Ken Ludwig has been to Broadway. He's won Tony Awards. Big stars have read his lines.

But, from time to time, the playwright's thoughts drift back to York County.

"It's such an artistic area," he said during a recent phone interview from his Washington, D.C., home. "I remember being surrounded by the arts. The German roots of the community are very musical."

Ludwig said that when he was a child, seeing a play at York Little Theatre was "an enormous treat." In the summers, his family would pile into the car and drive to Totem Pole or Allenberry playhouses.

Ludwig still considers a trip to YLT to be a treat. He said he was delighted the theater staff invited him to view its production of his comedy "Leading Ladies."The play opens Friday, and Ludwig is scheduled to see the Sunday matinee.

His visit comes after a period of economic decline at YLT.

In 2010, the theater reached the end of its line of credit. Later that year, it eliminated three staffers and, because of its financial troubles, lost funding from the Cultural Alliance of York County.

"It's been the same story all around the country," Ludwig said of YLT's problems. "The arts are in danger. It's so wrong. They are not a luxury. That's what feeds our souls."

But last month, YLT announced good news: The theater's deficit has dropped. Attendance, theater class enrollment and volunteer participation are all up. Corporate donors pledged $236,000 to a fundraising campaign.

Ludwig said he was glad that YLT has rebounded, especially since theater is crucial for childhood development.

From an early age, Ludwig knew he wanted to be a thespian. Acting was the obvious thing to do in his young eyes. When he was a little older, he saw that there were jobs - costumer, set designer, producer - behind the scenes.

By the time he attended York Suburban Senior High School, he was involved in theater and band. He acted and, when the school staged a play with all-female roles, he worked as an assistant director. He started to write scripts in his early teens.
"I loved all things literary," he said. "I studied literature . . . and that took me to Shakespeare. I never studied playwriting; I grew into it."

Ludwig studied traditions and titans of English and American stage comedy, including George Farquhar, Richard Brinsley Sheridan, George Bernard Shaw and Oscar Wilde. Ludwig said he tries to not name his modern favorites, but added that Woody Allen scripts will last forever as great comedic works.

"A comedy is not just about laughing," Ludwig said. "It's not just about seeing a play with a happy ending. It has to do with the world that's created. It makes you think differently. It raises social concerns (to help the audience) understand our common humanity."

After studying music theory at Haverford College, he went onto Harvard Law School, which led to a subsequent scholarship to England's Cambridge University. While earning a law degree, he studied music with Leonard Bernstein and theater history.

After school, Ludwig practiced law to pay the bills and wrote plays at night. He never felt the need to live in The Big Apple to be close to Broadway. He opted to live in Washington, D.C., to be near his older brother, Gene, instead.

In the '80s, Ludwig was able to switch to being a full-time writer and part-time lawyer following the success of "Sullivan and Gilbert," which was staged at the Kennedy Center, and "Lend Me a Tenor," which won two Tony awards.

Ludwig's success continued in rapid succession.

"I've often thought about coming back to York or having a weekend place," he said. "I've been so busy, I haven't been able to follow through with it."

Inspiration sprung from his memories of his godparents' farm near Spry. He used York as the backdrop for "Leading Ladies," which hit the stage in 2004.

"The storyline is based on part of a novel by Mark Twain," he said. "Most of my comedies are set in small towns that I'm familiar with. Comedies thrive on the society in which they're set."

Ludwig said that's why he's interested to see "Leading Ladies" on YLT's stage. He gets several invitations to stagings of his plays all around the world, but, aside from Broadway premieres, he said he rarely attends.

"Going to see my plays . . . makes me feel like I'm living in the past," he said. "This will be a unique opportunity. I'm proud to be doing it."

Even though he's known for comedy, Ludwig's works span several genres. He's been commissioned by theaters to write stage adaptations. He's worked on historical dramas and has penned screenplays, including one for the recent Muppets movie. Studios usually ask a few writers to work on screenplays for one project, he said, and ultimately, movie writers have little control over their scripts.

He recently wrote a children's play, finished a script for a thriller and completed a manuscript for a book on how to teach kids Shakespeare.

"I'm really embarking on the next comedy - another sort of small-town (story) with eight characters," Ludwig said. "Like storytellers, you start out with a blank page; it's exciting. I write about things that I care deeply about. Raising my children has been a major influence."

When Ludwig mentioned his two teenage children, it reminded him to check the time. He said he had to run.

"I have to take my son to a music lesson," he explained. "(He) plays oboe."

About Ken Ludwig's visit

Award-winning playwright Ken Ludwig will visit York Little Theatre for the production of his comedy "Leading Ladies" 3 p.m. Sunday, Feb. 5. He will be the guest of honor at a 1 p.m. reception before the show and will make remarks at 2 p.m. He will also host a brief question-and-answer session after the show and will sign copies of his play anthology, which will be available for purchase. Autographed copies of the book can be ordered by calling 854-3894.

While Ludwig is at the theater, federal, state and local officials from York County will present him with a proclamation that makes Sunday Ken Ludwig Day.

When Laurence Olivier and Helen Hayes award-winning playwright Ken Ludwig returns to York County, it is an excuse for the local art scene to come out in force, spiff itself up and throw a party.

Ludwig's last return was four years ago for the dedication of York College's new performing arts center. Now, York Little Theatre has invited him back for their staging of his set-in-York comedy, "Leading Ladies."

