Spinal Cat Dept.: Red Barn’s ‘Cats Talk Back’ looks at life on the other side of the curtain 

BY TERRY SCHMIDA

KONK LIFE THEATER EDITOR 

What a precious, dysfunctional bunch these theater folk are, honestly!

The endless self-promotion! The nepotism! The sneering artistic – and political – elitism! (And don’t even get them started on the critics.)

Ever wish that just once in this age of rehashed “classics” like Rocky Horror you’d see a new production that lampoons the live theater scene the way Spinal Tap sent a shot across the bow of the bloated beast of arena rock, in the early ’80s?

Well then, “Cats Talk Back,” now playing as the 42nd season opener at the Red Barn, may just be your lucky “Spinal Cat!”

This witty, production, directed by Barn veteran Joy Hawkins, is set as a hosted panel discussion featuring four “Cats” “actors” from various periods of that tedious, big box production’s seemingly interminable run. This format proves to be the perfect cage into which playwright (and actor) Bess Wohl, can cram as many tame and time-worn show-biz cliches as possible. Cliches that are then teased from the cast by “moderator” Jeff Johnson, to often hilarious effect.

 There’s Hector (Mike Mulligan,) the self-absorbed and lecherous older Alpha cat, Rum Tum Tugger, who’s openly engaging in “grooming” tutorials on the couch with the whole cast; and Bonnie (Nicole Nurenberg,) a flaky wannabe bimbo actress and one of Hector’s notable pupils.

We also meet Monique (Marjorie Paul Shook,) a tragic, fading starlet whose lifetime spent portraying felines in “Cats” has left her with grotesquely deformed claws for forearms; and Steven (Rhett Kalman,) a neurotic, OCD actor so desperate to escape the dead-end status these nobodies share, he’s willing to attempt the grandest theatrical banality of them all: Overacting beyond William Shatner.

 These people have all paid personal dues to be in “Cats”, and though the experience has left them feeling personally as beaten down as Bob Crane, they’re cluelessly serene in the knowledge their fans can’t appreciate or understand the brilliance of their performances anyway.

Of particular comedic interest is the cast’s improvised take on a horrifying, room-clearing number dropped from the original show about cats catching and eating a little girl. It’s over-the-top funny, as are the cast’s defensive responses to the suggestion from an “audience member” that what they do isn’t “real theater,” anyway, but really just “a bunch of bullshit.”

Like the animal that is its namesake, “Cats Talk Back” is a fun-loving and occasionally adorable ball of fluff that’s full of laughs – but sometimes bares its claws, nonetheless. It’s a great choice to start the ’22 season with, after Covid left last year’s theater schedule stuck in a tree.

Kudos as well to the Red Barn for having the courage to take a self-deprecating look at its own bailiwick – live theater.

Meow!

 “Cats Talk Back runs through Jan. 29, outside under the stars at the Red Barn Theatre, located behind the Key West Woman’s Club, 319 Duval St. There is some salty language in the production.

For tickets, or more information, visit https://redbarntheatre.com/

(Oh, and the Red Barn takes your safety seriously, so don’t even think of coming in without a proof of vaccination card!)

 

Terry Schmida is a Key West writer and an agent with Berkshire Hathaway HomeServices Knight & Gardner Realty. Contact him at 305-896-3387 or [email protected]

 

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