The Hasty Pudding Theatricals has selected a Western spoof set in California during the gold rush as its annual all-male musical.

"Of Mines and Men," by Michael McClung '83 features the struggle of the ingenue, Angela Mercy, and her true-love, Dwight Tornado, to recover Angela's gold mine from the clutches of the arch-villain, Gustav Yuvantsum.

The musical's settings include the Mother Load Brothel and the town of Collier Bluff.

McClung, an Economics concentrator from South House, said yesterday the script was inspired by "Gunsmoke" reruns and Western movies such as "High Noon."

"I've always loved Westerns," he said, "and I noticed the Hasty Pudding hasn't done a show lately with an American setting."

Past Pudding productions have been set in 18th-century Europe ("Sealed With a Quiche"), feudal England ("Serf's Up"), and the distant future ("A Thousand Clones").

McClung's script was chosen from a field of six by the officers of the Hasty Pudding Theatricals, and the show's co-producers, Stephanie Matthews '83 and Katie Williams '83.

McClung had entered the script, in a version co-written by Robert Stimmons '82, in last year's competition, under the title "Your Place Ore Mine?"