Wild West, Tunefully Staged

    Packing a whip and a six-shooter, the musical comedy “Destry Rides Again” arrives at LTV Studios for a three-night stand beginning next Thursday.

Based on a 1939 movie starring Jimmy Stewart as the laconic hero and Marlene Dietrich as Frenchy, a tough-talking saloon owner with a heart of gold, the play debuted on Broadway in 1959. Featuring music and lyrics by Harold Rome, it ran for 472 performances.

The tuneful show tells the story of Tom Destry, who is asked to become an assistant deputy and clean up the Wild West town of Bottleneck, run by the villainous Kent. After much fightin’, shootin’, singin’, and dancin’, Destry, who refuses to carry a gun, manages to vanquish the varmints and in the process wins Frenchy’s affections.

The play is the first production of Studio Playhouse, a community theater that has found a home at LTV. Anita Sorel, an actress who lives in East Hampton, directs.

“Destry Rides Again” will be at LTV Studios, at 75 Industrial Road in Wainscott, next Thursday, Friday, June 17, and June 18 at 7:30 p.m. Tickets, which are available online at ltveh.org or by calling 537-2777, cost $15 for adults, $10 for children under 12 and people over 65.