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Cast of Short Attention Span Theatre: “Alternative Facts”

There’s an old saying in theater: “When you find a gem, let it shine.”

Key West’s Red Barn Theatre found such a gem over a decade ago, and they’ve been letting it shine in most of their seasons since. It’s called “Short Attention Span Theatre”, and it’s proven to be one of the most popular shows the theater offers each year. This season will be no different.

It’s a simple concept – pick a mixed slate of funny, powerful, poignant, or simply off-the-wall short plays and populate them with some of the area’s top comedic talent, then string them together for an evening of stellar fun. Each year, the Red Barn’s resident family – the McDonalds – find six or seven wonderful new plays and pull them together under a title that relates to them all. This year’s theme: “Alternative Facts”, which anyone will agree, certainly is relevant to the times.

“One of the things I love most about Short Attention Span Theatre (SAST),” said the Red Barn’s Managing Director Mimi McDonald, “is that it gives us the opportunity to explore a number of different voices and new playwrights in one show. And it seems to many of us that the human condition is evolving right now, and these playwrights are noticing that and commenting on what’s happening in a very comedic way. And we have such great comedic actors all doing a variety of very funny characters in this one.”

This year’s rendition of SAST will star Erin McKenna, Mathias Maloff, Cassidy Timms, Nina Pilar, and Zach Franchini. They appear in various combinations during the evening of eclectic plays that focus on characters who are in conflict with larger forces – from a catering job for an engagement party with a missing bride; a chance meeting on the Golden Gate Bridge; two audience members who insist on world premieres; a fiancé is put to the test when she meets her possible in-laws; and two FBI agents who interrogate a newscaster when a newsroom is hijacked.

“It’s a fast, fun evening,” said McDonald, “but there’s a message or two in there as well.”

As they do every year, the entire McDonald family shepherds this show to the stage, with each of them directing, building sets, handling the tech, and more. Along with Mimi are her husband Gary, and their two (now adult) children, Amber and Jack.

“We’ve been a theater family for more than 45 years,” Mimi said. “It’s in our blood, and we have such a great time working together on this show. It’s always a big hit.” Or to put it another way – it’s a gem.

Tickets for “Short Attention Span Theatre: Alternative Facts” are available at KeysTix.com, redbarntheatre.com, or by calling the box office at 305-296-9911. Note that all curtain times are 7:30 pm.

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Michael Castellano and Jessica Miano Kruel | Photo by Roberta DePiero

It’s been said that chance meetings are often an aphrodisiac moment out of which true love may bloom. That doesn’t guarantee it will be an easy germination, of course…just that there’s an outside chance for an acceptable blossom.

Playwright John Patrick Shanley endearingly lets us watch such a flowering in his latest play, “Brooklyn Laundry”, running March 4-29 at the Red Barn Theatre in Key West. Shanley, author of the romantic megahit “Moonstruck”, is a master of the charming, imperfect love story, and this play fits his model well.

“Brooklyn Laundry” is about three sisters and a guy who runs a laundry in that New York borough. Fran is a single woman and bone-tired of being so, whose sisters each have their own crosses to bear. Trish is dealing with a threatening illness, and Susie with a dissolving marriage, and each of them is turning to Fran, who is feeling overwhelmed with it all.

Then one day, Fran takes a bag of laundry to the cleaners in her building and runs into the owner, Owen, whose sweetly gruff adorability breaks through her protective barriers and sparks something between them. Owen, too, has had to deal with some unexpected twists in his life, but he uncharacteristically rises to and goes with the moment, asking Fran to dinner. From there on, Shanley takes us on an utterly charming and very funny ride into a story of two people trying to find balance in their lives despite the bumps that come their way.

The Red Barn production stars a quartet of top local actors, including Jessica Miano Kruel, Michael Castellano, Donna Stabile, and Lauren Thompson. It is directed by Joy Hawkins, the Barn’s artistic director.

“It’s a beautiful play,” Hawkins said, “nicely written, funny, tender, and heartwarming. It does deal with some situations we sometimes have to deal with in life, and it might bring some tears here and there, but you’ll leave the theater feeling really good. It’s very life-affirming, with characters you can really root for.”

