Blue Cowboy

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October 2025

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Blue Cowboy » October 2025 »

Written and performed by David Cale
Directed by Les Waters

A writer from New York travels to Ketchum, Idaho to work on a film script set in Sun Valley. His plans and life take a wildly unanticipated turn after he has a chance encounter with an elusive ranch hand at the town’s annual "Trailing of the Sheep Festival". Blue Cowboy, the new solo work from David Cale, is the frank and sexually explicit story of two men from very different worlds. One who is open about his life, and the other whose life remains a self-imposed mystery to everyone around him, but who both share a profound need to intimately connect to another human being. Cale tells the story in his signature style full of vulnerability and blunt confession.

  • “David Cale’s astonishing one-man show Blue Cowboy is a modest love story, told in a direct, unadorned manner, but it is also complicated, funny, tender and stupendously poignant.”

    – New York Times

  • “What I want to tell you is how thrilling it is to sit before a master storyteller in real time… He is stirring the molecules in the air, and all of us in the audience feel them at the same time... ”

    – The Paris Review

  • “An impressive display of storytelling dexterity, the monologuing equivalent of a rodeo rope trick: Watch him tie what looks like any old knot, and then pull on it to unloop the story entirely.”

    – Vulture

  • “A tentative, tender love story”

    – Exeunt

  • “Cale is an expert storyteller, and veteran director Les Waters guides this deeply moving piece with a typically light touch...”

    –  Theaterly

  • “David Cale has a story to tell, and you better have a seat, because it’s a good one.”

    – Theatermania

  • “His ability to lose himself in the world of his stories and the inhabitants within them is nothing short of astonishing… Blue Cowboy is storytelling at its finest and should not be missed.”

    – Interludes

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  • David Cale

    Writer and Performer

    David Cale is an award-winning performance artist, playwright, songwriter and actor based in New York City. His works as both writer and performer include We’re Only Alive for A Short Amount of Time, for which he wrote the book, lyrics and co-composed the music with Matthew Dean Marsh (Public Theater, Goodman Theatre, Obie Award, Outer Critics Circle Award for Outstanding Solo Performance, Lucille Lortel Award nomination for Outstanding Solo Show, Drama Desk Award nomination for Outstanding Solo Performance, Jeff Award for New Musical); The History of Kisses (The Studio Theatre, Washington, D.C.); Palomino (Kansas City Rep, Kirk Douglas Theatre); A Likely Story (The New Group); Lillian (Playwrights Horizons, Goodman, Obie Award); Deep in a Dream of You (Public, MoMA, Goodman, Bessie Award), Smooch Music (The Kitchen, Goodman) and The Redthroats (P.S. 122, Second Stage, Goodman, Mark Taper Forum, Taper Too, Bessie Award).

    He wrote the book, lyrics, co-composed the music for and starred in the musical Floyd and Clea Under the Western Sky (Playwrights Horizons, Goodman, Outer Critics Circle Award nomination) inspired by his experience portraying Floyd Duffner in Alex and Andrew Smith’s film, The Slaughter Rule. His songwriting credits include composing the songs for 600 Highwaymen’s Employee of the Year (Public, Bessie Award nomination), many songs with Matthew Dean Marsh, collaborations with Carol Lipnik, and lyrics for The Jazz Passengers sung by artists including Debbie Harry, Jimmy Scott, John Kelly and Elvis Costello. David wrote and narrated the text for choreographer Charles Moulton’s dance Chickens, performed by Mikhail Baryshnikov’s White Oak Dance Project, and collaborated with Dael Orlandersmith on The Blue Album (Long Wharf Theatre). His monologues have been recorded for This American Life, The Next Big Thing, Fresh Air. He is the recipient of fellowships and grants from NYSCA, the National Endowment for the Arts and NYFA and residencies at Yaddo, SPACE on Ryder Farm, Ground Floor at Berkeley Rep and the Sun Valley Playwright’s Residency at Ernest and Mary Hemingway’s house in Ketchum, Idaho, where Blue Cowboy was written.

    David made his West End debut as a playwright last year with his solo play Harry Clarke, starring Billy Crudup (Ambassadors Theatre, London, Berkeley Rep, Audible Theatre, Vineyard Theatre, Lucille Lortel Award for Outstanding Solo Show). Other recent solo plays include Sandra, starring Marjan Neshat (Vineyard).

    As an actor, he has performed in plays on and off-Broadway including The TotalBent, (Public), Mouth to Mouth, The Seagull/Woodstock, NY (The New Group). TV credits include John Early’s The Characters,Russian Doll, Poker Face. Film credits include Two Lovers,Winter in the Blood, Private Life, Vox Lux and Light From Light. David appears as John Hocknell, one of the founding members of The Shakers, in Mona Fastvold’s upcoming musical feature film, The Testament of Ann Lee, opening on Christmas Day.

    David would like to specially thank Noel Allain and Machel Ross, John Baker and Jonathan Kane and the Sun Valley Playwright’s Residency, Jenny Davidson and the Community Library, Ketchum, Paul Ricciardi and Jeff Mousseau and Ancram Center for the Arts and Johanna Pfaelzer, Leigh Silverman and Berkeley Rep Ground Floor.

Scenic Design Cat Raynor, Costume Design Hahnji Jang, Lighting Design Kyle Stamm, Sound Design Kathy Ruvuna, Puppet Design Gaby Febland, Props & Assistant Scenic Design Jonathan Schatzberg, Music Director Jon Schneidman, Choreographer Maya Quetzali Gonzalez, Stage Manager Sarah Jones, Assistant Stage Manager Anica Acuña, Line Producer Leigh Honigman, Associate Line Producer Leah Plante-Wiener

Blue Cowboy was commissioned by The Sun Valley Playwright’s Residency, a special initiative of The Community Library’s Hemingway Writer-in-residence program in association with Sawtooth Productions.
Development of Blue Cowboy has been supported in part, through a residency and workshop performance at Ancram Center for the Arts (Jeffrey Mousseau and Paul Ricciardi, Directors).