It is with heartfelt enthusiasm that I welcome you to Rogue Theater Company’s 2022 season. Our theme this year is connection: with each other, with our pets, and with ourselves. Our first production is Terrence McNally’s classic “Frankie and Johnny in the Clair de Lune”, directed by Michael J. Hume. Kate Hurster and Al Espinosa play lovers grappling with intimacy and vulnerability in tender and often raucous ways. I saw the original New York production with Kathy Bates and F. Murray Abraham, and it left an indelible impression. I felt deep empathy for these two lonely people who spend the evening peeling away decades of defensiveness caused by life’s disappointments.
In May, we present Christian O’Reilly’s “Chapatti,” directed by Robynn Rodriguez. Robin Goodrin Nordli and Michael Elich play animal lovers who are more comfortable with their pets than with people. "Chapatti" will tickle your funny bone and warm your heart.
In June, back by popular demand, Barry Kraft will lead six Shakespeare sessions, this time covering the comedies “A Midsummer Night's Dream”, "Much Ado about Nothing”, and “The Tempest”. If you love Shakespeare, there are few people on this planet who know more about the Bard than Barry!
In November, we round out the season with Duncan MacMillan’s “Every Brilliant Thing,” directed by Caroline Shaffer. Playing the Narrator, Danforth Comins illustrates how to stay hopeful by focusing on the simple joys in life.
It’s an ambitious season. It’s an exciting season. And I’m delighted you are joining us.
Lights up!
Jessica Sage
Artistic Director, Rogue Theater Company
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"Frankie and Johnny in the Clair de Lune" was written in the 80s, the Age of Reagan, and younger audience members might be confused by an arcane piece of technology that sits upon our stage, and is used by the character ‘Johnny’. See if you can find it. No? Hint: It’s black. Oh all right, it’s called a ‘Rotary Phone,’ and we all had ‘em in the old days. So yes, this entertainment is what we call “a period piece,” though the discerning theater-goer may find a few parallels between now and then. Terrence McNally wrote the play at a time in NYC when the AIDS virus was scorching the theater community, no cures or cocktails yet in sight. It is only mentioned once in the play, when ‘Frankie’ utters “I get so sick and tired of living this way, that we’re gonna die from one another, that every so often I just want to act like Saturday night really is a Saturday night, the way they used to be.”
McNALLY: “We’ve created a society where it’s easy to isolate yourself, talk to answering machines...We rent movies...it’s easy to keep your mind away from your feelings. Society entertains us...I think this play has a wide audience because people have trouble breaking out of their shells, because they don’t have to anymore.”
Michael J. Hume
Director, "Frankie and Johnny in the Clair de Lune"