The New York Times called the play “Utterly charming.” The New York Theatre Guide said, “Forget the dating apps – maybe the laundromat is the place to find your next great love…”.

Tickets are available at KeysTix.com, or at redbarntheatre.com. For more information, call the box office at 305-296-9911. All shows for the March 4-29 run are at 7:30 pm. The production is sponsored in part by Florida Arts and Culture, and the Monroe County Tourist Development Council.

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Mariah Woessner and Susannah Wells | Photo by Roberta DePiero

Everyone loves a good mystery. And who better to confound us with one than Sir Arthur Conan Doyle, who then sends his most famous detective, Sherlock Holmes, to unravel even the most convoluted of mysteries for us?

Ah, but there’s a hilarious rub in all of this! In the Red Barn Theatre’s latest offering of their 45th remarkable season – “Ms. Holmes, Ms. Watson, Apt. 2B”, running January 28 through February 22 – we are presented with a tale that cheerfully desecrates the stories of Conan Doyle in a most unusual and very funny way.

Because in Kate Hamill’s energetic play, the world’s most famous detective is a frazzled female police consultant whose dazzling deductions astound everyone. She takes on a new roommate – a wayward American who Holmes determines is running from a past where she used to be a doctor and needs a little help and refocusing. Portrayed as a deeply co-dependent, quasi-dysfunctional Odd Couple, this duo proceeds into a fast-paced and wildly entertaining romp through multiple violent crimes that all seem to lead to notorious villains.

The pair solve a variety of these crimes, from the murder of a man found in a motel to the case of a right-wing politician who cheated on his wife. It’s a blend of classic theater and modern comedy that balances mystery with laugh-out-loud humor, playfully dismantling and, at the same time, celebrating the conventions of Conan Doyle’s stories.

“We’re really having a good time,“ said director Mimi McDonald. “The intimacy of the Red Barn allows the audience to take the ride with the actors. At the heart of it is a real mystery, with twists and turns, and a few real surprises. We know the audience is going to have a ball solving the mystery right along with us.”

Susannah Wells, one of Key West’s best comedic actresses, stars as Ms. Sherlock Holmes, and Mariah Woessner is the perfect complement as Ms./Doctor Watson. Joining them and playing a number of unexpected and mysterious/villainous characters are Arthur Crocker and Morgan Fraga Pierson, both no slouches when it comes to comedic chops.

”One thing I’m sure everyone will love are the costumes,” said McDonald, who commissioned iconic Key West costumer Gary Marion – better known as Sushi – to create original costumes for the play. “They’re really something – a kind of apocalyptic theme and a warrior vibe, that adds another whole dimension to the story.”

Called “…laugh-out-loud funny, incredibly clever, inherently theatrical, and a delight from start to finish..” and “…sharp, playful, and moves at a rapid-fire pace…” by the Portland Monthly, “Ms. Holmes, Ms. Watson, Apt. 2B” is a great way to spend an evening deducting, finding clues, and solving mysteries. The game’s afoot!

Running January 28 through February 22. All curtains are at 7:30 pm. Tickets at keystix.com. For more information, call the Red Barn box office at 305-296-9911.

Sponsored in part by the William L. Monroe III Foundation, and the Monroe County Tourist Development Council.

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Vocalist Christine Mild, who has wowed Red Barn audiences for the last several years with her “Always, Patsy Cline” and “Women of Country Music” shows, will be returning to the Barn January 15-18 with her brand new show, “A Little Bit Country, A Little Bit Rock ‘n’ Roll.” All show times are 7:30 pm.

While Mild’s heart has always rested in country music, she says she always tries to bring “a little something new” to each of her stops in Key West, and this year will be no different.

“I’ll never stray too far from country music, of course,” Mild said, “but with this new show, we’re going to be expanding the boundaries a little bit, which has been happening in the music business over the last couple of years, with Dolly Parton releasing a rock album, and Beyonce and Lady Gaga releasing country albums. The lines are getting blurred and an awful lot of good music is coming out.”

