Riders of the Purple Sage @ Hip Pocket Theatre
—Jan Farrington
Happy trails to you—and to you, and to you too.
What a pleasant, lope-along way to begin Hip Pocket Theatre’s 47th season, with a revival of the early HPT hit show Riders of the Purple Sage. This affectionate send-up of the silent movie Western was written by Hip Pocket co-founder Johnny Simons and James Maynard, with music by composer Joe Rogers (who plays live onstage!).
Someone’s taught these actors how to move like the old silent stars—leaning forward with clawed hands (that’s a villain); smacking the forehead (that’s despair); skipping offstage (that’s a kid). It’s great fun to watch, read the onscreen silent-movie subtitles, and (why didn’t they think of this back in the day?) hear all the voices dubbed live by just two actors sitting close to the action. Peggy Bott Kirby “does” all the womenfolk; Grainger Esch handles the men (they’re both great) and lots of sound effects—and the actors mouth the dialogue.
Mostly, voices and actors match…but it’s even funnier when they don’t.
Hip Pocket first adapted Zane Grey’s popular novel/silent movie for the stage (and filmed it too) back in 1986. Boomers (still young back then) had a thing for silent movies, and the show is full of that fondness—plus a loose, irreverent sense of humor: a saloon scene is suddenly interrupted by a swing into “Saturday Night Fever” dance moves. Directed by JoAnn Gracey, with great costumes by Susan Austin (was the Old West ever this clean?), the show is full of good energy and campy humor (and so much gunplay, though the “guns” are only pointed fingers).
There’s no need to give a play-by-play of the plot. Basic info: bad guys kidnap a mother and child, good guys chase after them—in particular, an upright dude (James Warila) who becomes a “manly Legend of the West” in glam black togs. Thad Isbell makes a great villain, and so does Tyler Dorney. (The show is so dramatic it needs two villains—or three, perhaps, if we count Marcos Barron’s dark looks as the head “Rider.”) Dorney’s skill at physical movement continues to make me grin, show after show.
Lauren Riley plays brave and beautiful Jane Withersteen, love interest for the manly hero, and Kristi Ramos Toler gets to heave her bosom and sob her heart out as the put-upon mother of kidnapped little Bess (Jozy Camp). Grace Hayes is a hoot playing a very tall Shirley Temple-ish child. The ensemble gets to sing, dance, have saloon fights, and git along like little dogies: “MOO!” Lake Simons’ shadow puppets are adorable—and do a great job of covering some plot points quickly.
And that’s about all that needs saying. There’s good music in the HPT BackYard (a grassy area with stage and tables) before and after the show, with food and drinks available. Friday (after a threat of thunderstorms turned tail and ran) was a cool, breezy Texas evening with wild clouds in the sunset sky. A good memory to put in my hip pocket, along with the others.
WHEN: May 19-June 11
WHERE: 1950 Silver Creek Road, Fort Worth
WEB: hippocket.org
