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For further information, call: Bob Bowersox at 302-540-6102

For Immediate Release

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Key West’s Red Barn Theatre will follow up last year’s remarkably successful season with another stellar lineup of plays and special events that will bring a full measure of laughter and emotion to its audiences.

“I think there’s something for everyone,” said Joy Hawkins, the Barn’s artistic director. “We take our time finding the best new plays that have come along, and this year’s group is very special. And we’re again fortunate to have a terrific company of actors to bring them to life.”

The Red Barn’s 46th Season kicks of December 9th this year with the holiday-themed “Scrooge Macbeth” by David MacGregor. It’s a hilarious mash-up of Dickens and Shakespeare when a theater company is left to come up with a replacement show for their Shakespeare production when all their actors call out sick. Can they save their theater by coming up with a show in a couple of hours? It’s a very funny collision of everything Christmas and everything Shakespeare. The show stars Dominic Paolillo, Nina Pilar, Mathias Maloff, Cassidy Timms, and Gerri Louise Gates, and will be directed by Mimi McDonald. It will run through January 3, 2026. Please note that there will be no performances Christmas Eve, Christmas, or New Year’s Eve.

Christine Mild will return to the Barn with her latest musical special event, “The Queens of Country: Patsy! Dolly! Loretta!”. The show will have only four performances, January 7-10, 2026. Pianist Jim Rice will once again lead a terrific country band to back Christine up. Limited tickets will be available, and Christine always sells out, so grab your seats as soon as they go on sale later this summer.

Joy Hawkins will direct the next mainstage production, “At the Wedding”, by Bryna Turner, running January 20 through February 14, 2026.  Patrons will be cordially invited to a Northern California wedding and meet Carlo, an agent of comedic chaos, as she attempts to make it through the night without drinking too much, talking too much, or trying to win back the bride. The very funny play stars Jess Polak, Martha Hooten-Hattingh, Jody Orrigo, Rita Troxel, Susannah Wells, Jessica Miano Kruel, and Jack McDonald.

Next up February 24 through March 21, 2026 will be a wonderful musical revue, “And the World Goes Round”. The show features the songs of John Kander and Fred Ebb, the composers behind such great hits as “Chicago,” “Cabaret,” “Kiss of the Spider Woman,” and the movie scores for “Funny Lady” and “New York, New York.” It will be directed by Joy Hawkins and Lauren Thompson, with musical direction by Michael Fauss, and feature the voices of Lauren Thompson, Jeremy Zoma, Claire Caplan, and more.

The Barn’s season will close with “A Rock Sails By,” a play by Sean Grennan that Broadway World called “A thought-provoking story filled with humor, and emotion.” When a UFO is sighted heading towards Earth, astrophysicist Dr. Lynn Cummings grants an interview to a journalist who has misquoted her, inviting him to view the object with her as it comes close to our planet. There is no telling what she will discover beyond the stars. The play will be directed by Joy Hawkins and star George DeBraud, Susannah Wells, Jody Orrigo, Fritzie Estimond, and Glenda Donovan. “A Rock Sails By” will run March 31 through April 25, 2026.

Tickets will be available on this website and at 305-296-9911 later this summer. As always, Opening Night ticket holders are invited to an Opening Night reception with the cast and crew. So make your plans now to join us for another stellar season at the Red Barn!

We are heartbroken to share the news that our dear friend, John Wells, one of the Founding Members of the Red Barn Theatre left this earthly plane August 14, 2025. John was a consummate performer, actor, musician, and passionate storyteller who lit up the stage in countless productions for over 45 years at all of the stages in Key West Theatre. He leaves behind his loving wife and daughter. His presence will be profoundly missed, but his legacy will live on in the Red Barn and in the hearts of all who knew him.

SOMEONE YOU SHOULD KNOW: MIMI MCDONALD IS UPBEAT AND ONSTAGE

by Carol Shaughnessy | June 2, 2025

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Mimi McDonald is the longtime managing director of Key West’s popular Red Barn Theatre, which she and her husband Gary helped establish 45 years ago. CONTRIBUTED

As Mimi Madden McDonald prepared to audition for her elementary school’s third-grade talent show many years ago, the teacher in charge asked what her talent was. 

