THE THANKSGIVING PLAY
THE THANKSGIVING PLAY
 
 

March 5 - March 30, 2024

Written By: Larissa FastHorse

Shows: Tuesdays-Saturdays at 8pm

 

A group of terminally "woke" teaching artists scramble to create a pageant that somehow celebrates both Turkey Day and Native American Heritage Month. A hilarious, clever and delicious roasting of good intentions and absurd assumptions.

Starring: Elena Devers, Arthur Crocker, Jeremy Zoma, & Nina Pilar

From Left to Right: Elena Devers, Arthur Crocker, Director Mimi McDonald, Jeremy Zoma, Nina Pilar

RED BARN’S “THE THANKSGIVING PLAY” TAKES A HILARIOUS ‘WOKE’ LOOK AT OUR ICONIC HISTORY

We hear a lot about “wokeness” in the heady world of national politics these days. It’s usually pretty serious stuff, with each side slamming the other for either having too much of it, or not having enough. But what happens when you bring that thorny issue down to the common earth of everyday people?

Well, we’re about to find out in a very funny way when Key West’s Red Barn Theatre stages “The Thanksgiving Play” as the third mainstage production of their remarkable 44th season. The show opens March 5 and will run Tuesdays to Saturdays through the 30th.

The play was written by Larissa Fasthorse, a member of the Sicangu Lakota Nation, and the first female Native American playwright to have a show on Broadway when it premiered at the Helen Hayes Theatre in New York. It won a Drama League Award in 2023.

It’s a simple premise: a group of white theater nerds meet in an elementary school classroom to put together a dramatic rendition of the Thanksgiving story for their young students – the one we’ve always been told about the Pilgrims and the “Indians” and the turkey and the corn. But when the supposed Indigenous professional actress they hire turns out to be anything but, everything plunges headlong into hilarious absurdity as the hopelessly woke whites try to fashion a play that ultimately has nothing to do with the actual unsavory history of that occasion, and is completely devoid of any insight into a Native American perspective on it.

“It’s very funny,” said director Mimi McDonald. “It brings home how we really don’t know what to do with what actual history – as opposed to the glossed-up stories – tells us really happened. The takeaway is that we’re all just trying to figure things out, and it can get really funny and absurd as we do.”

Fasthorse herself has said she hopes the audience – while entertained by the laughter – will walk away with more questions than answers. But the main point she wants to cut through the laughter is this: “Doing nothing is not adequate anymore,” she says. “Stepping away because it’s too complicated can no longer be considered a part of any kind of solution.” This sentiment is brought to side-splitting life in her show’s audacious climax, which, for the sake of not spoiling the hilarity of it, will not be revealed here.

Entertainment Weekly said the play is “…a good dark comedy that makes you laugh, makes you think, makes you mad, makes your brain explode.” The Hollywood Reporter called it “Very, very funny…”.

Tickets are available at redbarntheatre.com or by calling 305-296-9911 and are already selling quickly. Ticketholders for the March 5 Opening Night will be invited to a catered Opening Night reception with the cast and crew.

“The Thanksgiving Play” is sponsored in part by Key West Compass Realty – Keller Williams, Culture Builds Florida, and the Monroe County Tourist Development Council.

Susannah Wells
POTUS: Or, Behind Every Great Dumbass Are Seven Women Trying To Keep Him Alive
POTUS: Or, Behind Every Great Dumbass Are Seven Women Trying To Keep Him Alive
 
 

January 30 - February 24, 2024

Written By: Selina Fillinger

Shows: Tuesdays-Saturdays at 8pm

NOTICE ABOUT POTUS: This very funny play has language that is irreverent, bawdy, racy, sexual, smutty and gleefully filthy.

 

One four-letter word is about to rock the White House into a global crisis. Seven brilliant and beleaguered women risk life and sanity to keep POTUS out of trouble in this gleefully filthy and outrageously funny farce. A recent Broadway smash hit!

Starring:
George diBraud as Harriet, his chief of staff
Lauren Thompson as Jean, his press secretary
Jessica Miano Kruel as Stephanie, his secretary
Susannah Wells as Dusty, his dalliance
Annie Miners as Bernadette, his sister
Fritzie Estimond as Chris, a journalist
Lynne Casamayor as Margaret, his wife, The First Lady

Stage Manager: Rex Pierson

Cast of POTUS: Fritzie Estimond, George diBraud, Annie Miners, Lynne Casamayor, Jessica Miano Kruel, Lauren Thompson, & Susannah Wells

Cast of POTUS: Fritzie Estimond, George diBraud, Annie Miners, Lynne Casamayor, Jessica Miano Kruel, Lauren Thompson, & Susannah Wells

RED BARN’S “POTUS” IS ONE VERY FUNNY FEMALE-DRIVEN TOUR-DE-FORCE

It would be hard to deny that politics in this day and age has pretty much distilled itself down into a daily dose of outright farce. Just turn on any TV news channel for five minutes, and it’s obvious. Things are out of control.

