Rod Serling's Stories from the Zone at Theatre 40

IT IS DONE Opens January 17 At Theatre 40

Hank's Bar is a roadside joint on a desolate highway in the middle of nowhere. Hank the barkeep (played by Kurtis Bedford) passes the time when he has no customers by perusing a porn mag while pleasuring himself. He likes the bar's isolated location: It keeps him away from his ex-wife and kids. But Hank does have one customer this evening: Jonas (George Villas), a drifter who wants to drink, not chat. Jonas has been haunted by troubling dreams. He travels from place to place to escape his past. Into the bar strides Ruby (Kate Whitney), a sexy woman who informs them that her car has broken down nearby. Can she use the phone to call the auto club? A howling dust storm outside suggests that the three are going to remain at the bar for a while.

BWW Review: IT IS DONE and There Will be Hell to Pay

A mysterious traveler, a horny barkeep, and a sensuous woman are trapped in a dive bar with an abundant supply of bourbon, yet all three are strangers in a place hundreds of miles from anywhere else during a windstorm that keeps them trapped together in the only shelter. Sure, anything could happen, especially when the mystery of who they are begins to unravel and it becomes apparent one of them is after someone else there. But who is it and what do they really want? And what does a recurring nightmare have to do with it? Whatever happens, one thing is certain: There will be hell to pay.

Review: ROD SERLING'S STORIES FROM THE ZONE Journeys into a Wondrous Land Whose Boundaries are that of the Imagination

Rod Serling's television anthology series The Twilight Zone was a popular and critical success when it ran on CBS for five seasons from 1959 to 1964, shot entirely in black and white. The series introduced many Americans to appreciate stories in various genres including fantasy, science fiction, suspense, horror and psychological thrillers, often concluding with a macabre or unexpected twist, usually ending with a moral explained by the writer himself. It has remained so popular that you can often find The Twilight Zone marathons running on various television stations, especially on holidays. As a fan of the show, I often watch episodes when they are shown, keeping my The Twilight Zone Companion handbook close by to check on facts and cast information from each episode. So I made plans to attend when I heard Theatre 40 was going to be presenting ROD SERLING'S STORIES FROM THE ZONE adapted and co-directed by multiple Ovation Award winning set designer Jeff G. Rack and Charlie Mount.

IT IS DONE Opens Today At Theatre 40

Hank's Bar is a roadside joint on a desolate highway in the middle of nowhere. Hank the barkeep (played by Kurtis Bedford) passes the time when he has no customers by perusing a porn mag while pleasuring himself. He likes the bar's isolated location: It keeps him away from his ex-wife and kids. But Hank does have one customer this evening: Jonas (George Villas), a drifter who wants to drink, not chat. Jonas has been haunted by troubling dreams. He travels from place to place to escape his past. Into the bar strides Ruby (Kate Whitney), a sexy woman who informs them that her car has broken down nearby. Can she use the phone to call the auto club? A howling dust storm outside suggests that the three are going to remain at the bar for a while.

IT IS DONE Opens January 17 At Theatre 40

Hank's Bar is a roadside joint on a desolate highway in the middle of nowhere. Hank the barkeep (played by Kurtis Bedford) passes the time when he has no customers by perusing a porn mag while pleasuring himself. He likes the bar's isolated location: It keeps him away from his ex-wife and kids. But Hank does have one customer this evening: Jonas (George Villas), a drifter who wants to drink, not chat. Jonas has been haunted by troubling dreams. He travels from place to place to escape his past. Into the bar strides Ruby (Kate Whitney), a sexy woman who informs them that her car has broken down nearby. Can she use the phone to call the auto club? A howling dust storm outside suggests that the three are going to remain at the bar for a while.