Das Barbecu, with book and lyrics by Jim Luigs and music by Scott Warrender, opened July 25, 2003 at the WaterTower Theatre in Addison, Texas. It represents one of their most egregious squandering of talent to date. Warrender's wonderful music is far better than Luigs' sophomoric script deserves. Sample: "It's only recently I learned makin' Smores is not technically considered foreplay." And: "When life presents us a challenge we can't handle, we either marry it, burp it, shoot it, or move." A more apt title for this play might be: "Five Actors in Search of Some Decent Dialogue."
Das Barbecu is a spoof of Wagner's four-part opera, Der Ring des Nibelungen, re-located to Texas, with five actors playing some 30-odd (literally) characters. But compounded by bad acoustics and James Paul Lemons unskilled directing, this play and its execution are an awful mess. Although the theater has seating on three sides, Lemons' staging has the cast playing primarily to the center section. That being said, the entire cast proves splendid and exhibited amazing versatility, and Linda Leonard's choreography is outstanding, as usual. Costumes by Michael Robinson present a whimsical visual feast.
