Bluebarn Theatre Stage A BEHANDING IN SPOKANE, Now thru 3/16

The BLUEBARN Theatre continues its 2012-2013 Season with A BEHANDING IN SPOKANE by Martin McDonagh, which opens tonight, February 21st and runs through Saturday March 16th. BLUEBARN founding member Kevin Lawler directs, with scenic design by Martin Scott Marchitto, costumes by Jennifer Pool, lighting design by Bill Van Deest, sound design by Martin Magnuson, and properties design by Amy Reiner.

Shows run Thursdays-Saturdays at 7:30 p.m. and Sundays March 3rd and 10th at 6 p.m. Ticket prices are $25 for adults; and $20 for students, seniors 65+, TAG members, and groups of 10 or more.

Carmichael is a deadly, racist, homophobic, backwoods American sociopath who's been on the hunt for his severed left hand the past 27 years. Toby and Marylin are low-level, dimwitted drug dealers who think they've spotted an easy mark. In this darkly comical new work from the writer of The Pillowman, the lunacies, obsessions, prejudices and horrors that crawl beneath American life are exposed in graphic, gritty detail and doubly dosed with nasty fun.

Kevin Lawler is a founding member of Omaha's BLUEBARN Theatre and a graduate of the Conservatory of Theatre and Film at SUNY Purchase. He is a poet, playwright, director, designer, and actor, and also the Producing Artistic Director of The Great Plains Theatre Conference. For the last several decades he has helped to write, produce, direct, design, and act in theatre across the country, but most especially in Omaha. His BLUEBARN credits include directing Jacob Marley's Christmas Carol and Night of the Iguana, writing and directing The Tulip, and performing in Thom Pain (based on nothing).

Thomas Becker returns to the BLUEBARN stage for the role of Carmichael, after last performing there as Jekyll in Jekyll and Hyde. He has performed with The Shakespeare Theatre in Washington, DC, and the California Shakespeare Theatre, and currently teaches English and Drama at Duchesne Academy. Other recent roles include: Krapp in Brigit Saint Brigit's production of Krapp's Last Tape, Reverend Parris in The Crucible and Juror number eight in Twelve Angry Men, both at the Omaha Community Playhouse.

Vincent Carlson-Brown, playing the role of Mervyn, was last seen at the BLUEBARN in Martin McDonagh's The Pillowman. Other BLUEBARN credits include Edward II, Six Degrees of Separation, and Witching Hour (3 years, founding member). A 14-year company member of Nebraska Shakespeare, this marks Vincent's first as Artistic Director, after directing touring productions of Much Ado About Nothing and Julius Caesar, and The Comedy of Errors for Shakespeare On the Green.

Behanding also features two newcomers to the BLUEBARN, Olivia Sather as Marylin and Raydell Cordell III as Toby. Olivia was last seen on an Omaha stage as Jean Fordham in August: Osage County at the Omaha Community Playhouse. Other credits include Marya in The Government Inspector at UNO, Rachel in Dark Play or Stories for Boys at UNO, Gloria in The Beautiful and Damned with Lonetree Theater Project, and several Great Plains Theater Conference productions. Raydell has been in numerous productions throughout the community and had the privilege to travel to London in the summer of 2010 to participate in workshops with the Royal Shakespeare Company. Favorite roles include Jasper in The Crowd You're in With, King Bahram in Mirror of the Invisible World, Gooper in Cat on a Hot Tin Roof, Sir. Toby Belch in Twelfth Night, Lyons in Fences and Howie in Rabbit Hole.

The BLUEBARN Theatre has been bringing professionally-produced plays to area audiences since its inception in 1989. Since that time, BLUEBARN has produced over 90 plays and has established itself as Omaha's premier Contemporary Theatre company. Striving to bring artistically significant scripts and professional production values to Omaha and the surrounding region, BLUEBARN is known for high quality entertainment and the fearless pursuit of stories that challenge both theatre artists and patrons.