He's a gentle, middle-aged restaurant owner in a comfortable marriage who fears that the sexual revolution of the late 1960s is passing him by.
So he decides to add a little excitement to his life, namely an afternoon fling at his mother's empty apartment. That's the set up for "The Last of The Red Hot Lovers," a play written by Neil Simon that will be presented tonight and Saturday by Henderson Community Theatre.
The play has only four characters -- Barney and the three very different women he attempts to seduce -- and that makes for a lot of work for the guy who plays Barney.
He's on stage every minute of the show.
"I was very reluctant to take this role on because I have only had minor roles on stage before," said Steve McCarty, Henderson Fine Arts Center's technical director who is stepping from behind the scenes to take on a really big job.
A couple of years ago, McCarty assumed a small role in the HCT production of "Bus Stop" two weeks before show time when another actor had to drop out, but this is much, much different.
The 72-page script book in which he used a highlighter to mark his lines is very colorful indeed.
"There are a lot of lines and Simon has written them in an odd meter that has taken a lot of getting used to," McCarty said.
"This has been a real learning experience for me to see how as an actor I have had to ... immerse myself in the role," he added. "Barney Cashman is a complicated character that I learn a little more about each time I read the script or who reveals himself to me every night in rehearsal (or just before I go to sleep, as I'm driving, or concentrating on something elseÉ)"
First-time director Stacey Howell hasn't necessarily been looking for Barney to reveal himself to her as she's read Simon's writing, but the impact has been great.
"When I read this play the first three times, many times I had to put the script down and compose myself from laughing so hard," she said. "I knew immediately that this was the show I wanted to do. I could relate to every character -- even Barney."
Her first directing experience has been smooth, she said, by virtue of having an experienced crew and "a small cast with big talent."
"Katie Morton (a University of Evansville student who plays the role of the nutty Bobbi Michelle) is a big ball of energy and is so much fun to watch in action," Howell said.
"And Angie Skaggs (a HCT veteran playing the role of Barney's wife's best friend) was kind enough to accept the complicated role of Jeanette (Fisher) and make it her own," she added.
The remaining actor -- and McCarty -- cast Howell in an interesting new role for her first production.
"The strange part has been directing my two supervisors," she said.
Rachael Baar, Henderson Fine Arts Center director, is also stepping from behind the scenes to play the brash Elaine Navazio, and in real life she is Howell's supervisor at the Henderson Fine Arts Center ticket office.
McCarty was once Howell's instructor at HCC and she reports to him during her frequent stints on the Fine Arts Center technical crew.
"So when rehearsals began, I was reluctant to give direction, but I have since gotten over that," Howell said. "And I'm always surprised when they actually take my direction."
Baar is a probably as surprised to be taking direction from Howell as the director is to be giving it.
"I tried out as a lark, never thinking I would actually be cast in the part," she said. "I suppose after working all these years at the Fine Arts Center behind the scenes, I finally got the courage to see what it would be like to be on stage.
"Overall, it has been a wonderful experience but a bit overwhelming with learning lines, cues and basically how to act," she added. "I am completely out of my comfort zone, though working with Steve McCarty and Stacey Howell have made it easier. They both keep telling me 'have fun with it'."
"The Last of the Red Hot Lovers" will be performed at 7:30 p.m. tonight and Saturday at Henderson Fine Arts Center. The audience will be seated on the stage for this production. Tickets are $10 and can be purchased in advance today by calling the box office at 831-9800 or (800) 291-3402. Any remaining tickets will be available at the door.
