Theater Review: Flaming Guns of the Purple Sage

by Emily Berg

Theater has the power to transport us to new and exciting places. When the lights go down on the house and come up on the stage we could find ourselves anywhere. The Red Barn Theater is aptly situated for this. Tucked off Duval, down the long path behind the Woman’s Club, the entrance to this playhouse always feels special to me. Like a secret hideaway where anything could happen. And it does in Flaming Guns of the Purple Sage. This eccentric comedy will transport you just about as far from Key West as possible. 

The play takes place on a ranch outside of Casper, Wyoming where the accents are thick and the cheap beer is flowing. Our hero, Big 8, is a former rodeo star spending the next phase of her life healing broken cowboys in exchange for their companionship. It’s a quiet rainy night on the ranch with her latest project, Rob Bob, when a knock on the door reveals a small pink haired, punk of a girl on the run from psycho. The drama unfolds from there and the audience is taken on a journey as a cast of characters, who think they’ve already seen everything add another story to their arsenal of campfire tales.

The play is very funny. The characters are extreme and the acting is wonderful. George DiBraud is a steady force as Big 8. DiBraud’s chemistry with Susannah Wells as Sheril, Big 8’s sister gives the production a wonderful warmth. Each cast member brings a charm and relatability to the otherwise unhinged group.

The dialogue is fast paced and the physical comedy nonstop. At any given moment there’s a lot happening on stage but the goal of each character is well voiced so I found it easy to track.

The characters are so severe and the story so offbeat it’s possible to get caught up in the details. As an example I found my mind swirling for meaning from a small moment when a can of Pabst Blue Ribbon is referred to as a “local beer”. Anyone in the audience visiting from Milwaukee make take exception to the Wyoming crew claiming the cheap beer. But I couldn’t help but wonder ‘is this a red herring?’ With all of the outlandish antics unfolding before me that little moment felt intentional.

I found there to be many moments like this throughout the play and I believe they enhanced the experience. My advice would be to not over-think it. Sit back, enjoy the ride and let this play give the best gift theater can offer: entrance to a world unlike your own. 

Flaming Guns of the Purple Sage runs now through February 25 at the Red Barn Theater. Tickets are still available at redbarntheater.com

Theater Review: Flaming Guns of the Purple Sage

by Emily Weekley

Yeehaw!

Flaming Guns of the Purple Sage has opened at the Red Barn Theater and is ready to take you on a wild ride. If you are up for a ropin’-and-ridin’, guns-a-balzin’, hilarious good time, you won’t wait to high-tail it down to the box office.

Written by Jane Martin, a playwright cloaked in mystery and believed to actually be playwright Jon Jory under a pseudonym, Flaming Guns of the Purple Sage is a Western satire with all the dramatic elements you would expect: cowboys, impending ranch foreclosure, unexpected affairs, and Chekhov’s gun in the first act. This is the latest of several of Martin’s plays that have been produced by the Red Barn over the years, and a terrifically fun choice for the audience on the part of director Joy Hawkins.

The stage is configured as a kitchen and dining room, adorned on the brown walls with posters from the classic John Wayne-era Westerns on one side and posters from the rodeo circuit on the other. Details like crushed PBR cans, a shotgun rack, big shining belt buckles, and cowboy tchotchkes create an atmosphere that foreshadows both the characters and situation that the audience enters as the exposition begins drenched in the sounds of the thunderstorm outside.

But it’s not just the weather that has a storm brewing; the point-of-attack has the twitchy Shedevil thundering into the kitchen where former rodeo rider Big 8 and cowboy Rob Bob are discussing the challenges facing them, a foreclosure and an injury, respectively. Shedevil is not from around these parts, and it shows. As she stirs up drama in the middle of the night, it is only the beginning of the cyclone that has followed her to town, bringing with it gruesome scenes set against the folks of the rodeo circuit.

George DiBraud delivers the perfect down-and-out cowgirl who is trying to cling to a life wherein chapters are closing with little certainty of what might be next. Both DiBraud and Iain Wilcox, who plays the young, dreamy-eyed, naïve rodeo rider Rob Bob, impressively deliver a dialogue the discourse of which is fast-paced and challenging and that draws the audience right into that rural home on the range. Cassidy Timms as Shedevil uses the entire stage to convey the nervousness, scheming, and desperation of the stranger who’s come to town. Susanna Wells plays Shirl, Big 8’s sister, and delivers comedic lines so perfectly timed that the audience finds itself delighted throughout the action, and the conveyed charm of the character distracts completely from the grisly happenings onstage. Together, these actors seem so well choreographed that the intensity of the rising action is seamless, a notable feat for a play where the action keeps the viewers perpetually on their toes.

