Red Barn Gets  A Facelift For New Season

With 36 years and hundreds of shows to her credit, the venerable Red Barn Theatre in Key West will be launching into her new season in December with a fresh look, plush new seats, and a terrific lineup of comedy, drama, music, and special events.

Renovations are already underway, including a facelift of new paint and new curtains, and what may be the plushest, most comfortable theatre seats in town will be arriving within the week.

“It was time,” said managing director Mimi McDonald. “The last major refurbishing we did was a decade ago, and while the facility has served our audiences well, we felt everyone would appreciate a refreshed look and feel.”

Not to mention loving the “feel” of sinking into the plush new seating. Most of the seats in the main theatre space will be replaced with high-end auditorium seating. The seats are plush, upholstered, and extremely comfortable, with five inches of thick foam, lumbar support backrests that are also padded, and molded armrests that sport cup holders.

“That’s the best part,” McDonald said. “Someplace to put your drinks!”

As part of this year’s fundraising efforts, the Red Barn is promoting a “Take A Seat” opportunity, where anyone who wants to support the theatre can “purchase” one of the new seats and have a brass plaque placed on the back of the seat inscribed with their name, the names of loved ones, or a special message or commemoration. The purchase is actually a simple, tax-deductible donation of $500. Information on Take A Seat can be had by calling the Barn box office at 305-296-9911.

“It’s a great way to support the Barn and help us open the new season with a bang,” McDonald said.

The new look Red Barn will be ready for the opening of that 36th season on December 15th, when Neil Simon’s hilarious “Fools” opens for a four week run. The funny, witty play is Simon at his best, with a cast of Key West’s best comedic actors portraying townspeople in a Russian hamlet who have been cursed with stupidity. Will a newly-arrived schoolteacher be able to save them and win the girl? We’ll see.

“Scott & Hem”, by Mark St. Germain, follows January 15-30, and stars Tom Wahl – who knocked audiences out last season in “Clark Gable Slept Here.” It’s a fictitious account of what might have happened when the rough and tumble Ernest Hemingway drops in on the meeker F. Scott Fitzgerald as he’s struggling with writing a screenplay in Hollywood.

“Buyer & Cellar”, by Jonathan Tolan, is next up February 9 through March 12 and follows the trials and tribulations of a young man hired to be the clerk in the “basement mall” of Barbra Streisand’s home, where Babs is the only customer. The play stars Nick Cearley, one half of the smash musical group “The Skivvies”.

And since Cearley will be in town, why not bring “The Skivvies” with him? The red-hot New York cabaret act that features Cearley and partner Lauren Molina doing flat-out hilarious mash-ups of every kind of musical genre while standing only in their underwear will have a special four-night-only run February 12-15. Their shows last year sold out in only hours, so tickets will be dear.

Also tucked into two weekends in February (21 and 22) and March (6 and 7) will be the ever-popular Conchs, Cowboys, and Tales of Old Key West, featuring John Wells, Paul Cotton, Gary McDonald, Tom Murtha, and George Halloran. The Made In Key West Band will rock through a collection of country, cowboy, folk, rock, and blues.

The warm and funny “Out of the City”, by Leslie Ayvazian, will hit the stage March 22 through April 16. Set in a B&B in the Poconos, two couples who have been friends for years arrive for a birthday celebration, but things don’t go quite as planned after an unexpected kiss upsets the weekend.

Closing out the mainstage season will be the classic “The Cripple of Inishmann”, by Martin McDonagh. This uproariously funny play garnered six Tony nominations last year. And saving one of the best for last, “The Story Goes On”, featuring the real-life mother/daughter team of Camille Russo Toler and Erika Monet Butters, will enchant with a multi-generational musical journey featuring two of Key West’s best vocalists.

Season subscriptions are available now for all mainstage shows, and individual tickets may also be purchased at redbarntheatre.com.

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