So it makes perfect sense that Selina Fillinger, one of the brilliant writers for Apple TV’s mega-hit, “The Morning Show” – a very funny and caustic skewering of cable TV news -- would turn her eye and pen to the focus of a lot of that news: the Oval Office and the creatures that inhabit it.

The result is the very funny “POTUS: Or Behind Every Great Dumbass Are Seven Women Trying To Keep Him Alive,” a hilarious cross between “Saturday Night Live” and “Veep”.

Fillinger’s very funny, all female-driven play will plunge the Red Barn Theatre stage into political chaos January 30 through February 24. The show will feature a Who’s Who of Key West’s top female actors, including George DiBraud, Jessica Miano Kruel, Susannah Wells, Lauren Thompson, Annie Miners, Lynne Casamayor, and Fritzie Estimond. It will be directed by the Barn’s artistic director, Joy Hawkins.

One of the cleverest conceits of the play is that we never see the President. We only hear about the PR nightmare he’s managed to spin into a global crisis. And it’s up to the seven brilliant and beleaguered women he relies upon most to risk their lives, their liberty, and their sanity to keep the Commander-in-Chief out of trouble.

There’s the super-sophisticated First Lady; the President’s sister (newly released from prison and the White House’s unofficial drug dealer); a pushy White House correspondent pursuing an interview with FLOTUS; POTUS’s meek secretary unable to cope with any of it; an outspoken, sexually-liberated young woman from a farming community who shows up and happens to have a surprising (though predictable) connection to the President; and that’s just for starters. Add in a press secretary and a Chief of Staff, and the mix gets quite volatile.

All these women are strong, opinionated characters, and Fillinger has them demonstrating that women in politics can be every bit as crass, brazen, bold, and – yes – deviant as the men in the halls of power. They are competent women cleaning up after incompetent men. And the result is just flat-out hilarious, filled with witty zingers and good, off-color fun – just what you’d expect from a writer of Fillinger’s abilities.

One important caveat: Be aware that Fillinger is not shy about using raw, crude language in her play. It’s salty, suggestive, and may be offensive to some audience members. But if you’ve already heard it all, you should be fine.

POTUS was written in the aftermath of the Trump years and reflects much of the chaos of that time. It was nominated in several categories in both the Drama League Awards and the Tony Awards in 2022. The Washington Post said, “The votes have been tabulated.  POTUS…is a winner!” The NY Times called it “Gleeful…a rough and tumble feminist comedy.”

Tickets for “POTUS: Or Behind Every Great Dumbass Are Seven Women Trying To Keep Him Alive” are available at redbarntheatre.com or by calling 305-296-9911. The production is sponsored in part by Sugar Loaf Lodge, Michelle Grahl of Key West Compass Realty – Keller Williams, Culture Builds Florida, and the Monroe County Tourist Development Council.

Susannah Wells
A TUNA CHRISTMAS
A TUNA CHRISTMAS
 
 

December 19, 2023 - January 13, 2024

Written By: Jaston Williams, Joe Sears & Ed Howard

Shows: Tuesdays-Saturdays at 8pm

 

In the third-smallest town in Texas, radio station OKKK news personalities report on Yuletide activities.The hilarity never lets up in this comedic romp for all seasons featuring many colorful Tuna denizens played by two very funny actors.

Starring: Brandon Beach & David Black

Susannah Wells
SHORT ATTENTION SPAN THEATRE: PARALLEL UNIVERSES
SHORT ATTENTION SPAN THEATRE: PARALLEL UNIVERSES
 
 

April 7 - 29, 2023

Collection of Short Plays

Shows: Tuesdays-Saturdays at 8pm

 

One of our always-popular favorites, “Short Attention Span Theatre, 2023” — The funny and fast-paced evening is filled with pertinent and hilarious short plays, helmed by a group of directors guiding a big handful of favorite Key West actors. You never know what you’ll see next at SAST!

The Red Barn Journeys to “Parallel Universes” in Short Attention Span Theatre

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.

group of men and women in costumes amazing staring into glowing globe

“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.

Susannah Wells
THE CODE
THE CODE
 
 
the code play graphic

March 7 - 25, 2023

Written By: Michael McKeever

Shows: Tuesdays-Saturdays at 8pm

 

Michael McKeever’s new play, “The Code” will grace the Red Barn stage March 7-25, as McKeever revisits one of his favorite subjects, Hollywood. It’s 1950, and Billy Haines, Henry Wilson, Tallulah Bankhead, and a beautiful young man have gathered for cocktails, caviar, and all-out war. With great humor and stinging insight, “The Code” explores the hypocrisy of what it takes to be a man in the land of make-believe. It will feature Tom Wahl, David Black, Mary Falconer, and Carlos Ortega Amorin.

Photo by: Roberta DePiero

Actors: (l to r) Tom Wahl, Mary Falconer, David Black, Carlos Ortega Amorin

RED BARN BRINGS OLD HOLLYWOOD BACK WITH MICHAEL MCKEEVER’S NEWEST, “THE CODE”

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.

collage of stills from production "the code"

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.

