How the West was fun
Theater Project slings guns and satire in 'Purple Sage'

The Theatre Project in Cranford, the troupe that offers the most outrageous fare in the state, is putting a crate full of carnage on stage with "Flaming Guns of the Purple Sage." The title sounds as if it were a parody of one of Zane Grey's western novels -- and that's exactly what playwright Jane Mar tin is out to spoof in her 2001 comedy.

Unlike most send-ups, though, her play possesses a very smart brain. Martin (actually a pseudonym for an anonymous playwright) examines the western movies of Roy Rogers, Gene Autry and Hopalong Cassidy. There, heroes always did the right thing. Those films, though, swept all the violence under the sagebrush, for white- hatted cowboys only fired when necessary.

Still, gunfire is gunfire, and Mar tin's point is that those who see plenty of brutality will become inured to it. The main characters in her play, set in the here and now, are only a few notches above Attila the Hun.

She-Devil has an artificial hand to replace the one that was chopped off during a romantic tiff. Black Dog lost an eye in a skirmish, though not in the same fight dur ing which he bit off the head of a cat. As Shirl, their new-found friend, observes with a shrug, "Well, you know young people."

She-Devil visits with her mother-in-law Big 8, a middle-aged woman and her much younger beau. In that diminutive and mellifluous western tradition, he's named Rob-Bob. Big 8 slaps and slugs Rob-Bob whenever he displeases her -- knowing he won't hit back. The Code of the West demands that of a man.

However, that doesn't mean Rob-Bob is above shooting one of his visitors before asking many questions. The blood spilled on the set could equip six episodes of "E.R." and Jacob Platt's perfect lighting makes it sparkle on the li noleum.

Mark Spina's direction is purposely understated, with his excel lent cast ho-humming its way through knife fights and stories of carving initials in people's chests. He wisely knows that Martin's message will speak for itself and needs no underlining.

Bev Sheehan is side-splittingly funny as Big 8, especially when she gives a sideways over-the-shoulder glance that exudes calmness in the face of chaos. Stephen Medvidick gives Rob-Bob the proper open- eyed innocence. Barbara Guidi is the hot-headed She-Devil, whoop ing wildly after taking a slug of liquor, and more wildly once the slaughter starts. As Black Dog, the menacing Will Budnikov looks as if he sharpened his teeth for this role.

Angela Della Ventura's Shirl leavens it all beautifully with her level-headed intelligence, and Harry Patrick Christian offers a happy-go-lucky demeanor as her eunuch boyfriend.

First-row patrons should be warned that they could be hit with one of the flying objects that fre quently careens off the stage. Even if they aren't, all will be hit squarely in the eye by the ferocity -- and hilarity -- of "Flaming Guns of the Purple Sage."

Peter Filichia may be reached at pfilichia@starledger.com or (973) 392-5995.