Theatre review
The Cowboy Way, indeed
Beowulf Alley's "Flaming Guns of the Purple Sage"
Posted Mar 2, 2010Dave Irwin TucsonSentinel.com
While the 85th La Fiesta de los Vaqueros rodeo was celebrating cowboy culture, down the road Beowulf Alley Theatre was lampooning the ethos of the cowboy way.
'Flaming Guns of the Purple Sage' is a mixed breed. Mixing genres is a way for authors to create something new, especially for overworked forms.
'Flaming Guns' melds two unlikely B-grade movie genres: the cowboy films of the 30s and 40s, exemplified by William Boyd’s Hopalong Cassidy and 60’s horror flicks, like “Blood Feast” and “Homicidal.”
As a result, the production is a loveable, over-the-top whirlwind that includes rodeo cowboy studs, a one-eyed Ukrainian biker, a witchy cougarish cowgirl who exchanges sex for her healing touch, a pregnant Goth grrrl and a lisping, castrato law enforcement officer.
Arnold, Long, Gonzales and Nagy in 'Flaming Guns of the Purple Sage'
Scott Griessel/Creatista
And did I mention there’s a gleefully gruesome on-stage dismemberment of a corpse, complete with flailing chitlins? At that point, who really cares about plot?
Nonetheless, the synopsis is this. Middle-aged cowgirl 'Big 8' has a gift for healing. Her latest project, RobBob, a top all-around cowboy with a bum hip, is a nice enough guy with nothing upstairs.
Big 8’s sister, Shirl, lives with Deputy Sheriff Baxter Blue and works at the local slaughterhouse. Deputy Blue has literally lost his balls and Shirl routinely declines his monthly marriage proposals, dreaming of greater sexual satisfaction.
Enter in the dead of night: the tattooed, spike-haired Shedevil, claiming she is married to, and pregnant by, Big 8’s absentee adult son, Lucifier. She’s also hiding from Black Dog, a bulky maniac biker from whom she unwisely stole drug money.
When Black Dog arrives, as he inevitably would, RobBob shoots him, only to find he was unarmed, a violation of the cowboy code of fairness. But — bad guys like Black Dog can’t be killed that easily — it takes multiple attempts to commit this homicide, creating a gloriously gore-drenched set.
The script by Jane Martin, who may or may not be a real person, though she is credited with several award-winning plays, is wacky and rich with odd tangents, such as RobBob’s arcane knowledge of the films of Gabby Hayes, Shedevil’s chronic lying in the midst of traditional cowboy values and Big 8’s anguish at aging ('Don’t ever call me 'ma'am.''). This is the kind of offbeat romp that is fun to watch, and probably even more fun to write or be in.
Actress and sometime Beowulf director Susan Arnold anchors the competent cast as Big 8. She brings a Susan Sarandon gravitas to the role (think 'Bull Durham'): ramrod straight, tough and near-all-knowing, except with regards to her own life.
Kudos to UA student Lucas Gonzales as RobBob for the courage to run around the stage in a jockstrap and gunbelt, though sitting on the corn flakes had to hurt. Holly-Marie Carlson, a recent UA grad, makes her Shedevil character both daunting and vulnerable and also has to spend considerable stage-time in just underwear. Bodybuilder Gabe Nagy doesn’t get many lines, but he does get to break down doors and die multiple times.
Rounding out the cast are Kirsten Long as Shirl, Benjamin C. Dygert as Baxter and in a near cameo, young Jake Chapman as Memphis Donnie Pride, who proves to Big 8 in the end that God does indeed reward the righteous.
If you don’t mind a little stage-blood in your comedy, “Flaming Guns of the Purple Sage” is an entertaining cartoonish send-up of cowboy hero stereotypes."