Susannah Wells
FLAMING GUNS of the PURPLE SAGE
FLAMING GUNS of the PURPLE SAGE
 
 

January 31 - February 25, 2023

Written By: Jane Martin

Shows: Tuesdays-Saturdays at 8pm

 

Be ready to take a wild and crazy ride into the classic mash-up spoof of a Western-Horror “B” movie with Jane Martin’s hilarious “Flaming Guns of the Purple Sage”. Big 8, a rodeo competitor, is facing foreclosure on the Wyoming ranch where she rehabilitates injured rodeo cowboys. The arrival of a shocking woman named Shedevil and a one-eyed Ukrainian biker named Black Dog leads to violence and horror in this satire of pulp western writers like Zane Grey. It will feature George DiBraud, Susannah Wells, Cassidy Timms Iain Wilcox, Tim Dahms, and Mathias Maloff.

“FLAMING GUNS OF THE PURPLE SAGE” BRINGS THE OUTRAGEOUS WILD WEST TO THE RED BARN

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.”

Susannah Wells
BACK IN BABY'S ARMS | CHRISTINE MILD SINGS PATSY CLINE
BACK IN BABY'S ARMS | CHRISTINE MILD SINGS PATSY CLINE
 
 
back in baby's arms performance graphic

January 18 - 21, 2023

 

This special musical event, “Back in Baby’s Arms”, features the voice and stylings of Christine Mild, who has played Patsy Cline in the popular “Always, Patsy Cline” play dozens of times, including a sold-out run at the Red Barn in 2018. Expect to hear many of Cline’s biggest hits, with the stellar accompaniment of arranger/pianist Jim Rice and trio.

Susannah Wells
Dear Jack, Dear Louise
Dear Jack, Dear Louise
 
 
dear jack, Dear Louise play main graphic

December 20, 2022 - January 14, 2023

Written By: Ken Ludwig

Shows: Tuesdays-Saturdays at 8pm

 

Sparks fly and love blossoms across the darkened landscape of World War II, when Jack, a U.S. Army doctor, begins a letter correspondence with Louise, an aspiring actress living a world away from his war-torn reality. The play won the Helen Hayes and Charles MacArthur award for Best New Play of 2020. It will feature Jessica Miano Kruel and Cody Borah.

KEN LUDWIG’S “Dear Jack, Dear Louise” OPENS THE RED BARN’S 43RD SEASON

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.

Susannah Wells
Hurricane Diane
Hurricane Diane

March 22 - April 16, 2022

Written By: Madeleine George

The hilarious HURRICANE DIANE stars Lauren Thompson, Susannah Wells, Erin McKenna, Jessica Miano Kruel, and Caroline Taylor.

HILARIOUS “HURRICANE DIANE” BLOWING INTO THE RED BARN THEATRE

What if the Greek God Dionysus, deity of wine and ecstasy, suddenly walked into your kitchen and announced that it was time mankind shaped up and started taking care of “his” planet and that you and your girlfriends were going to be the first acolytes in his quest to bring the Earth back to its natural, unsullied state? What could go wrong, right?

This is the reality-bending set-up for the hilarious new play, “Hurricane Diane”, set to open at the Red Barn Theatre in Key West on March 22 for a four-week run. Written by Pulitzer Prize finalist Madeleine George, the play will feature a who’s who of Key West women, including Erin McKenna, Caroline Taylor, Susannah Wells, Jessica Miano Kruel, and Lauren Thompson. It will be directed by Red Barn artistic director, Joy Hawkins.

George launches her play right from “Lights Up”. We meet Dionysus immediately, though not as we might expect. He has morphed into a rabble-rousing lesbian gardener from Vermont named Diane, and she’s chosen four suburban New Jersey housewives – think a sophisticated, socially-conscious version of a “Real Housewives” show and you won’t be far off – to join his efforts at reclaiming the natural beauty of the planet.

The four women all live on a cul-de-sac in flood-prone Red Bank, New Jersey in identical cookie-cutter houses. They regularly gather over wine and coffee to gossip about anything but the latest portents for the climate. There’s control freak Carol, who just wants a well-manicured lawn; and Renee, a top editor at HGTV Magazine; and Pam, an Italian dragon in animal prints; and weepy Beth, who’s just been left by her husband.

Into this coffee klatch comes lesbian landscape gardener Diane, livid at humanity for “despoiling the green earth that gave you life.” She has great plans – not the least of which involve indulging her Dionysian proclivities – and she’s going to begin right here, right now.

Will Diane be able to enlist them all? Will this diverse band of suburban women be inspired by the appetites of their divine visitor to unleash their wildness to help the battered planet? Maybe. Maybe not. You’ll have to see.

To say the play is outrageously funny is a given. But it also carries a subtextual message that has profound relevance in this day and age. Called “incisively smart and boisterously funny” by the Boston Globe, “clever and timely” by New York Theater, and “An astonishing new play” by the NY Times, “Hurricane Diane” lives up to its fantastical premise.

Tickets are available at redbarntheatre.com or by calling 305-296-9911. The play is sponsored in part by The Dogwood Foundation, Design Group Key West, and the Monroe County Tourist Development Council.

