Sex, violence and wrestling abound in the Coen brothers' movie Barton Fink, which No Refund Theatre (NRT) will bring to the stage this weekend.

"I chose this play because I'm a huge fan of the Coen brothers' movies, like The Big Lebowski and Fargo," Director Jeff Domenick (senior-mechanical engineering) said. "I saw this one and it's mostly all dialogue, and the set isn't too extravagant, so I thought it would work very well."

The play is about the title character, Barton Fink. After Fink finds success in New York with his Broadway debut, he decides to move to Los Angeles to make money writing movies in Hollywood.

Fink is contracted to write a B movie on wrestling, but he suffers from writer's block when trying to compose the script. At the hotel he is staying at he meets traveling salesman Charlie. The two become friends over stories of Charlie's trysts with amorous housewives and Fink's musings on the beauty of the "common-man."

Fink continues to search for a cure for his writer's block, seeking help from an alcoholic novelist. He quickly discovers that it is in fact the wife of the author who writes the stories. Fink sleeps with the wife and the next morning she turns up slaughtered in his bed.

"It's a very dark comedy," Domenick said. "It's gut-wrenching and very funny and bizarre at the same time. The characters are so over the top. They're not goofy, but they are extremely obnoxious, which tends to be funny."

Domenick said the play's main theme is to be aware of the world, which is explored through the exploits of Fink.

"The main character is a pretentious hypocrite who is taught a lesson because he isn't aware of the world around him. He's crushed by Hollywood," he said.

Matt Davidson (junior-media studies) plays Charlie. He said he has never seen the movie, but once he read through the script, he was excited to have a part in the play.

"The script was pretty jarring the first time I read it, but it was also entertaining," Davidson said. "I know the work of the Coen brothers has a large college student fan base, and this play is perfect for their fans. It has sex, violence, jokes, wrestling -- a lot of fun stuff happens on the stage. But there are some serious parts as well."

Domenick said apart from the humor and great dialogue, the characters make the play.

"Another reason I chose the play is because its has some fun and memorable characters who were amazing to bring to life on stage," he said.

John Newman (sophomore-theatre) plays Fink, one of the "memorable" characters.

"In L.A., Fink quickly is emotionally and physically beaten. The whole point is the complete, random degradation of this utterly pretentious character," Newman said. "He's really fun to play. When I first found out I had the role, I jumped up and down -- it was my first choice role in my first choice play."

Domenick said students should see Barton Fink because it has everything a person could want in a play. "It has all the good stuff -- drinking, swearing, sex and violence," he said. "It's great show and a fantastic cast. And it's free."