Das Barbecü
Book and Lyrics by Jim Luigs
Music by Scott Warrender

Nov. 23 - Dec. 15, 2001
Directed by Cyndi Steele-Harrod

Opera-lovers and opera-haters alike should be ready to kick back, laugh and have a good 'ol time. 

One critic described DAS BARBECÜ this way: "Conjure up your basic Texas hootenanny, complete with lassos, long-neck beers and guitars. Marry that image with Wagner's Ring Cycle in all its melodramatic intensity. These improbable, no impossible, bedfellows come deliriously together in a splendidly giddy musical."

Set in various locations throughout present day Texas, the musical is loosely based on Richard Wagner's massive four-part 20-hour opera cycle DER RING DES NIBELUNGEN - neatly compressed into a fun little two-hour musical comedy.

The story is a witty fable of love conquering greed set in the Lone Star State. Hilarious scenes spin around two sets of mismatched lovers who meet on the day of their shotgun double wedding and three generations of outrageous characters from two feuding families. 

The various musical numbers are laced with fun titles such as "Hog-Tie Your Man", "Rodeo Romeo" and "Makin' Guacamole" with a two-step number thrown in for good measure titled "Slide a Little Closer."

The talented cast of five musical-theatre veterans has the daunting task of bringing to life thirty diverse characters, which include heroic cowboys, a psychic, spinster triplets, Texas Rangers, giants, river maidens and Texas society matrons, just to name a few.

Musicians for the show include local favorites Mary Reynolds and Elyse Angelo, who've played for other CST shows including THE ROCKY HORROR SHOW (2001), CHANGIN' LANES (1999), and SIX WOMEN WITH BRAIN DEATH (2000).

In his notes about the play, Mr. Luigs says: "The creators of WEST SIDE STORY re-worked Shakespeare's play (ROMEO AND JULIET), placing his story in a modern American setting. Scott and I did the same with DAS BARBECÜ. True, our style for the piece is overtly comic, but we weren't out to comment on Wagner any more than Laurents, Bernstein and Sondheim were out to skewer Shakespeare. Just think Texas."

DAS BARBECÜ was originally commissioned by the Seattle Opera in 1991, then the Goodspeed Opera in Baltimore produced it before it landed Off-Broadway in the mid-1990's.