“Talking!” she announced blithely.

Though completely unaware at that moment, McDonald had just identified the trait that would carry her through a long and satisfying career in acting and theater administration. 

For decades, the articulate and energetic woman has been the managing director of Key West’s acclaimed Red Barn Theatre — a theater she and her husband Gary helped establish with colleagues, including Joy Hawkins and Richard Magesis. She’s also vice president of the theater’s guiding board.

McDonald earned a theater degree at Virginia Commonwealth University in Richmond, then studied dance with the renowned Twyla Tharp at American University. She then headed for Key West, where college friends Rita and Roddy Brown had founded the Greene Street Theater. 

“The troupe that came from Richmond decided it was a whole lot more fun to start a theater in paradise than it was to beat the streets of New York City for jobs, with all the competition up there,” said McDonald. “Our impetus was to come down and start a professional theater, because we were interested in the craft — and running shows for longer periods of time, so that actors could really settle into a part.”

In the early years she earned much-needed extra money as a bank teller, which prepared her for handling theater finances and administration. She also choreographed Tennessee Williams’ “Will Mr. Merriwether Return from Memphis?” that launched Key West’s Tennessee Williams Fine Arts Center at the then-Florida Keys Community College. She and Gary house-sat for Tennessee Williams himself. 

At the same time, the McDonalds helped start the Red Barn Actors Studio, named for the small carriage house that stood behind the Key West Woman’s Club on Duval Street — the building that became the Red Barn Theatre and the company’s home. 

The Barn opened in 1980 and mounted five productions during its inaugural 1980-81 season. While funds remained tight, the theater founders’ creativity and optimism outweighed any financial lack.

“It was so much fun,” McDonald recalled. “It was amazing and stimulating, and the sky was the limit.”

Now, 45 years after its initial season, the Red Barn is recognized as a cultural cornerstone that helped set the stage for the creation of other Key West arts organizations. The theater’s successes have included a long-ago production of the musical comedy “Nunsense” that still evokes praise, the American premiere of playwright Hy Conrad’s COVID-era farce “Quarantine For Two,” the biannual and much-loved “Short Attention Span Theatre” shows, and thought-provoking offerings like “The Code” and “Lifespan of a Fact.” 

Guiding the Barn’s productions and progress is a family affair for McDonald. Gary, her husband of some 50 years, is the longtime technical director — now stepping back and turning over some duties to their son Jack, who has assisted behind the scenes since childhood. Their daughter Amber also embraced a theatrical career, acting in New York and Los Angeles before returning to the Keys and the stage where she grew up. 

While devoting most of her professional life to the Red Barn, McDonald is also the hard-working producer of the Masquerade March and other events for Key West’s annual Fantasy Fest celebration She choreographed Key West High School choral productions for 20 years and directed young actors in local Keys Kids shows for 10 years. 

Directing has become her primary passion. 

“I’d much rather direct than act right now,” McDonald said. “With acting, you’re reading a script and doing what the director tells you to do — but directing, I felt limitless.” 

Her latest directorial triumph was “Ms. Holmes & Ms. Watson, Apt. 2B,” an irreverent mystery-comedy that reimagines famed sleuth Sherlock Holmes and his companion Dr. Watson as an eccentric female duo. Debuting in January 2025, it earned stellar reviews and helped McDonald stretch her skills in new ways.

“It pulled out parts of me that I didn’t know I had,” she admitted. “I found it really liberating and refreshing and fun — that’s what happens when you have a good cast that can interpret what you’re saying.”  

She will next direct the Red Barn’s 2025 holiday play, “Scrooge MacBeth,” described as an off-kilter mashup of Christmas and William Shakespeare.

When she’s not involved in theater work or exploring her creativity, McDonald spends time cooking, recharging her batteries at the family’s inherited hardwood tree farm in West Virginia, and enjoying the Key West community. 