Susannah Wells
Quarantine For Two
Quarantine For Two

February 15 - March 12, 2022

Written By: Hy Conrad

A world premiere of a wickedly funny new play by Hy Conrad. Hy, the well-known Key West resident who wrote a good many of the Monk episodes, as well as White Collar, and the recent hit, The Good Cop, has taken the trials and tribulations of our pandemic quarantine and turned them hilariously on their heads. The play mixes comedy, intrigue, (and of course) murder, and a neck-bending twist that you won't see coming.

“QUARANTINE FOR TWO” TO PREMIERE AT RED BARN


God knows there hasn’t been much to laugh about the last couple of years. Pandemics tend to lean that way.

But thanks to Hy Conrad – the writer/producer of the very funny “Monk” series – we’ll get a chance to shake off a little of the downside of things when his new play, “Quarantine For Two”, opens a four week run on February 15th at Key West’s Red Barn Theatre. The production marks the play’s American premiere.

“Hy and I were chatting one day,” said artistic director Joy Hawkins, “and we thought a funny play about this might be good for people, to lighten things up a bit. And who better to do that than Hy Conrad?”

The play centers on a typical, middle-aged, suburban couple – played by David Black and Mimi McDonald – who have been quarantining at home for more than a year. But it hasn’t gone well. In fact, they’ve driven each other crazy, to the point that each has come to the conclusion that for their own sanity, they need to kill the other. How they go about that – with the involvement of a somewhat dim and double-dealing poolboy-turned-hitman played by Rhett Kalman – leads to a very hilarious escalation of complications.

“I tend to write toward comedy and crime,” Conrad said. “The idea of two people in lockdown who desperately want to kill each other seemed to make comic sense, if we want to make light of our fears in the moment. Balancing the truth in the Covid situation with finding the humanity in the characters and making it funny was the challenge.”

 
David black and mimi McDonald star in play, quarantine for two
 

But Conrad makes it work exceptionally well. In a private reading of the play last summer, it was hard for the cast and crew to get through the script without breaking into laughter.

“The last two years have been so surreal and ludicrous and crazy,” Hawkins said. “So let’s just jump in and laugh at the predicament we’ve all been in. Because somewhere in all of this, we really do need to find a laugh.”

And as she said, who better than Hy Conrad to give that to us?

Tickets for “Quarantine For Two”, the second of the Red Barn’s season of “Bright and Brilliant Comedies”, are available now at redbarntheatre.com or by calling 305-296-9911.

The play is sponsored in part by Jane Gardner Interiors, the Florida Department of State Division of Cultural Affairs, and the Monroe County Tourist Development Council.

Susannah Wells
Vail Johnson "Bassically Incorrect"
Vail Johnson "Bassically Incorrect"

March 6 & 7, 2022

Limited engagement — 2 nights only!

promotional poster for Vail Johnson perfomance at the red barn theatre in key west florida

BASSIST FOR THE STARS: VAIL JOHNSON TELLS ALL IN RED BARN LIMITED ENGAGEMENT

You might not recognize him on the street nor know his name, but you’ve probably seen him onstage and you’ve most certainly have heard him…probably many times.

Vail Johnson is his name, and he’s a bassist. Not just any bassist, mind you, but THE bassist when it comes to studio work, recordings, and live performance.  He’s been doing it for over 40 years with some of the top names in music, and he’s bringing a career-ful of behind-the-scenes stories and almost every note of the great music he’s had a hand in to the Red Barn Theatre in Key West.

His one-man show, “Bassically Incorrect: Around the World in 40 Years” will have a limited engagement at the Barn Sunday and Monday, March 6 and 7 only. Tickets are available now at redbarntheatre.com or by calling 305-296-9911.

Want some names he’s put the bottom under? How about Kenny G, Whitney Houston, Herbie Hancock, Stevie Nicks, Keb’ Mo’, George Benson, Michael Bolton, James Ingram, Gil Scott Heron, Paula Abdul, MC Hammer, T. Graham Brown, David Cassidy, Steve Perry, Patti Austen, Peabo Bryson, Edgar Winter, and Christopher Cross, just to name a very few.

“It just sort of happened,” Johnson said recently. “I was playing in a lounge band back in the late 70’s, and Kenny G’s percussionist sees me, brings Kenny to the gig, and the next thing I know, I’m playing in Kenny G’s band. We go to LA, and Stevie Nicks sees me at a gig, and asks me to do her record. It just snowballed from there.”

It wasn’t all luck, however. Johnson was ready when the door opened. The youngest of seven brothers (one of his older siblings is Key West’s Jeff Johnson), Vail was immersed in all kinds of music through his family – classical, choral, gospel, bluegrass, Dixieland, Top 40. He absorbed it all, mixing in whatever he came across, including jazz, hip-hop, metal rock, and pure improvisation. His virtuosity, passion, and humor were his calling card, and his ability to play virtually any style extremely well sealed the deal.

