Journey to the Twilight Zone with SHORT ATTENTION SPAN THEATRE!
Susannah Wells, Don Bearden, Jeremy Zoma, Andrew Hodge, and Amber McDonald Good star in SHORT ATTENTION SPAN THEATRE in the TWILIGHT ZONE, now playing at the Red Barn Theatre.
“There is a sixth dimension, beyond that which is known to man. It is a dimension as vast as space and as timeless as infinity. It is the middle ground between light and shadow, between science and superstition, and it lies between the pit of man's fears and the summit of his knowledge. This is the dimension of imagination. It is an area which we call The Twilight Zone.”
With these words back in 1959, writer Rod Serling opened his ground-breaking anthology television series, “The Twilight Zone”. He and his cadre of exceptional co-writers fashioned stories of imagination, fantasy, science fiction, horror, the paranormal, intelligent Kafkaesque comedy, and in some cases – as we look back now – prophecy. The show was an immediate hit, and ran for five highly successful seasons, and produced some 190 episodes now looked on as classics of the genre.
As the third mainstage production of its remarkable 40th Anniversary season, Key West’s Red Barn Theatre will resurrect the spirit of “awe and imagination” that Serling’s series inspired with the new rendition of their always-popular show, “Short Attention Span Theatre”, which they are subtitling, “In the Twilight Zone”. The show will run February 18 through March 14.
“We’ve put together seven short, ten-minute plays that fit the mold of Serling’s ‘Twilight Zone’,” said the Red Barn’s Gary McDonald, who, with his wife Mimi, son Jack, and daughter Amber, will produce and direct the show. “And one of them is an adaptation of one of Serling’s actual ‘Twilight Zone’ scripts. Two of the other scripts were winners of the Samuel French Off-Off-Broadway Festival of Plays last year. One was written by Tennessee Williams, believe it or not, and another is by Nina Mansfield, as well-known mystery writer.They’re all pretty exceptional pieces of theater.”
The McDonald family – who have been behind the Short Attention Span Theatre shows for the last several years – have brought together a stellar group of local and New York actors to populate the evening’s fare: Amber McDonald Good, Susannah Wells, Don Bearden, Andrew Hodge, and Jeremy Zoma. Hodge and Zoma were recently seen in “Prime Time” at The Studios of Key West, Bearden in “The Classics of Comedy” – also at the Studios, and Wells just completed a run of “Life Sucks” at the Red Barn. Good was last seen in the 2019 edition of SAST.
“What we all liked best about ‘The Twilight Zone’ was the way it was the social consciousness of that time,” McDonald said. “There was a moral to the stories, even with their bizarre natures. And actually, when you think about theater, most shows are little ‘Twilight Zones’, aren’t they?”
Expect to see the full range of “Twilight Zone”-style stories…from the hilarious to the off-kilter bizarre. Some will have Serling-type narrative introductions. “But they’re all most-definitely little journeys into ‘The Twilight Zone’,” McDonald said. “You’ll be impressed with each of them.”
The McDonalds have recruited a few more local celebrities to brighten up the stage and show this year. One of note is Gary Marian – better known as Sushi – who will be creating some very special “bug” costumes for one of the sketches. “I can’t wait to see what he comes up with,” Gary said.
Tickets for “Short Attention Span Theatre in the Twilight Zone” are available at redbarntheatre.com or by calling the Red Barn box office at 305-296-9911. There will be a Reduced-Price Preview on Monday, February 17, and ticketholders for the Opening Night performance on February 18 will be invited to join the cast and crew for a catered Opening Night Reception in the Zabar Courtyard of the Red Barn.
The show is sponsored by Key TV, Design Group Key West, and by grants from the Florida Department of State Division of Cultural Affairs and the Tourist Development Council.