By Becky Maxedon
Lake Havasu City should prepare for a Christmas season treat.
Well-known Havasuvian Roger Galloway is putting together a theatrical production he has written that promises to be a rip-snortin’ night of fun.
Auditions for the dinner theater production of “It’s A Calamity!” are set for Nov. 5 at 6 p.m., and Nov. 8 at 1 p.m. at the London Bridge Resort King Arthur Room.
The Wild West comes to life in “It’s A Calamity!”.
“Westerns have always been my favorite genre. I was the writer on one of the producers of ‘Legends of the West,’ starring Jack Palance,” he said.
In that production, stories of Billy the Kid, Wyatt Earp, Judge Roy Bean, Saloon women of the Old West, Custer at the Little Big Horn and much more were told.
“Five of us, including Jack and myself, won the Wrangler Award from the Cowboy Hall of Fame,” Galloway said.
He also wrote Disney’s “Falling for the Stars” with Richard Farnsworth, Robert Duvall, Buddy Ebsen and Robert Conrad.
“There’s such a fascination about those real life western characters and “It’s A Calamity!” combines facts and fiction for an exciting interactive theatre event.
“It is comedy with music and the concept is real life western legends show up for a wedding in Arizona Territory, on the banks of the Colorado River in Mohave County on Christmas Eve, 1875.
“This is the holiday version of the show with the goal to return in early 2027 with old western songs. ‘It’s a Calamity!’ is original and debuts in Lake Havasu City.
Characters to be cast include Wyatt Earp, Belle Starr, Jesse James, Calamity Jane, George A Custer, Billy the Kid and Wild Bill Hickock.
Galloway said it is an ensemble cast and all actors will be compensated for each performance.
He offered this description of characters.
Wyatt Earp is 30-45, famed lawman of Abilene, Kan.; Belle Starr is 35-60, tough, mentor-like; Jesse James, 30-45 famed outlaw, looking to start a new life; Calamity Jane, 25-35 naïve about ways of the heart, but tough and uncouth; Custer 35-50, arrogant, boisterous, leader; Billy the Kid, 18-25, wants to be king of the outlaws, troublesome, boyish; Wild Bill Hickok, 35-55, fastest gun in the west, lawman, gambler.
Contact Galloway at RogerCG1@icloud.com for more information.
The Dinner Theater production will run Dec. 15, 16, 17, 18 and 19 at 6 p.m., with a Sunday, Dec. 20, matinee at 1 p.m. at the London Bridge Resort King Arthur Room. A full barb-b-que meal will be served. More detailed information about tickets, etc., will follow.
“This is a family show and interactive as actors will also converse at tables,” Galloway said.
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