“It’s exotic and beautiful and colorful all the time,” she summed up, displaying her still-keen talent for talking. “It’s a very special place where we’re all connected to each other, and we all share the remarkable history of this crazy island.”

REVIEW OF SAST: “ALTERNATIVE FACTS” AT THE RED BARN THEATER

by Guy DeBoar | April 10, 2025

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Photo by Roberta DePiero

Red Barn Theatre’s “Short Attention Span Theatre: Alternative Facts” Delivers Comedy, Heart, and 45 Years of Excellence

For 45 years, the Red Barn Theatre has been a creative cornerstone of Key West’s cultural landscape, thanks in large part to visionary artists like Mimi McDonald and Joy Hawkins. Both have shaped the theater’s identity, helped nurture local talent, and sustained a reputation for professional-level productions in an intimate space. While Joy Hawkins has stepped back from day-to-day operations, her legacy lives on in every show mounted on the Red Barn stage. Mimi McDonald continues to lead with passion and precision, serving both on and off stage as a guiding force for this enduring theatrical institution.

“Alternative Facts” is a high-energy, fast-moving series of short plays, each offering its own unique twist. It’s a format the Red Barn has mastered over the years, keeping audiences engaged with variety, surprise endings, and characters you can’t forget.

This year’s production is expertly directed by Mimi McDonald, Gary McDonald, Jack McDonald, and Amber McDonald Good—a family of artists whose collaboration is clearly rooted in shared sensibility and deep theatrical intuition. The show features a strong and versatile ensemble: Erin McKenna, Cassidy Timms, Nina Pilar, Mathias Maloff, and Zach Franchini—all of whom handle multiple roles across various genres and tones with impressive dexterity.

The evening opens with “I Saw This in Paducah” by Rich Orloff, directed by Gary McDonald. This clever piece features Erin McKenna and Nina Pilar as two eccentric theatre lovers who obsessively travel across the country in pursuit of one thing: world premieres. What begins as a charming quirk quickly unravels into something more complicated, proving that obsession—especially theatrical obsession—is fertile ground for comedy. Both actors hit just the right tone, blending naive enthusiasm with suspicious intensity, creating a laugh-out-loud opener that sets the stage for the unexpected.

Next is “Clean Slate” by Rajiv Joseph, directed by Mimi McDonald. Cassidy Timms, Mathias Maloff, and Zach Franchini portray characters tangled in a Kafkaesque web of miscommunication, paranoia, and darkly comic bureaucracy. Maloff plays a bewildered news anchor caught in the crosshairs of two overzealous FBI agents investigating a possible media hijacking at KWWP Radio. The skit plays like a fever dream, raising questions about media, trust, and fear. McDonald’s direction ensures that the ambiguity serves the comedy rather than muddling it, and the actors keep the tension high and the audience guessing.

Act One closes with “The Caterers” by Tony Meneses, directed by Amber McDonald Good. Set during a chaotic engagement party where the bride-to-be has vanished, the action unfolds in the kitchen, where the catering staff and family members try to locate both the missing woman and a sense of normalcy. Erin McKenna shines as Garcia, a catering employee who takes a romantic shine to the bride-to-be, Josephine, played with emotional nuance by Nina Pilar. Their flirtation provides a charming and heartfelt undercurrent to the otherwise frantic family drama.

Act Two opens with one of the evening’s strongest comedies, “Veronica’s Test of Worthiness” by Eddie Zipperer, directed by Jack McDonald. Mathias Maloff plays a man so desperate to avoid commitment that he hires a ragtag group of actors to impersonate his dysfunctional family and scare off his girlfriend. Ironically, Cassidy Timms plays Veronica, the unsuspecting fiancée—and in real life, she and Maloff are married. Their real-life chemistry adds an extra layer of hilarity to the performance, and the skit builds to a wildly funny climax that underscores the show’s larger themes: perception, expectation, and chaos.

