RED BARN THEATRE BRINGS THE WILD WEST TO KEY WEST

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 Red Barn’s next production.

“Flaming Guns of the Purple Sage”, written by Jane Martin, opens Jan. 31 and runs Tuesdays through Saturdays through Feb. 25.

It’s a mash-up of B-movie Westerns and C-movie horror flicks that will have you laughing even while you’re sitting in disbelief at what you’re seeing.

“I just love its audacity,” said director Joy Hawkins. “It’s unlike anything I’ve ever directed. 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), “Flaming Guns” tells the story of Big 8, a retired rodeo star who’s trying to save her home from foreclosure. 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-dowell son, Lucifer Lee. But SheDevil is being hunted down by her very angry Ukrainian biker boyfriend, Black Dog, and when he shows up, things 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. It’s definitely for adults. … I wouldn’t bring the kids. But it’s a very cleverly written send-up of those old Bmovie 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 mix of Key West’s comedic actors, including George DiBraud, Susannah Wells, Mathias Maloff, Tim Dahms, Cassidy Timms, Iain Wilcox, and Jack McDonald.

Hawkins directs and Carmen Rodriguez designed the western duds.

Tickets are available at redbarntheatre.com or by calling 305-2969911.

This week’s run, Jan. 24-28, marks the final week for one of the classics of mid-20th century English theater, JB Priestley’s “An Inspector Calls,” at the Waterfront Playhouse in Key West.

Information and tickets are available at waterfrontplayhouse.org or 305-294-5015.

Taking place on a single night in 1912, the play focuses on the prosperous upper middle-class Birling family, visited by a man calling himself Inspector Goole who questions the family about the suicide of a young working-class woman in her mid-20s.

Dan Waller appears as Goole, while David Black, Barbara Mundy, Jillian Todd, Arthur Crocker, J. Michael Wright and Ma Cawley round out the cast.

“An Inspector Calls” is directed by Patrick New, who last directed “Sex with Strangers” at the Waterfront. Design is by Michael Boyer. Lighting design is by Chris Hodge, and Andrew Theede is serving as production stage manager. — Contributed