Mild said she’ll still be featuring country touchstones, focusing on female artists like Faith Hill, Carrie Underwood, Jody Messina, and Shania Twain, but “we’ll be adding in friends like Bonnie Raitt, Linda Ronstadt, Patty Smith, and even some Heart. It’s all great music.”

And as usual, Mild will have a kickin’ band with her, featuring her regular sidemen – Jim Rice on keyboards, Gary Rivenson on bass, and Gary McDonald on drums. But she’s expanding the group for this show with some top-level name players. She’s bringing in British guitarist Matt Backer, who’s played with a number of top recording artists. And one of her best friends, Chicago vocalist Erin Parker, will be on stage to add the extra dimension of another female voice for harmonies. The sound will be bigger and richer, more a concert event than a small group.

“I always want to bring Key West something new, and this is going to be an awesome show, given all the new pieces in the band and the music that we’ll be doing. You’re going to know a lot of this music, but we’ll surprise you with a few new things I know you’re going to like.”

Tickets are available now for the best seats at keystix.com or redbarntheatre.com. For more information, visit the website or call 305-296-9911. Remember that all shows at the Red Barn now have a curtain time of 7:30 pm. Sponsored in part by William L. and Pattye Monroe III, and the Monroe Country Tourist Development Council.

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

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Key West’s venerable Red Barn Theatre opens its 45th season literally with a bang and a houseful of laughs when it presents a new production of Larry Shue’s hilarious, award-winning “The Foreigner”, opening Wednesday, December 18th and running through January 11 next year. All shows will be at the theater’s new curtain time of 7:30 pm.

The season also marks a milestone for the Red Barn’s Mimi and Gary McDonald and Joy Hawkins, who have guided the small but well-respected playhouse for all of its nearly half a century, an accomplishment rarely achieved in today’s theatrical landscape. Notables who have worked with them at the Barn through the years include Tennessee Williams, Shel Silverstein, Tony Roberts, Paul Cotton, Terri White, and a dozen other names that have made their larger marks in the entertainment industry.

“We’re really excited about this upcoming forty-fifth season,” said Joy Hawkins, the Barn’s artistic director. “It’s an eclectic and surprising season -- funny and deep and particularly right for these times. “

“The Foreigner”, winner of two Obie Awards and the Outer Critics Circle Award, uses the clever conceit of the audience knowing more than the characters on stage to create its fun, while also weaving in rich elements of suspense and a little mystery as the story plays out.

The scene is a fishing lodge in rural Georgia often visited by “Froggy” LeSueur, a British demolition expert who occasionally runs training sessions at a nearby army base. This time Froggy has brought along a friend, a pathologically shy man named Charlie who is overcome with fear at the thought of making conversation with strangers. So before departing, Froggy tells all assembled that Charlie is from an exotic foreign country and speaks no English. Once alone, the fun really begins, as Charlie overhears more than he should from those who feel secure he doesn’t understand a word being said. That he does fuels the nonstop hilarity of the play and sets up the wildly funny climax in which things go uproariously awry for the bad guys, and the good guys emerge triumphant.

“The Foreigner” stars David Black, Chase Naylor, Cassidy Timms, Thomas Masat, Brian Robinson, and Iain Wilcox. It will be directed by Joe Kinosian, who Key West theater buffs will remember as the writer and star of “Murder For Two”, the outrageous and very funny two-man show that played the Red Barn in 2017. Kinosian, invited by artistic director Joy Hawkins to return and direct this opening show, is thrilled to be back in Key West.

“It’s a hilarious and very funny play – probably one of the funniest ever written,” Kinosian said, “but it’s also one of the most moving stories I’ve seen. The audience will be surprised by how much they like the characters and are rooting for them against all odds. It’s one of a kind.”

The New Yorker said “The Foreigner is once comic surprise after another.” And The Village Voice said of the play, “It’s a constant invitation to laugh at the foolishness of life.”

Subscriptions and single show tickets are now on sale for “The Foreigner” and the Red Barn’s entire season at KeysTix.com, redbarntheatre.com, or by calling the box office at 302-296-9911.

Be aware that for this new season, the Red Barn has set curtain time at 7:30 pm for all shows.