Picture it: New Mexico, 1908. An old acquaintance knocks at your door. He brings his silent (at first) mysterious driver: could he really be someone who thought has been dead for 27years? 

From its very dramatic stop-action opening scene, ‘The Authentic Life of Billy the Kid’ which opens Road Less Traveled Productions’ new season, ignites you into a strange psychological drama. It’s indeed a dark and stormy night when the former sheriff Pat Garrett (Daniel Greer) opens his cabin door to welcome former newspaperman Ash Upson (Peter Palmisano).  Amidst plenty of thunder claps and lightning cracks, Garrett flashes back to the night he shot the Kid dead at the Maxwell ranch after the Kid escaped from prison. Well, that’s what Garrett thinks and what the history books tell us, but was that really what happened? What does this do to the former Sheriff’s identity? As he says “I spent the last 25 years trying to be the man I meant to be.”

. . . ignites you into a strange psychological drama.

Playwright Lee Blessing’s story takes us down a different path. What if the Kid had master-minded a fake death with a stand in, and he’s lived an OK life under a new identity? With a little bit of Agatha Christie-esque intrigue (think ‘The Mousetrap’) and a dash of urban legend (“Elvis is alive and working at a McDonald’s in Michigan”) the story plays some mind games on Garrett while his old buddy Ash spins out his own plan to make some money on this sideshow.

Dave Mitchell is a perfect enigma as Billy the Kid. He has that cunning, haunting look about him, and he gives a little side-eye as Ash directs and coaches him along with the show he’s scripting. The interaction between these two is wild: “I’m am impresario,” Ash proclaims as he silently coaches the Kid how to illustrate a night of passion on a wooden chair and how to deliver his lines with equal passion.  Garrett is skeptical, and even though he acknowledges that “the west is what you make of it,” he’s not ready to join this circus. Yet. Ash tries to prove the Kid is the real deal, and even asks him to drop his trousers to reveal the wound Garrett caused to the Kid’s hind (“you’re staring in the face of history here,” proclaims Ash). Enter Jim P. Miller (Patrick Cameron), a surprise guest and a visitor from Texas who’s ready to buy Garrett’s property, until he gets caught up in the story. Funny how the thought of making a little extra cash can change someone so fast.

While Blessing’s story had some slow-to-emerge parts, this ensemble – directed by Road Less Traveled’s leader Scott Behrend is great.  Mitchell as the Kid lets his character delectably, slowly roll out from servant to gunslinger. Palmisano plays Ash with gusto: even when Ash nods off his chair, he’s dreaming of his next money making scheme. Greer as Garrett is solid, a force, the rock who wants what history told him he did….but some money would be good, too. It’s Cameron as Miller that is captivating: he’s all Texas charm until he weaves himself into the narrative.

Once again Dyan Burlingame’s set is dead-on, from the plank walls to the glowing kiva in the corner. Special effects, fight scenes, and ambiance are all there, bringing a little bit of outback New Mexico to downtown Buffalo. RLTP begins this season with a literal bang.

Opening night may have had a stumbled line or two (totally forgivable), but the woman next to me who whipped out her phone a few times – lights and all – to check the time…not so much. Seriously.

Running Time: 2 Hours with a 10-minute intermission.

 “The Authentic Life of Billy the Kid” runs until October 6, 2019 and is presented at Road Less Traveled Theatre. For more information, click here.