Flaming Guns' blends comedy, Western, horror
Blood, guts and gore, yet fun is had by all
Kathleen Allen Arizona Daily Star | Posted: Friday, February 26, 2010Steve Anderson has a bit of advice for anyone planning to see "Flaming Guns of the Purple Sage."
"If you can't stand the sight of blood, sit in the back row."
The director of the Beowulf Alley Theatre production laughs as he dispenses that gem.
The gore just ups the hilarity in the Jane Martin comedy, he said.
"It's a blending of two genres," said Anderson. "Early Western and a B horror flick. There is a bit of gore in it, and dismemberment. But it's funny gore and dismemberment."
The story centers around the aging cowgirl Big 8, who has been forced to retire from the rodeo circuit. She has a Wyoming ranch where she takes in broken cowboys in need of some serious healing - physical and otherwise.
She's doing her healing late one night when a woman by the name of She-Devil bursts in looking for Big 8's no-good son. Hot on She-Devil's tail is a most evil cowboy, described by Anderson as "a one-eyed Ukrainian Hells Angel biker" who is chasing She-Devil because she stole all his money."
SCOTT GRIESSEL / COURTESY OF BEOWULF ALLEY THEATRE
Susan Arnold, left, and Kirsten Long gawk in mock horror as Lucas Gonzales attempts to knife a laid-out Gabe Nagy.
"When I heard about this play, I couldn't turn it down," said Anderson.
Of course not.
It's an over-the-top comedy that he is treating like a straight play.
"The key for me is to not push it too much," said Anderson. "If I push it too much, it can be too slap-sticky. We've staged it like we stage realism, paying attention to relationships and trying not to get too broad."
In the end, he said, he suspects the audience will leave "laughing, and maybe saying to themselves, 'did I just see what I think I just saw.' "
If you go
"Flaming Guns of the Purple Sage"
• By: Jane Martin.
• Presented by: Beowulf Alley Theatre.
• Director: Steve Anderson.
• When: Previews at 7:30 p.m. today (sold out), and opens 7:30 p.m. Saturday. Regular performances are 7:30 p.m. Thursdays through Saturdays and 1:30 p.m. Sundays through March 14.
• Where: Beowulf Alley Theatre, 11 S. Sixth Ave.
• Tickets: $10 preview. Thursday performances $15; Friday and Saturday $18 when purchased online; otherwise, $20. Student rush tickets are $12 cash 15 minutes before curtain, if seats are available. Must have ID.
• Reservations/information: www.beowulfalley.org or 882-0555.
• Running time: About 1 hour, 45 minutes, with one intermission.
• Cast: Susan Arnold, Holly-Marie Carlson, Jake Chapman, Benjamin Dygert, Lucas Gonzales, Kirsten Long and Gabe Nagy.
Contact reporter Kathleen Allen at kallen@azstarnet.com or 573-4128.
