The Cooterville Caper: A Western Noir in Five Episodes

by Jan Probst, Kelsey Sullivan, and Erin Moughon

This play was devised by an ensemble that also included Dante Medina.

Sheriff Hardy Justice is spending another rainy night minding the drunk tank in dusty Cooterville Montana, when in walks a dame with a murder for him to solve. There's something about Cecelia Hooferberg; her long legs, her luscious red lips, her desperate need to avenge her father's death... or it might be that she's a horse.

The Cooterville Caper was written for the Story Relay at the 2023 Valdez Theatre...

Sheriff Hardy Justice is spending another rainy night minding the drunk tank in dusty Cooterville Montana, when in walks a dame with a murder for him to solve. There's something about Cecelia Hooferberg; her long legs, her luscious red lips, her desperate need to avenge her father's death... or it might be that she's a horse.

The Cooterville Caper was written for the Story Relay at the 2023 Valdez Theatre Conference Fringe by The Loud Mouthed Malamutes (aka Kelsey Sullivan, Jillian Blevins, Jan Probst, Erin Moughon and Dante Medema).

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The Cooterville Caper: A Western Noir in Five Episodes

Recommended by

  • Scott Sickles: The Cooterville Caper: A Western Noir in Five Episodes by Jan Probst, Kelsey Sullivan, and Erin Moughon
    “

    It was a rainy night on the thawing Alaskan tundra.

    Or maybe it wasn’t.

    There *was* an awning, a fire, and mosquitoes whooshing like starlings as a sheriff took the stage along with a wanted-poster-hopping outlaw, a lard-licking belly scratching butter lover, and a lipsticked lady who was literally a horse. A horse? Of course!

    Unseen amidst the prairie mischief, scattered ‘neath the awning, lurked five scribes fashioning a serialized tale of larceny, land, lust… and MURRRDERRRwhinneywhinneywhinney…!

    A tale as compelling as it was perverse, filled with passion, betrayal, tragedy, and...

    It was a rainy night on the thawing Alaskan tundra.

    Or maybe it wasn’t.

    There *was* an awning, a fire, and mosquitoes whooshing like starlings as a sheriff took the stage along with a wanted-poster-hopping outlaw, a lard-licking belly scratching butter lover, and a lipsticked lady who was literally a horse. A horse? Of course!

    Unseen amidst the prairie mischief, scattered ‘neath the awning, lurked five scribes fashioning a serialized tale of larceny, land, lust… and MURRRDERRRwhinneywhinneywhinney…!

    A tale as compelling as it was perverse, filled with passion, betrayal, tragedy, and dairy!

    A batshit masterpiece!

    read more
    ”

Character Information

  • SHERIFF HARDY JUSTICE
    Rough and tumble, unclean. Classic cowboy.
    Can be played by:
    • Actor Age
      30s
  • CECELIA HOOFERBERG
    A recent orphan. A literal horse.
    Can be played by:
    • Actor Age
      30s
    • Actor Gender Identity
      Female
  • BLACK HAT BOB
    The villain.
  • OL’ LARD LOVER LEONARD
    Your drunk uncle - yes YOUR drunk uncle.
    Can be played by:
    • Actor Age
      50s,
      60s
    • Actor Gender Identity
      Male

Production History

  • Fringe, Valdez Theatre Conference, 2023