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

For Immediate Release

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Photo by: Roberta DePiero

Actors: (l to r) Iain Wilcox, Erin McKenna, Arthur Crocker, Susannah Wells, Jeremy Zoma, Cassidy Timms

There are those who believe our universe – the one our planet and galaxy currently exist within – is but one of many such universes, involving multiple dimensions, overlapping times, and repeating histories. While that concept may be hard to wrap your head around, the Red Barn Theatre in Key West may be able to help.

Their perennial favorite production, “Short Attention Span Theatre”, will return to their stage April 7 – 29, with this year’s theme being “Parallel Universes”. It’s an evening of six eclectic new one-act plays, each of which will take a skewed, often hilarious, look at the world (or universes) we live – or may live -- within.

“They’re all comedic plays, but they’re meaty,” said Mimi McDonald, who is executive producing the show. “They’ll make you laugh, but they’ll also make you think.  They’re about things that could happen, or could be, or that make you wonder about reality. The show’s colorful, lots of cool costumes, lots of good music. It’s a great evening if you’re looking for something fun and out of the ordinary.”

McDonald spent a lot of time finding just the right plays for this year’s show. She researched the best new short plays that have won awards from 2021 and beyond, and took advantage of her relationship with Miami’s City Theatre, which is well-known for their short play roster. Each play McDonald chose has its own world and reality, with characters and situations that not only surprise but are highly entertaining.

“The concept of SAST is good writers, good actors, good directors,” she said. “I wanted new things by published writers. And we found them, for sure…David Ives is always good, and Laurie Allen. It’s hard to pick favorites -- they’re all terrific.”

Once again the entire McDonald theatrical clan – Mimi, husband Gary, daughter Amber, and son Jack – will be behind the scenes directing the various plays and creating the clever sets. They’ll be joined by Key West photographer/playwright Mike Marrero.

“Our kids have grown up in the theater,” McDonald said, “and it’s nice to have the youthful perspective on these particular plays. And Mike’s got a real sense of humor too. The audiences are going to be laughing a lot.”

It’s a rich veteran cast of solid Key West favorites they’ll be directing: Susannah Wells, Erin McKenna, Arthur Crocker, Cassidy Timms, Jeremy Zoma, and Iain Wilcox. Expect them to be pushing the envelope far into the parallel universes.

Tickets for “Short Attention Span Theatre: Parallel Universes” are available at redbarntheatre.com or by calling the Red Barn box office at 305-296-9911. Ticketholders for the Opening Night performance on April 7 will be invited to join the cast and crew for a catered Opening Night Reception in the Zabar Courtyard, catered by Michelle Chennault.

The show is sponsored by Restorative and Aesthetic Dentistry of the Keys, Design Group Key West, and by grants from Culture Builds Florida, and the Monroe County Tourist Development Council.

Theater Review: The Code
RED BARN SHOW RECALLS TINSELTOWN’S TARNISH

by Amy Patton | March 9, 2023

Read Review

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Theater Review: The Code

by Emily Weekley | March 9, 2023

The Red Barn Theater’s newest show this season, The Code, let’s viewers into a pensive experience with its characters in order to contemplate society, change, and the price of being true to oneself. In the theater, the audience is taken back in time to 1950s Hollywood, where the glamorous were coming face-to-face with the tensions of blacklisting. 

Written by Michael McKeever and directed by Christopher Renshaw, The Code references the Hays Code that set moral guidelines on the film industry from 1938 until the late 1960s. The play itself takes place over one intimate evening in 1950 at a cocktail party in the fashionable home of Billy Haines, played by Tom Wahl. The events of the evening serve as a microcosm of the ripple effects of a government’s interference with identity. Tallulah Bankhead is brought to life in all her outspoken glory by Mary Falconer, as she and Haines illustrate the importance of honest, true friendship as they await the arrival of another guest. 

Haines is attempting to live a life true to his sexual identity in a time that, as Bankhead tells the audience, wasn’t kind to homosexuality. Henry Wilson, played by David Black, is a foil to Haines, representing the acceptance of a stifling and sometimes violent and abusive culture. Wilson is intense and stiff, and Black inhabits the role in such a way as to make the audience appalled by a way of life common to the era and despicable to confront. Haines is, on the other hand, inspiring and steadfast, and Wahl balances the authority, modesty, and sensitivity of the character well. This all unfolds as the impressionable young Chad Manford, played by Carlos Ortega Amorin, observes the two paths from which he can choose to follow, represented by Wilson and Haines. Manford is confused, impressionable, and thinks he is on the cusp of realizing an impossible dream.

