By Chase Johnson
Sarah Ruhl’s Late, A Cowboy Song is a fascinating play and definitely not your average night at the theater. First premiering in 2003, it explores themes of self-discovery, love, and identity.
The Plot of Late, A Cowboy Song
Late, A Cowboy Song opens on a young couple: Mary (Kate Stark) and Crick (Michael Sanchez). Mary is late for dinner having been riding horses with her friend Red (Jarrett McCormick). What follows is an interesting examination of Mary’s life: through several years marked by relationship troubles with Crick brought on by a combination of stupidity, absurdity, and an argument over how to raise their daughter.
The Performances
Kate Stark absolutely kills it as Mary. You can feel every single emotion she goes through and sympathize with her being a new parent and trying to do the best for her child, despite her partner being childish and making idiotic choices throughout the play. Stark brings physicality and the little touches that really sell the believability of her performance.
Michael Sanchez as Crick does his part as a well meaning stooge. He clearly loves his daughter and wife, but blows $500 on what is implied to be a really bad painting and gets fired from a security job at an art museum for touching a painting. Throughout, instead of realizing his wife is clearly miserable, he doubles down on everything that is causing her distress–ultimately driving her away.
Finally, Jarrett McCormick as Red is a pretty spot on depiction of an old western cowboy and invokes Shane and the Man with No Name’s calm charisma. All in all these actors are doing an excellent job with a very complex and, at times, esoteric script.
The Production
This is an incredible achievement for Director and Sound Designer Aiden Dalton and Composer Jarrett McCormick. Their vision is clear in every moment and the music builds into the personality of the show Marty Robbins “Big Iron” is used fantastically in a powerful scene showing the decline of Crick and Mary’s relationship. The soundscape serves to heighten the overall experience during the whole show.
Chad Brinkman also impresses with his light and set design, maximizing the whole of Falcon Theater’s stage. He represents multiple locations around Pittsburgh, showcasing each of the characters through the locations. Finally Kate Stark’s choreography and Torie Wiggins intimacy coordination provide powerful physical markers in Crick and Mary’s relationship, and Red and Mary’s. Both feel very real yet both are wildly different from each other, ultimately blending together in this show to aid the already excellent work done by the actors.
The Bottom Line
The Ghostlight Stage Company is a new group in town and already doing excellent work. I especially appreciate their willingness to take a chance on a show like this, and their commitment to accessibility in the theater. They have multiple resources for the blind and visually impaired as well as the deaf and hearing impaired. In addition they have adopted an excellent pay-what-you-can program to assist with making theater affordable for everyone who wants to see their work. This is an excellent example that other theatres in the area should emulate (and yes, many do!) in this reviewer’s humble opinion. Live theatre should be accessible for all. Go see this show.
Get Tickets to Late, A Cowboy Song
Ghostlight Stage Company’s Late, A Cowboy Song is running until Sunday, May 25th. Remaining shows are 7 pm Friday, 2 and 7 pm Saturday May 24, and a pm on Sunday, May 25. All shows are at Falcon Theatre Newport, 636 Monmouth St., Newport, KY 41071. You can acquire tickets at their online box office HERE.