Supporting cast members Mathias Maloff as Black Dog, Tim Dahms as Baxter Blue, and Jack McDonald as Memphis Donnie Pride add layers and comedic value to the impediments that cut into the action bringing new layers of challenge to that kitchen in Wyoming.

Don’t miss your chance to see Flaming Guns of the Purple Sage – you will be grateful for the good time. This play runs through February 25th at the Red Barn Theater at 319 Duval Street (in back). Get your tickets at redbarntheatre.com or by calling the box office, open from 3:00 – 5:00 p.m. on weekdays, at 305-296-9911.

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

For Immediate Release

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Photo by: Roberta DePiero

Actors: (back row, l to r): Jack McDonald, Iain Wilcox, and Mathias Maloff | (front row, l to r): George DiBraud, Susannah Wells, Tim Dahms, and Cassidy Timms

Imagine Hopalong Cassidy trying to date Carrie, or Miss Kitty chasing Chuckie around the corral with a meat cleaver in an Addams Family version of “Gunsmoke,” and you may get close to the outrageous fun and outright craziness awaiting you in the Red Barn’s next production.

“Flaming Guns of the Purple Sage”, written by the always-hilarious and rapier-sharp Jane Martin (“Says She”), opens January 31 and runs Tuesdays through Saturdays through February 25. It’s a preposterous mash-up of B-movie westerns and C-movie horror flicks that will literally have you laughing until you cry, even while you’re sitting in disbelief at what you’re seeing on stage.

“I just love its audacity,” said director Joy Hawkins. “It’s unlike anything I’ve ever directed before. It’s full of macabre people you love and hate at the same time. We can’t get through a rehearsal without laughing ‘til our sides ache.”

Without giving away too much (because the surprises are everything in this tale), “Flaming  Guns” tells the story of Big 8, a retired rodeo star who’s trying to keep her home from being foreclosed on. Living with her is Rob Bob, a rising young rodeo star (think more Gomer Pyle than John Wayne). Into this household comes SheDevil (her choice of name) who is pregnant by Big 8’s ne’er-do-well son, Lucifer Lee. But SheDevil is being hunted down by her very angry Ukrainian biker boyfriend, Black Dog, and when he shows up, things really begin to get interesting.

“Be aware,” Hawkins said, “that there is, indeed, a lot of violence and blood and sex all mixed in, but it’s done in a very farcical and satirical way. Be advised -- it’s definitely for adults…I wouldn’t bring the kids. But it’s a very cleverly-written send-up of those old B-movie Westerns and horror flicks. This is all fun and laughs about how crazy – in a very funny way -- human beings can be.”

The play stars a terrific mix of Key West’s best comedic actors, including George DiBraud, Susannah Wells, Mathias Maloff, Tim Dahms, Cassidy Timms, Iain Wilcox, and Jack McDonald. Hawkins directs and Carmen Rodriguez will be designed the western duds.

Curtain Up called it “a crowd-pleaser that keeps the audience howling”. The Courier-Journal calls it “hilarious and rip-snortin’”, and Concord Theatricals dubs it a “shoot ‘em up, knock ‘em up, cut ‘em up comic romp.”

Tickets are available now at redbarntheatre.com or by calling 305-296-9911. Sponsored in party by the Smith Law Firm, Culture Builds Florida, and the Monroe County Tourist Development Council.

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

For Immediate Release

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As Key West’s Red Barn Theatre steps into their remarkable 43rd consecutive season of professional theater in the southernmost city, they’ll be celebrating that milestone with one of their biggest parties ever and you’re invited.

“Big Night Out – The Party”, is shaping up to be one of the Red Barn’s grandest evenings and will feature special performances by some of Key West’s favorite musical stars, including Randy Roberts, Christine Mild, and Jim Rice.

Set for Sunday, January 15th, the festivities will run 6 – 9 pm at the Oldest House, 322 Duval Street in Key West. Tickets are available now at redbarntheatre.com/tickets.

“We’re known for giving great parties,” said Mimi McDonald, managing director of the Barn. “We’ll be in the new, extensively renovated Oldest House on Duval, and have some tasty drinks and food planned. We’re pulling out all the stops to make it a glittering theatre party.”

