THE RED BARN EXPLORES LIFE AND WONDER WITH ”A ROCK SAILS BY”

With their next mainstage production, Key West’s Red Barn Theatre takes on nothing less than the intersection of science and faith, the unknown, and the human condition in general. Not a small task for 90 minutes, but they do it all with humor, heart, and touching emotion.

“A Rock Sails By”, by prolific playwright Sean Grennan, runs March 31 through April 25, with all curtains at 7:30 pm. It has garnered high critical praise for its script and emotional depth.

The play explores the great questions of our time: Is there life beyond our planet? What happens after death? Why is life, in all its beauty, filled with fear, anger, and hatred? And, perhaps one of the most complicated of questions – What’s the point? It tells the story of an astrophysicist, Dr. Lynn Cummings, who, while investigating a mysterious interstellar object nearing earth, finds herself dealing with personal grief, physical and mental decline, challenges to her professional reputation, and trying to reconnect with her daughter. She’s always believed in science, but now that her life is changing, the certainty that was once a source of comfort to her has become a source of emptiness. How she deals with the collision of all these new elements in her life is what gives the play its beating heart.

Playwright Grennan recently told a reporter, “In 2017 I read a news article about an odd object that was flying through our solar system. It had come from outside our galaxy, which was very unusual. It’s Hawaiian name – “Oumuamua” – translates to ‘Messenger from our distant past’.” That got Grennan to thinking about what it might be and what it could mean to mankind. “I’d been thinking about mortality – friends are passing, I’m wearing out, fewer days ahead than behind – so I wanted to explore all of that.”

Astrophysicist Cummings does the same in the play, as she navigates her new personal challenges, though always with wit and humor. Mimi McDonald, the Barn’s Managing Director, portrays Cummings in a rare onstage performance and tour-de-force role. She’s accompanied by Susannah Wells, Lauren Thompson, Jody Orrigo, Glenda Donovan, and Fritzie Estimond. The play is directed by Joy Hawkins.

Broadway World called the play “…smart, witty, and relatable…a thought-provoking story filled with wit, humor, and emotion.” Coral Gables Magazine said it was “A soul-searching delight.”

This production is sponsored in part by Berkshire Hathaway and Stanley Kovak, as well as the Monroe County Tourist Development Council.

Tickets are available at redbarntheatre.com or by calling the box office at 305-296-9911. All curtains are at 7:30 pm. There will be an Opening Night After Party for all ticketholders that night.