THE DEVIL’S RIGHT HAND
A LYRICAL WESTERN
BY VINCENT S. HANNAM
Despite his mother’s wishes, a young cowboy believes he is old enough to take his gun to town, culminating in a lesson learned the hard way. Inspired by the song, “Don’t Take Your Guns to Town” by Johnny Cash and other ballads.
1m; 1f
Western, Musical, Poetry, Drama, Period
CHARACTER BREAKDOWN
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| BILLY JOE: | A young cowboy. Any gender. Any race/ethnicity. |
| MOTHER: | Billy Joe’s mother. Any gender. Any race/ethnicity. |
| NICK MURPHY: | A bartender. Any gender. Any race/ethnicity |
Notes:
MOTHER and NICK MURPHY are written to be played by the same actor, but you may cast them separately.
PRODUCTION HISTORY
- University, Utah State University, 2025
RECOGNITIONS
- Finalist – Theatre du Mississippi, 2023
- Finalist – ATHE New Play Development Workshop, Association for Theatre in Higher Education, 2022