And all of it is on display in his one-man show – from Kenny G’s, George Benson’s, and Herbie Hancock’s jazz to Steve Perry’s and Stevie Nicks’s rock, to Peabo Bryson’s soul and Keb’Mo’s blues.

vail johnson playing guitar live in concert

“I tell stories about the artists I’ve played and toured with, and then play and sing along with the tracks I’ve done with them or played on tour. I do some of my own stuff too. And what I do is not just ‘play bass’…people are surprised what I can do on a bass in terms of playing music. Look…it’s a guitar. It just happens to be a bass. I can make it sound like a Spanish guitar, or bluesy finger-picking, or monster slapping.”

Ask Johnson who was the most fun he’s had with any artist, and the answer might surprise you. “Edgar Winter,” he said. “For me to play ‘Frankenstein’ with Edgar Winter? Man, that was freakin’ fun!”

It doesn’t matter what style of music or what particular artist you like personally – there’s a very good chance Vail Johnson will tell you a story about touring with them, or play something you’ve heard by them in his show. And odds are you’ll say, “Oh, yeah! I know that one! He played bass on that?”

Tickets for “Bassically Incorrect” are two-tiered. For the Sunday, March 6 show, all tickets are $60. For Monday night’s show, they’re $75, but that gets you an invite to the catered after-party in the Red Barn courtyard, where you can meet and talk music with Vail Johnson and enjoy some delish foods.

You’ll also be able to purchase some of Vail’s own CDs both evenings, the proceeds from which will be going directly to the Florida Keys SPCA.

This show is sponsored in part by Design Group Key West, and the Monroe County Tourist Development Council.

Susannah Wells
Walking Happy
Walking Happy

February 3-5, 2022

A Tribute to Steve Lawrence and Eydie Gorme

There are very few married couples who have reached the rare air of the entertainment world’s pinnacle of success. George Burns and Gracie Allen come to mind, and Alfred Lunt and Lynn Fontanne.

But one couple stands above them all in the music sphere: Steve Lawrence and Eydie Gorme.

Jim Rice and Valerie Roy sing a tribute to Steve Lawrence and Eydie Gorme

RED BARN PRESENTS SPECIAL ENGAGEMENT “WALKING HAPPY” FEBRUARY 3-5
A Tribute to Steve Lawrence and Eydie Gorme

There are very few married couples who have reached the rare air of the entertainment world’s pinnacle of success. George Burns and Gracie Allen come to mind, and Alfred Lunt and Lynn Fontanne.

But one couple stands above them all in the music sphere: Steve Lawrence and Eydie Gorme.

And February 3-5, you would not be blamed for thinking that dynamic duo is somehow standing on the outdoor stage of Key West’s Red Barn Theatre when singers Jim Rice and Valerie Roy bring Steve and Eydie back to life in their celebrated tribute, “Walking Happy”. All three shows will be presented under the stars on the courtyard stage in front of the theater.

The special engagement features Rice, a pianist, singer, and arranger who has worked closely with many top acts, including Key West’s Randy Roberts. Joining him will be Valerie Roy, a lauded singer on her own, and one of Rice’s closest friends.

“We’ve known each other 25 years,” Rice said recently. “I’ve done a lot of her arranging work, and we’re so attuned to one another now – on stage and off – that it’s like we’re married. Like Steve and Eydie, we’re on the same page every moment, and it’s very obvious on stage.”

That tight friendship and musicality serve Rice and Roy well as they re-animate Steve and Eydie in their Vegas-style show. Hit songs like “This Could Be The Start Of Something Big”, “Make Someone Happy”, “A Lot Of Living”, “What Did I Have”, and “A Room Without Windows” complement the easy and entertaining banter Steve and Eydie had on their many network specials and appearances on “The Tonight Show”.

Steve Allen’s version of that show is where Lawrence and Gorme met, in fact, when she was hired as a solo performer and ran into the show’s staff singer and co-star. “I fell in love,” Gorme has said. “I fell madly in love with him instantly.”

They were inseparable after that night, married soon after, and began their remarkable run of Grammy and Emmy awards, hit Broadway shows, and tours with their mentor and close friend, Frank Sinatra.

“Steve Lawrence was a really fine singer,” Rice said. “In fact, Sinatra said many times that Steve Lawrence was a much better singer than he was. And Eydie was a perfect match for him.”

Tickets for the limited engagement of “Walking Happy” at the Red Barn are available now at redbarntheatre.com or 305-296-9911. Seating will be limited, so early reservations are suggested.

The shows are sponsored in part by the Monroe County Tourist Development Council.

Susannah Wells
Cats Talk Back
Cats Talk Back

January 18-29, 2022

Written By: Bess Wohl

Cats Talk Back is an engrossing mock-docu-comedy by award-winning New York playwright Bess Wohl, in which several actors who supposedly spent a good part of their lives performing in one of Broadway's longest-running musicals reminisce about their experiences as felines on stage. There are a few surprises, however, so be ready!

FUNNY AND POIGNANT CATS TALK BACK OPENS THE RED BARN’S 42nd SEASON

It’s been a long dry spell thanks to the pandemic, but theater is finally back in Key West! And the Red Barn will open its new season with a special show you won’t want to miss.