Providing the special entertainment for the evening will be a trio of musical stars. Key West star Randy Roberts will make an appearance, accompanied by pianist/arranger Jim Rice, as will Red Barn favorite Christine Mild, well-known for her performances as Patsy Cline in the popular “Always, Patsy Cline” productions at the theater.

“I’ll be doing some Patsy Cline teasers,” said Mild, “and lace in some other feel-good tunes that are fun and entertaining for that kind of event. But I’m really looking forward to also working up some things with Randy. We’ve been friends for years but have never had the chance to work together. It will be very special.”

“It will definitely be fun,” Roberts added. “We’ll have a good time.”

Destination Catering will be providing a tantalizing array of tapas-style small plates for the evening, and the Red Barn is providing an Open Bar for all attendees. In addition to the appearances by Roberts and Mild, music will be provided by theatrical music arranger Jim Rice.

A Silent Auction is also planned for partiers to peruse, which will include Staycation Packages, Restaurant Packages, and a special auction of a Mario Sanchez painting.

“Big Night Out – The Party” is the annual fundraiser for the Red Barn, one of the theater’s more important sources for the funding needed to continue providing the high-quality theater they do. Ticket sales to shows only provide a portion of the annual operating expenses, so evenings like this are important to the ongoing health of the theater.

“It’s a wonderful way to show your support,” said Michelle Chennault, a Red Barn Board member and chairperson of the Big Night Out planning committee, “and you’ll have a glamorous time as well. We look forward to entertaining you.”

The Red Barn Theatre is a 501.c.3 non-profit organization.

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

For Immediate Release

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In the 21st Century’s fast-paced digital culture, the personal letter, handwritten on fine stationery from one person to another, has all but disappeared -- become a lost art few seldom indulge in anymore. Emails, texts, Tweets, Instagrams, connection apps – these are the main means of communication between people in a world increasingly dominated by the code of a metaverse we no longer actually touch.

Perhaps this was on the mind of playwright Ken Ludwig when he sat down last year to pen his Helen Hayes Award Winning play, “Dear Jack, Dear Louise.” Because the heart of the play is about just that – personal, handwritten letters that passed between a World War II Army doctor and a Broadway starlet working at the Stage Door Canteen in New York during the war. And they’re not just any letters – these were epistles that formed the joyous, heartwarming story of Ludwig’s parents’ long-distance courtship and eventual marriage.

“Dear Jack, Dear Louise” is set to make its South Florida debut December 20th as the opening production of the Red Barn’s 43rd Season in Key West, with a run that goes through January 14th of 2023. It will star Key West favorites Jessica Miano Kruel as Louise Rabiner, an aspiring actress and dancer in New York, and Cody Borah as Captain Jack Ludwig, a military doctor then stationed in Oregon. The Barn’s Artistic Director, Joy Hawkins, will direct.

“It’s a good, old-fashioned story,” Hawkins said. “And I think it’s special to have such an unabashed love story in these times. It takes you back. And it’s pertinent right now as we’re dealing with war in the world. It’s sweet, it’s funny, but it’s also real – these were real people, living real lives, and we’re privileged to watch how they managed to fall in love under such circumstances.”

Ludwig and Rabiner, living on opposite sides of the country in 1942, strike up a correspondence at the urging of their parents, who were old friends. They find a rapport right away – he encouraging her with auditions, she commiserating over his hardass commanding officer. It’s not all fun and games, though, as the ugly situation in the world encroaches on their connection.

The show isn’t schmaltzy either, in great part due to the way it’s staged, with the two characters on stage together but separately – he in his world on one side of the stage, and she in hers on the other. The beauty of the play is in the way the characters build chemistry in front of the audience’s eyes without ever looking at one another. And they’re not reading the letters – they’re living the words we understand they wrote.

“It’s captivating to watch,” Hawkins said. “We’re not sure they’ll ever get together, but it’s a beautiful ending. I hope the audience will feel connected to their own experiences, and maybe those of their own parents.”

The Washington Post said the play is “…a poignant, funny tribute to the enduring power of human connection.” The Lit Arts Maven said, “One of the finest theatre experiences I have had in 25 years of reviewing.”

“Dear Jack, Dear Louise” runs December 20 – January 14, excepting Christmas Eve and Christmas, and New Year’s Eve and New Year’s Day. Tickets are available at redbarntheatre.com/tickets or by calling 305-296-9911, 3-5 pm weekdays.

The Red Barn season is sponsored in part by the Monroe County Tourist Development Council, and the State of Florida Division of Cultural Affairs.