The penultimate skit is “Incident on the Golden Gate Bridge” by David MacGregor, directed by Gary McDonald. Zach Franchini delivers a heartfelt performance as a troubled young man contemplating his future on the edge of the bridge. Enter Cassidy Timms and Mathias Maloff, whose attempts to talk him down evolve into a deeply human exchange about life’s uncertainties and unexpected revelations. The scene shifts tone beautifully, offering a moment of genuine connection and introspection amid the show’s zanier moments.

The evening concludes with a surprise short piece conceived and directed by Gary McDonald, bringing the entire cast together one last time. This final skit cleverly ties the previous stories together—sometimes literally—reminding the audience of the connective threads (and possibly one particular prop!) that subtly linked each play. It’s a satisfying and smart wrap-up, showcasing the production team’s attention to detail and commitment to narrative cohesion, even in a show made of fragments.

This year’s Short Attention Span Theatre is more than just a collection of quirky vignettes—it’s a reflection of 45 years of artistic innovation, community engagement, and fearless storytelling at the Red Barn Theatre. From set and lighting to costume choices and direction, everything is tight, efficient, and fully realized—no small feat in a show with this much moving parts.

If you’re in Key West this April, don’t miss your chance to see this annual favorite. It’s funny, thought-provoking, and deeply satisfying—not just as entertainment, but as a testament to what community theatre can achieve when it is led by people who care deeply about the craft and the audience.

Show Dates: April 8 – May 3, 2025
Box Office: (305) 296-9911
Tickets & Info: RedBarnTheatre.com
Location: 319 Duval Street, Key West, FL

Join the Red Barn in celebrating 45 years of theatrical excellence. With “Alternative Facts,” they’ve once again proven that short plays can leave a lasting impression.

PRESS RELEASE
For further information, call: Bob Bowersox at 302-540-6102

For Immediate Release

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Cast of Short Attention Span Theatre: “Alternative Facts”

There’s an old saying in theater: “When you find a gem, let it shine.”

Key West’s Red Barn Theatre found such a gem over a decade ago, and they’ve been letting it shine in most of their seasons since. It’s called “Short Attention Span Theatre”, and it’s proven to be one of the most popular shows the theater offers each year. This season will be no different.

It’s a simple concept – pick a mixed slate of funny, powerful, poignant, or simply off-the-wall short plays and populate them with some of the area’s top comedic talent, then string them together for an evening of stellar fun. Each year, the Red Barn’s resident family – the McDonalds – find six or seven wonderful new plays and pull them together under a title that relates to them all. This year’s theme: “Alternative Facts”, which anyone will agree, certainly is relevant to the times.

“One of the things I love most about Short Attention Span Theatre (SAST),” said the Red Barn’s Managing Director Mimi McDonald, “is that it gives us the opportunity to explore a number of different voices and new playwrights in one show. And it seems to many of us that the human condition is evolving right now, and these playwrights are noticing that and commenting on what’s happening in a very comedic way. And we have such great comedic actors all doing a variety of very funny characters in this one.”

This year’s rendition of SAST will star Erin McKenna, Mathias Maloff, Cassidy Timms, Nina Pilar, and Zach Franchini. They appear in various combinations during the evening of eclectic plays that focus on characters who are in conflict with larger forces – from a catering job for an engagement party with a missing bride; a chance meeting on the Golden Gate Bridge; two audience members who insist on world premieres; a fiancé is put to the test when she meets her possible in-laws; and two FBI agents who interrogate a newscaster when a newsroom is hijacked.

“It’s a fast, fun evening,” said McDonald, “but there’s a message or two in there as well.”

As they do every year, the entire McDonald family shepherds this show to the stage, with each of them directing, building sets, handling the tech, and more. Along with Mimi are her husband Gary, and their two (now adult) children, Amber and Jack.

“We’ve been a theater family for more than 45 years,” Mimi said. “It’s in our blood, and we have such a great time working together on this show. It’s always a big hit.” Or to put it another way – it’s a gem.

Tickets for “Short Attention Span Theatre: Alternative Facts” are available at KeysTix.com, redbarntheatre.com, or by calling the box office at 305-296-9911. Note that all curtain times are 7:30 pm.