Critics call it “a winner…funny, poignant, and observant…” (Backstage) and “…a bubbly, easy-going treat of theatre…” (Time Out). You’ll call it wonderful.

What you’ll be watching is Cats Talk Back, the critically-acclaimed mock-docu-comedy by New York’s celebrated young playwright, Bess Wohl, which opens the Red Barn Theatre’s stellar 42nd season of bright and brilliant comedies.

The play will be presented outdoors under the stars in the Red Barn’s expansive courtyard, and run January 18th through January 29, 2022. All curtains are at 8 pm.

The magic of the play’s unique concept – a talk-back 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 the Red Barn’s Artistic Director, Joy 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.

A Message from the writer, Bess Wohl

“I am so deeply moved and honored that it is being revisited again, and finding new life in Key West.”

“CATS TALK BACK is my first play. I wrote it while I was an acting student at the Yale School of Drama, and it was originally performed at a small, student-run space called the Yale Cabaret. Each role was tailored specifically to one of my classmates and the play itself was a love letter to theatre, actors, and the community we build together. We promoted the play as if it was entirely real, and many non-Yale people who came to see the show thought that the actors in it were actually the real performers from Cats. It all felt like a giant trick, a joyful prank-- which I now realize is how I think about most theatre, no matter the form. When I sat in the audience of Cats Talk Back for the very first time in front of a raucous, late night crowd it was a terrifying, thrilling watershed moment in my life. I had never before sat in an audience to watch actors say text I had written. I had never seen a crowd respond to my words onstage before-- and the responses were wild. I remember vividly the moment, sitting there, when I knew that playwriting was my future path. CATS TALK BACK went on to be performed at the NY International Fringe Festival to sold-out performances and won the Fringe award for Best Overall Production. For me, the play is, at its heart, about the difficulty of recapturing our peak moments in life, the moments that become memory. Years after writing the play, when we were performing it yet again at a Fringe reunion benefit, I realized that the experience of creating the play was now one of those peak past moments, something we all miss deeply but can never recapture. In the end, the play became the very thing that I was writing about. I am so deeply moved and honored that it is being revisited again, and finding new life in Key West.

With gratitude, Bess”

Susannah Wells
Conchs, Cowboys, and Tales of Old Key West
Conchs, Cowboys, and Tales of Old Key West

Online Event

THE CONCHS AND COWBOYS ARE BACK IN THE SADDLE AGAIN AT THE RED BARN

John Wells, Tom Murtha, and Paul Cotton almost met way back in the 1970s. It was in the Baltimore Civic Center, where Wells and Murtha were part of the opening act for Cotton’s headliner, the seminal California country rock band, Poco, which rose from the ashes of Buffalo Springfield and provided the DNA for bands like the Eagles. But as is usually the case with big-time concerts, the openers didn’t mix with the headliners.

Flash forward several decades to a couple of years ago, when Wells unexpectedly ran into Cotton at the Red Barn Theatre in Key West and reminded him of that gig in Baltimore. The two guitarists started reminiscing and talking music, and the next thing you know, they’re calling bassist Murtha, drummer Gary McDonald, and harmonica virtuoso George Halloran to get together just to jam and make some music.

And that’s usually how the great groups happen. This one became one of Key West’s most popular amalgams, the Made In Key West Band – also lovingly known as the Conchs and Cowboys – who will be Back In The Saddle Again when they return to the Red Barn Theatre for six rousing nights of great tunes and stories, which they call “Tales of Old Key West”. Shows are scheduled for Sundays and Mondays, February 21-22, 28-29, and March 6-7. The first notes will ring out at 8 pm each night.

“Paul Cotton had not really done a lot of this kind of thing – a musical concert in a theatrical setting,“ Wells said. “He was used to the arenas or small music clubs like the Troubador. But it sounded so good, he was willing to give it a try.”

Both Cotton and the audiences loved the experience. Last year’s shows at the Red Barn were complete sellouts, with everyone thoroughly enjoying the eclectic mix of songs and stories. Wells anticipates this year’s shows will have the same result.

“We do vocals you don’t hear very often,” Wells said, “and songs that we love. Some have Key West associations, some are arrangements that I heard that are so different from what you normally hear. And we do a few of Paul’s Poco tunes too.”

The intriguing part of a Conchs and Cowboys show is the theatricality of it, Wells said, which comes from the way they weave the stories of the songs into the show.

“It’s not just a band playing music,” he said. “It’s a whole experience. It’s really improvisational and in the moment, so each night’s show will be a little different. I’ve never done anything like it. It really just flies.”

If you caught last year’s shows, expect to hear some of the favorites the audience let the band know they liked best. But Wells, Cotton, and crew also have several new things in their saddlebags for this year’s shows.

“The thing I’m most appreciative of are the people who say they really like the songs and stories we do,” Wells said. “We have a lot of fun.”

