THE RED BARN’S 47TH SEASON IS ‘BOLD, DAZZLING, ICONIC’
Key West’s Red Barn Theatre has pulled out all the stops in the line-up for their stellar 47th season under the banner of shows that are “Bold, Dazzling, and Iconic.”
The mainstage shows include a sizzling group of plays by playwrights who have garnered a number of accolades, from the Kennedy Center, the American Theatre Critics Association, the Lucille Lortel Awards, the Broadway World Off-Broadway Awards, the Drama Desk Awards, the Outer Critics Circle Awards, and none other than the 2026 Tony and Pulitzer Awards. The plays range from heartwarming romantic comedy to sexy, campy fun, to a powerfully moving look at mothers and daughters trying to navigate the early days of the Women’s Liberation Movement.
“It may be one of our strongest seasons ever,” said artistic director Joy Hawkins. “Excellent stories by excellent writers, cast with top actors who will deeply move and entertain you.”
The season opens with award-winning playwright Steven Dietz’s endearing romantic comedy, “Shooting Star”, a tale of chance encounters, second chances, and how life doesn’t always end up where you’re aiming. It centers on two college lovers who have not seen each other for years, but have a life-altering reunion when they are snowed in overnight at a Midwest airport. As the night gives way to laughter, banter, remembrance, and alcohol, Elena and Reed revisit a past that holds more surprises than they imagined—and a present that neither of them could have predicted. The play will star Key West favorites Dave Bootle and Lauren Thompson, directed by Hawkins.
It was called "…a moving look into that place in our hearts where lost loves still hold sway” by the Los Angeles Times. And the Austin Chronicle said of it, "Stories told this well don't come around very often."
“Shooting Star” will run December 8, 2026 through January 2, 2027. There will be no shows Christmas Eve, Christmas, or New Year’s Eve, but there will be added shows on specific Monday nights – be sure to check the schedule. All shows will curtains at 7 pm.
Next up January 19 through February 20, 2027 will be the over-the-top, very sexy and campy “Dracula: A Comedy of Terrors” by Gordon Greenberg and Steve Rosen, winner of the Best Off-Broadway Play and a Lucille Lortel Nominee. It’s a masterful mash-up of Bram Stoker, Mel Brooks, and Monty Python – a laugh-out-loud, gender-bending romp. The show stars Susannah Wells, Erin McKenna, Phillip Cole White, Jody Orrigo, and Dominic Paolillo, each of them playing several different characters as the show unfolds. It is directed by Mimi McDonald.
“It’s a wild, fun, unpredictable show,” McDonald said. “Each actor creates so many crazy characters, and there are dozens of fast costume changes. The costumes, by the way, are all created by Sushi…they’re amazing.”
The story centers on two sisters, one of whom has “a disease of the blood,” so they enlist vampire hunter Van Helsing to find Dracula to help her. Their hunt for the dangerous and sexy Count abounds with clever wordplay and quick-change antics. It’s a blood-curdling, upside-down take the literary classic.
Called “…a brilliant send-up…a hilariously reimagined take..” by Broadway World. All curtains are at 7:30 pm.
In a real coup for the Barn, the third mainstage show of the season is one of the most lauded shows of this past or any season – “Liberation” by Bess Wohl. Winner of the 2026 Pulitzer Prize and Tony Awards, it’s also garnered accolades from the Dramatists Guild, the Drama Desk Awards, the Outer Critics Circle Awards, and the Lucille Lortel Awards, among almost a dozen others.
The story is set in 1970. Somewhere in Ohio, six women meet on a basement basketball court to form a consciousness-raising group, determined to shake up their lives and change the world. Fifty years later, one of their daughters tries to understand where things fell apart. A provocative, very funny, and wildly theatrical play that poses vital questions about friendship, legacy and the true meaning of liberation, investigating what we inherit, what we forget, and what we’re still fighting to understand, all while being thoroughly entertaining without being preachy, cringey, or on-the-nose.
“Liberation” stars Morgan Fraga Pierson, Lauren Thompson, Cassidy Timms, Fritzie Estimond, Jessica Miano Kruel, Ivy Munnerlyn, Shannon Edwards, and Jack McDonald. It will be directed by Joy Hawkins. It runs March 2 through 20, 2027. Called “An unadulterated pleasure…powerfully moving and funny” by the New York Times. All curtains are at 7:30 pm.
The final production of the season brings back the perennial favorite “Short Attention Span Theatre,” an evening of short, punchy, funny, unpredictable short plays by well-known playwrights, all centered around a central theme. It’s a fast-paced evening featuring a troupe of hilarious actors directed by a stellar group of directors. The 2027 edition will no doubt prove to be provocative and entertaining!
SAST will run March 30 through April 24, 2027, with all curtains at 7:30 pm.
One Special Event is set for this 47th Season as well – Christine Mild returns to the Barn with another new show, “For the Love of Country.” It will run January 5-9, 2027, with showtime at 7:30 pm. Expect Christine’s usual enthusiastic delivery of the best of country music, supported by her always-terrific band.
Tickets for all shows individually for by subscription are available now at redbarntheatre.com. Visit the website for more information.
For Immediate Release
For further information, call: Bob Bowersox at 302-540-6102