NEW OPENING NIGHT FOR RED BARN’S FUNNY AND POIGNANT CATS TALK BACK
Key West’s Red Barn Theatre has announced the new Opening Night for the pandemic-delayed first show of its 42nd season.
Cats Talk Back, the critically-acclaimed mock-docu-comedy by New York’s celebrated young playwright, Bess Wohl, will open a three-week run Monday, January 10, 2022. Tickets are now available for all performances through January 29. The play will be presented outdoors under the stars in the Red Barn’s expansive courtyard. All curtains are at 8 pm.
The health and safety of cast, crew, and audience have been foremost on artistic director Joy Hawkins’ mind the last month, as events forced the postponement of the original opening.
“You can’t imagine how very much we want to bring you our production of Cats Talk Back,” said Hawkins. “We regret that our original opening had to be postponed, but this virus is unpredictable, to say the least. But every precaution is being taken to keep everyone safe and healthy.”
Critics call Cats Talk Back “a winner…funny, poignant, and observant…” (Backstage) and “…a bubbly, easy-going treat of theatre…” (Time Out). You’ll call it wonderful
The magic of the play’s unique concept – an interview session with several former cast members of Cats, one of the most successful musicals in Broadway history – lies in its realism. That realism is effected through the panel discussion’s moderator, a respected member of the theatrical community…in this case, Murphy Davis, one of Key West’s best known theater directors. The use of Davis as the facilitator of the on-stage discussion blurs the lines of fiction and reality. Are these really Cats actors, or actors playing those actors?
The panelists are ostensibly all former members of the Cats production, which ran for 18 years and 7845 performances. But during the play, we learn that the musical’s success was not always these actors’ success. There’s Monique, who survived the full 18 years, but had her dancing career stalled because of it. There’s Bonnie, whose hunger for approval was squashed when the show closed right after she joined the cast. There’s Steven, an actor’s actor, and Hector, the quintessential egocentric, boastful actor who still manages to be charismatic.
Cats Talk Back never lets the audience know for sure what they’re watching. As the evening progresses, there are moments of human connection and expressed friendship, but also moments that indicate cast in-fighting and tensions. And then suddenly one or more of the “cats” will break into acapella renditions of Cats songs, trying once again to find their inner jellicle cat.
Cats Talk Back stars Michael Mulligan, Marjorie Paul Shook, Nicole Nurenburg, Rhett Kalman, and Davis. It is directed by Hawkins. The show is sponsored by the Smith Law Firm, the Florida Department of State Division of Arts and Culture, and the Monroe County Tourist Development Council.
Tickets are available at redbarntheatre.com or at the theater’s box office, 305-296-9911.
NOTE: The Red Barn has been certified as a Covid Compliant Theater, and all COVID protocols will be observed for everyone’s safety. Proof of a negative test within the past 48 hours will be required for entry, or if you prefer, a proof of vaccination will suffice. There will be a COVID-compliant adequate distance between the stage and seating.