The stage evokes immediate nostalgia for the period, its black-and-white checkered floors, black walls, white lamps and frames, glass bar cart, and white, fur-covered settee. This color palette is cut only by the striking red of roses and the dress worn by Bankhead and designed by Gary R. Marion. As the rest of the cast dons black, white, and grey, the set becomes a metaphor for the false dichotomy that the enforcement of the moral codes of the era was. 

As a viewer, the venue and all of the elements of the play come together to make you feel as if you are really at this intimate gathering, which can at once be uncomfortable and delightful. While moments of the plot are disheartening, the show’s message is unavoidably hopeful: people like Haines were living a life that would one day, perhaps the day you will walk into when you exit the theater after the play, become a story that may inspire real, permanent change. 

The Code runs March 7th – 25th at the Red Barn Theater at 319 Duval Street (in back). You can get your tickets at redbarntheatre.com or by calling the box office, open from 3:00–5:00p.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: (l to r) Tom Wahl, Mary Falconer, David Black, Carlos Ortega Amorin

It’s true: the more things change, the more they stay the same. Or, since we’re in today’s Florida, it might be more relevant to say that no matter the strides we’ve made over the years, there’s always someone who sees the old ways as preferable.

While playwright Michael McKeever may not have set out to write a play that resonates so vibrantly with what many in our community are struggling against today, his latest play, “The Code”, running March 7-25 at Key West’s Red Barn Theatre, does just that. Written about Hollywood in the 1950’s, it is most certainly germane to the LGBTQ issues that have arisen in today’s Southernmost State.

The play is set in the stylish home of Billy Haines, an actual silent film megastar who left the film business for personal reasons that become apparent as the story unfolds. Haines, now a successful interior designer, has invited a few friends for cocktails before they head out to a dinner party at famed director George Cukor’s house. Those friends include the glamorous and unfiltered film star Tallulah Bankhead; the oily and unpleasant agent, Henry Willson; and Willson’s latest find (and love interest) – aspiring young actor Chad Manford.

As the evening unfolds, it becomes clear that the “Code” which quickly dominates the conversation refers to the surreptitious rules that Hollywood has imposed to govern the way anyone LBGTQ has to behave in order to have a career and hope to succeed in Tinseltown. It’s a 1950’s version of “Don’t Ask, Don’t Tell” seasoned with some “never admit” and a lot of “deny who you are and live a lie or go home”. To be gay in an industry policed by the Legion of Decency, the Hayes Code, and the House Un-American Activities Committee can not only get you labeled a deviant and a subversive, but it’s without doubt a death knell for a career on the silver screen.

McKeever’s skill with witty, very funny banter mixes perfectly with his ability to take a look at history from a different perspective. He channels Bankhead’s famous cutting wit, and nails the blackhearted Svengali a compromised agent can be. The play elicits its full share of laugh-out-loud moments in the way it looks at Old Hollywood and it’s foibles, but in the era of Florida’s “Don’t Say Gay” and overt attempts at marginalization of the LGBTQ community, it has serious moments of resonance to modern times that cannot be missed.

The play stars South Florida favorite Tom Wahl as Haines, Key West favorites Mary Falconer as Bankhead and David Black as Willson, and showcases newcomer Carlos Ortega Amorin as Manford. It will be directed by Christopher Renshaw, the accomplished British director who helmed the World Premiere of the play last year. Renshaw has a Tony nomination and a couple of Drama Desk Awards for his play direction, and will be directing a new play based on the life of Louis Armstrong next year on Broadway. It’s a coup to have him directing here in Key West.

Tickets for “The Code” can be purchased at redbarntheatre.com or by calling the Red Barn box office at 305-296-9911. Ticketholders for Opening Night, March 7, are invited to remain after the show for the Opening Night party, where they can mingle with the cast and crew and enjoy a light nosh.

The play is sponsored in part by Royal Furniture, Design Group Key West, Culture Builds Florida, and the Monroe County Tourist Development Council.

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