When Ludwig agreed to visit the theater, arranging a worthy event became the goal.
"We planned all the things around Ken Ludwig. We want to focus attention on the great art tradition in York County," says Deb Thro, the theater's public relations manager. "A lot of people don't realize we have this really great artist from York."

The theater invited local politicians, members of the Cultural Alliance, DreamWrights Youth and Family Theatre and other arts organizations to a meet-and-mingle reception on Feb. 5, capped by the declaration of "Ken Ludwig Day" and Ludwig's remarks at 2 p.m. After a matinee performance of "Leading Ladies," Ludwig will stay for a short question and answer session with the audience. He also will sign copies of his anthology, with some of his favorite plays, including "Lend Me A Tenor" and "Leading Ladies."

Ludwig gushes when asked about the honor, "Oh my gosh, I'm so flattered, I'm thrilled, still in shock. I couldn't be happier."

"Leading Ladies," based on a snippet from "Huckleberry Finn," is the perfect prompt. Set in York, it tells the story of two struggling Shakespearean actors trying to con their way into a fortune and ending up in drag while doing it.

Studies: After graduating from York Suburban High School, Ludwig moved on to Haverford College, studying music theory and composition. He also began writing comedy for Haverford's Class Night, a college version of "Saturday Night Live."
"I wrote music and lyrics, would put them up and direct them. That was my role in the class," Ludwig remembers.

The next step was a professional degree.

"I applied to law school. It was the accepted thing; my brother had applied to law school and gotten in. I would do that. My father was a doctor, the only dermatologist in York."

But Ludwig, accepted by Harvard Law School, then had a dilemma.

"I was thinking of not going," he admits. "My parents said 'if you don't go, we'll kill you.'"

But Harvard proved surprisingly conducive to Ludwig's continuing interest in theater.
"In the middle of school, I got a scholarship to England, Trinity College, Cambridge University. I studied theater history in two years there."

Harvard University also introduced Ludwig to famed conductor and composer Leonard Bernstein.

"Bernstein was at Harvard prepping for the Norton Lectures, and he opened his door to music students. I showed him my compositions (and) he invited me to class."

After graduating from Harvard Law School, Ludwig was looking for his next step.
"I settled in D.C.; my brother had settled there, (and) we're very close. I was going to be spending 90 percent of my time sitting in a room writing, I don't need New York or L.A.," Ludwig says. "I practiced law to literally eat, my day job, and wrote from 4:30 to 8:30 a.m."

Home: But through it all, York has always remained his foundation.
"'Leading Ladies' is set in York. A lot of my plays are set in smaller towns. In a sense, all (of them) are set in York, even if I call it somewhere else," Ludwig says. "I was born and raised there, that's my sensibility, the people I know, the people I love. I'm happy and comfortable there."

He adds to that an active, heartfelt commitment to comedy.

"It's largely a matter of who you are within yourself. Comedy isn't just about making the audience laugh," he says. "It's important to move the ball ahead in terms of our common humanity."

This is the intersection Ludwig has happily and successfully settled on. And it's a life story that York Little Theatre hopes will spur a surge of artistic development and appreciation in York County.

"I believe in sensible optimism," Ludwig says. It sounds like a solid footing for inspiration.

-- Reach Michelle Denise Norton at 854-1575 or news@yorkdispatch.com.

According to the Cleveland Plane Dealer, “Ludwig's holiday whodunit about American actor William Gillette, who made a fortune playing Sherlock Holmes, became the top-selling show in Play House history. It earned $395,828 in single-ticket sales, besting the 2006 production of "A Christmas Story," which brought in $380,900.

Congratulations to the Cleveland Playhouse staff and to the cast and creative team on a wonderful world premiere!

The Cast of The Game's Afoot at Cleveland Play House
Photo by Roger Mastroianni

While most students prepare to return to school from vacation or the bowl games, the MSU theater students are preparing to hit the road.

Their production of "The Beaux Stratagem" was considered one of the best college performances in region three of the Kennedy Center American College Theater Festival. This region includes all educational institutions of all sizes in Michigan, Indiana, Illinois and Wisconsin. They've been invited to perform it again in a competition against the other productions that were considered the best of the season at the University of Illinois, Urbana-Champaign. The regional competition is being held Jan. 3-7.

MSU's "The Beaux Stratagem," written by George Farquhar, directed by Edward Daranyi and adapted by Thornton Wilder and Ken Ludwig, was produced this season from Nov. 11 to Nov. 20.

This is the 44th year of the Kennedy Center Festival and the program provides a travel grant to each of the competing schools. They will present their play before national judges and the top production will win an all-expenses paid trip to Washington D.C. to compete in the national festival at the Kennedy Center.

Other productions in the regional competition include the University of Southern Indiana's production of "Rent," The University of Wisconsin-Whitewater's production of "The Edwin Booth Company Presents ...," Southern Illinois University at Carbondale's production of "Risata, Sciocco ... Risata!," Hope College's "Gone Missing," the University of Evansville's "Master Harold ... and the Boys," Ball State University's "The Circus in Winter" (an original work) and Carthage College's "Rail Splitter."

In addition to performing the play, students participating in the production will also have the opportunity to attend master classes and network with theater professionals.

The national competition provides scholarship opportunities for individual performances. Other recognitions include outstanding scenic, costume, lighting and sound design, outstanding choreography, outstanding devised work, outstanding direction and outstanding performances in leading and supporting roles.

Kennedy Center Festival judges attend performances at more than 800 educational institutions around the country to select the finalists to compete in each region.