Red Barn’s 2026-2027 SEASON
THE RED BARN’S FIRST SHOW TAKES A LOOK AT THE “WHAT IF’S” OF LIFE
It’s a sure bet that every person of at least middle-age reading this has, without a doubt, asked themselves the same question about their lives at some point – “What if?”
What if I’d made a left turn instead of a right one back when I turned twenty? What if I’d said “Yes” instead of “No” that night when that special someone and I were walking in the park? How would my life be different now?
With the opening production of their 47th Season, Key West’s lauded Red Barn Theatre dives headlong into those “What if’s” as it offers up award-winning playwright Steven Dietz’s “Shooting Star”, a funny, engaging, heartfelt tale of two people coming face to face with laughter and tears, regrets and memories, shared and unshared.
The play runs December 8 of this year through January 2, 2027, with all curtains at 7 pm. It stars Key West favorites Dave Bootle and Lauren Thompson, and will be directed by the Red Barn’s artistic director, Joy Hawkins. Best seats for all performances are on sale now at redbarntheatre.com.
The play centers on a man and a woman who find themselves stranded overnight in a mid-western airport due to a snowstorm cancelling their flights, one of them heading from Boston to Austin, the other the reverse. Boston businessman Reed McAllister (Bootle) is a wage slave in a suit, a reader of the Wall Street Journal, and a man who has grown into someone far different from his idealistic twenty-something self. Elena Carson (Thompson) is an earth mother Austinite, a veteran groupie and lonely free spirit. It takes them a moment, but they suddenly recognize one another.
Celebrating 47 years
In 1980, a spirited group of actors and technicians renovated the theatre, opening the doors of the Red Barn Theatre under the incorporated name of the Red Barn Actors Studio, Inc.
Mimi and Gary McDonald along with Joy Hawkins were a part of that original lively group, and their enthusiasm and love for the Red Barn Theatre is still an important part of what keeps the Red Barn growing!
Read Our Full History →