Susannah Wells
LOVE LOSS AND WHAT I WORE
LOVE LOSS AND WHAT I WORE

Extended through December 5th!
November 24 - 28, 2020

love loss and what i wore play by nora ephron

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

For immediate release


HILARIOUS “LOVE, LOSS, AND WHAT I WORE” KICKS OFF RED BARN’S NEW SEASON

The Red Barn Theatre kicks off its 41st season of professional theater in Key West this month with an online streaming production of Nora and Delia Ephron’s hilarious five-woman play, Love, Loss and What I Wore. 

The play will be available through the theater’s website – redbarntheatre.com – from midnight, Tuesday, November 24th through 11:59 pm on Saturday, November 28th. Patrons can watch the netcast anytime they want after purchasing access via a Season Membership, Subscription, or single ticket.

The play is a series of monologues and dialogues between a variety of women of various ages, each of whom delivers funny and poignant stories that have been triggered by their individual experiences with clothing throughout their lives. They touch on virtually everything – from their first Brownie dress to their first prom dress, from bathrobes to bras, from shoes to boots to skirts, and the value of anything black.  It’s impossible not to relate to their tales, especially if you’re a woman…what they talk about is universal to anyone who has worn just about anything. The stories are personal, intriguing, and ultimately very funny.

Screenshot of LOVE, LOSS, AND WHAT I WORE Zoom Rehearsal

Screenshot of LOVE, LOSS, AND WHAT I WORE Zoom Rehearsal

Love, Loss and What I Wore stars five of Key West’s top actresses: Amber McDonald Good, Melody G. Moore, Peggy Montgomery, Barbara Mundy, and Susannah Wells. It is directed by Carole MacCartee and produced by Bob Bowersox, who has devised a clever way of using the Zoom interface as the world of the play, while making use of film editing techniques to make the play more visually active.

The production kicks off a full season at the Red Barn, with all of the mainstage productions staged live in an outdoor space in the theater’s Zabar Courtyard. The Love, Loss netcast is also the kickoff to the theater’s Membership and Subscription drives – a very important part of their operating capital drive. Memberships are available in a number of levels, each with its own perks. Subscriptions are available for their entire 2020-21 season. Single tickets for the netcast are also available.

More information can be found at redbarntheatre.com or by calling 305-296-9911.

Cast:

Barbara Mundy
Melody G. Moore
Peggy Montgomery
Susannah Wells
Amber McDonald Good

Produced by:

Bob Bowersox

Directed by:

Carole MacCartee

Bob Bowersox
WITH BELLS ON (Online Event)
WITH BELLS ON (Online Event)

December 16 - 20, 2020

Written By: Darrin Hagen
Directed By: Christopher Peterson

Directed and Costumed by Christopher Peterson! An elevator. An uptight, recently-divorced accountant. A drag queen in full “Christmas Queen Pageant” regalia. When the elevator gets stuck, her dream’s in danger and an unlikely friendship is forged. This hysterical and heartwarming show reminds us the spirit of Christmas can arrive in unexpected packages. From Darrin Hagen, the writer of “Bitch Slap!”. Starring Trey Gerrald and Don Bearden.

“Flat-out wonderful” — The Calgary Herald

Bob Bowersox
SEZ SHE (Online Event)
SEZ SHE (Online Event)

March 8 - 20, 2021

Written By: Jane Martin

Key West’s Red Barn Theatre will present the fourth online offering of its 41st season with a streaming production of Jane Martin’s funny and provocative “Sez She”, starring a stellar cast of 16 of Key West’s top female actors, directed by the Barn’s artistic director, Joy Hawkins.

The show will run March 8-20 and can be accessed through the theater’s website at redbarntheatre.com. Tickets are only $10, with viewing available 24/7 on any platform with an internet connection, be it TV, phone, or tablet.

“Sez She” is the late Martin’s final play in a series that has featured the broad perspectives on life of modern-day women, told in a series of intimate and revealing monologues. Two previous plays, “Talking With” and “Vital Signs”, have won numerous awards, including the American Theatre Critics Best Play Award. Martin, herself, has been nominated for a Pulitzer Prize for another of her plays, “Keely and Du”.

“Sez She” offers humorous and outspoken takes on everything from the fun of regressing to our childhood to the grownup "wheeee" of sex, from celebrating Damn Fools Day to the virtues of being green (yes…the color green). They touch chords of hilarity, surprise, homespun philosophy, frustration, and even political commentary. Each and every one of them has you hanging on every word.

The actors in the play are: Susannah Wells, George DiBraud, Caroline Taylor, Carolyn Cooper, Erin McKenna, Marjorie Paul Shook, Jessica Miano Kruel, Amber McDonald Good, Gerri Louise Gates, Melody G. Moore, Nicole Nurenberg, Zoe Hawkins-Wells, Vanessa McCaffrey, and Mimi McDonald.

Whether written by a man or woman, Jane Martin’s “Sez She” is a powerful, engaging, provocative play perfectly tuned to the times we are living through right now. The Minneapolis Star-Tribune called it

 “…enormously entertaining, more like a Disney World ride aimed at adults. Lean back, take a deep breath, and grasp the handrail firmly.”

