiere, which runs from Jan. 24 to Feb. 8 after a week of previews, Ludwig’s play came together over a series of live readings. According to the playwright, the Sarasota audience’s feedback helped fine-tune the script on every level. In the following talk, Ludwig shares insights into the creative journey that helped bring his reinvented “Lady Molly of Scotland Yard” to the stage in Sarasota.
Kate Loprest stars in Ken Ludwig’s world premiere, “Lady Molly of Scotland Yard,” which runs from Jan. 24 to Feb. 8 at Asolo Repertory Theatre.
Ah. So the title was like the diving board that got you into the pool. Exactly.
Image courtesy of Evan Vucci
Playwright Ken Ludwig workshopped his play “Lady Molly of Scotland Yard” in Sarasota to prepare for its world premiere at Asolo Repertory Theatre.
What drew you to adapt “Lady Molly of Scotland Yard” for the stage? The title reached out and grabbed me. I stumbled across a reference to it, and thought, “What a great title for a fun thriller!” I discovered that the author was Baroness Orczy, who also wrote “The Scarlet Pimpernel.” That’s an impressive pedigree. Her original work was a series of short stories about two women at Scotland Yard — a supervisor and her sidekick, a sort of Sherlock Holmes-and-Watson team. However, after reading a few of those stories, I realized it wasn’t Orczy’s
How did you reinvent the story? I started by changing the time period and set the story in England during World War II. It begins with Lady Molly solving a murder as part of her detective work for Scotland Yard. Without spoiling too much, her investigation leads to the code breakers at Bletchley Park, where she goes undercover to expose a traitor. Most of my story unfolds there — and Asolo Rep has been invaluable in fine-tuning it before the opening. Asolo Rep has produced five of your plays and musicals. Is “Lady Molly” the first play you’ve workshopped there? Yes, “Lady Molly” will be my first world premiere with Asolo Rep. As you said, they’ve done several of my works for the stage. I had a good relationship with Michael Edwards, the previous artistic director. After he retired, he recommended I connect with Peter Rothstein — Asolo SEE SPY PAGE 2
IF YOU GO ‘LADY MOLLY OF SCOTLAND YARD’ When: Jan. 24 to Feb. 8 Where: FSU Center for the Performing Arts, 5555 N. Tamiami Trail. Tickets: $29- $95. Info: Call 351-8000 or visit AsoloRep.org.