Monday, September 24, 2007

End of The Run

The Rogue Theatre closed its three-week run of The Cherry Orchard with last Sunday’s matinee. This is the Rogue’s third season and I’ve been proud to be a Rogue in five of the theatre’s productions. I mention this in the interest of full disclosure, not to call attention to my own modest contributions but because I want to recommend this company and you should know where I might stand.

To begin with this is the kind of theater I adore…the kind that makes you want to get together with friends after the show, open a bottle of wine, and talk. There are all kinds of theater, or course, and each has its place. There are times only a light and refreshing May Wine is what you want, but there are times and tastes that only a big booming Zinfandel will suit; one that practically begs to be chewed on to release its flavors.

The Rogue is “Big Zinfandel” theater. It’s wonderful to play in and wonderful to see.

There is an audience for this kind of theater in Tucson and the Rogue has been slowly building it. Theater is a business as well as an art, and like all start-up businesses a new theater company must have the staying power to last through a sometimes dodgey period of ‘customer base’ building.

Judging from the respectable size of the house at a matinée on the last day of a three-week run it looks like the Rogue will be around for a while…as it continues to find its audience and its audience finds it.

There’s more exciting theater in store for Tucson area audiences. You can get a good sense of the Rogue by clicking through the archives and you can read about the rest of the current season here.

If you're new to the Rogue you can get a good sense of what it's about by looking over its past seasons, here.

Incidentally, the Rogue has a Manifesto, if you're so inclined. I love 'em, myself.

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