WOMEN WHO STAND BEHIND THE BARN

This project is made possible due to the generosity of
Keys Open Doors Foundation Inc, and the following women:

 

Amy Bondurant

Judith Daykin

Jane Gardner

Michele Grahl

Diane May

Maxine Makover

Anne McKee

Betsy Menser

Loraine Tacke

Loretta Tarver

Ann Reynolds

Marty Spiker

 
Susannah Wells
How To Eat Like A Child and Other Lessons In Not Being a Grownup
How To Eat Like A Child and Other Lessons In Not Being a Grownup

April 29 - May 1, 2022

Written By: Nora Ephron
Music & Lyrics By: John Forster

Cast of 2022’s “Eat Like A Child”

ENCHANTING “EAT LIKE A CHILD” IN LIMITED RUN AT THE RED BARN THEATRE

Thirty-two years ago, a cast of talented kids hit the stage of the Red Barn Theatre in Key West, singing and dancing their way through a delightful musical called “Eat Like a Child: And Other Lessons on How Not To Be A Grown-up.”

Among that group of young actors were Amber McDonald, Garth Holtcamp, and Camila Duke, who were nine or ten years old at the time. Amber had literally grown up in the theater her parents – Mimi and Gary McDonald – established eight years earlier.

Fast forward 32 years. Amber, Garth, and Camila all have kids of their own and history is about to repeat itself.

The Red Barn will present an updated version of “Eat Like A Child” in a very limited four-performance run Friday, April 29 through Sunday, May 1. The Friday and Saturday shows are at 7 pm, and there will be a 2 pm matinee on Saturday and Sunday.

And front and center on the stage? The next generation: Lilly and Logan Good (Amber’s kids), Phineas Haskell (Camila’s son), and Greta Holtcamp (Garth’s daughter), among a dozen others.

“We’re calling it a ‘legacy’ production,” said Mimi McDonald, who with actress Carolyn Taylor will be directing the new show. “We’ve been waiting for all our kid’s kids to get to the 8 to 10-year-old stage so we could do it. It’s a very sweet show, written about and for kids, performed by kids. We’re having a ball.”

The very cute book for the show was written by Delia Ephron (Nora’s sister), with music and lyrics by John Forster, the award-winning singer-songwriter and composer of multiple children’s musicals. Nancy 3 Hoffman will be providing the musical accompaniment for the score, and Penny Leto will be handling the choreography.

The show centers around everything that impacts a kid’s world in wonderful little vignettes that feature various combinations of the young actors – from trying to sell the parents on getting a dog, to not wanting to go to bed, pretending to be sick to get out of going to school, how they don’t like their little sister, and the injustice of having to walk somewhere when there’s a perfectly good car to take them there. And that’s just a sampling.

“It’s really fun to hear them sing the same songs that have been stuck in my head all these years,” said Amber. “And it’s nice to acknowledge what really hasn’t changed – technology may have changed a lot, but all the stuff that’s true to being a kid is still the same, generation to generation.”

Her mom, Mimi, adds, “It’s about universal truths that don’t change. Any adult who sees this will most definitely see a lot of things they did themselves, for sure.”

Tickets are limited because of the short run and can be had at redbarntheatre.com or by calling 305-296-9911. The show is sponsored in part by Keys Open Doors and the Monroe County Tourist Development Council.

Bob Bowersox
FRANKIE AND JOHNNY IN THE CLAIR DE LUNE
FRANKIE AND JOHNNY IN THE CLAIR DE LUNE

Mar 24, 2020 - Apr 18, 2020

Written By: Terrence McNally
Directed By: Murphy Davis

A timeless love story of a waitress and a short order cook. Their sometimes touching, sometimes hilarious interplay lights up this one night stand between two lonely people who long for more.

As Clair de Lune plays on the radio, Johnny woos the reluctant Frankie and we root for this odd couple to find their way to each other and out of their past disappointments. Terrence McNally was recently awarded the Tony Award for Lifetime Achievement. The Red Barn first produced this play in 1990 and is thrilled to honor Mr. McNally and our theatre's 40th Anniversary with another production of this beautiful play.

"A celebration of human sexuality and love! Dazzling and funny!” —The New York Times

***Contains adult content and brief nudity***

Cast:

Erin McKenna as Frankie
Al Bundonis as Johnny

marky piersonfrankie
JOHN WELLS IS STILL ALIVE AND WELL AND LIVING IN KEY WEST (Special Event)
JOHN WELLS IS STILL ALIVE AND WELL AND LIVING IN KEY WEST (Special Event)

March 8 - 9, 2020

Starring: John Wells

This is a 2-night Special Event and not considered a Main Stage production.

Raconteur Extraordinaire…John Wells returns with songs and stories to reacquaint you with the old days of Key West with his guitar. Mesmerizing voice and unique sense of humor. John's many roles on the many stages of Key West include Conchs, Cowboys & Tales of Old Key West, 1776, Jacques Brel is Alive and Well and Living in Paris, Pump Boys and Dinettes, Urinetown, Frankie and Johnny in the Clair de Lune, Oliver!, South Pacific, and The Song of Singapore, just to name a few.

Over 40 years in Key West and the songs and stories just don't stop. Don't miss the fun!

marky pierson