All quiet in Key West? Nope

Summer Stage livens the season

All quiet in Key West? Nope - Bob Bowersox et al. posing for the camera - Social group

Summer in Key West. Not much going on outside of the Duval Crawl and some boat races, right?

Wrong! Because once again, Summer Stage will provide it all, from comedy to drama and a bit of everything in-between, nightly at several venues in Key West from June 26 through July 28. Mainstage plays, readings, and unique new theatrical events will make up the 2018 edition.

Opening this year’s Summer Stage June 26-30 at the Woman’s Club, 319 Duval Street, will be Fringe Theatre’s production of “The Gin Game” by D.L. Coburn. It stars Vanessa McCaffrey and Don Bearden as a surly man and a withdrawn woman living in a seedy retirement home who come to terms about life, love, and living over a nightly game of cards. It will once again be directed by John Reynolds. All curtains are at 7 p.m.

The second mainstage show will be the world premiere of Bob Bowersox’s brand new play, “Under the Hunter’s Moon,” at the Red Barn Theatre. The play centers on the biggest star in Hollywood, who begins to question his life’s path when he unexpectedly runs into a long-lost love he hasn’t seen in 35 years. All curtains are at 8 p.m.

On Monday, July 9 at 7 pm, TheatreXP will present a staged reading of “Sideways,” by Rex Pickett, the recent Broadway version of the 2004 movie. The reading will be on the Red Barn Stage and will feature several top Key West actors. The reading is free, with open seating.

And on Monday, July 16 at 8 p.m., “Twice Told Tales” will return to the Studios of Key West. “Twice Told Tales” centers on monologues, with eight directors each directing one of eight monologues with two actors apiece, who deliver the same monologue in completely different ways.

The final event of Summer Stage will be “Fresh Ink Shorts,” an evening of brand new, all-original short plays by local playwrights. The show will be in the Back Room Theater at the Key West Theater, 512 Eaton Street, at 8 p.m. on July 27 and 28 An ensemble cast of Key West’s top actors will present the plays in a unique script-in-hand format.

Tickets are available at redbarntheatre.com/tickets, or by calling 305-296-9911 or 302-540-6102.