Feature: The Rogue Theatre's Anniversary Season Celebrates 20 Years of Pushing Boundaries
The company has achieved two decades of innovation and excellence.
Whether by design or coincidence, The Rogue Theatre kicks off its 20th season with a vivid and prophetic opener: THE SKIN OF OUR TEETH by Thornton Wilder, a playwright acclaimed for his fierce deconstruction of 20th-century norms. This selection sets the tone for a remarkable season, reaffirming the theater's dedication to subversive yet edifying productions.
Whatt follows is a series of literary gems, each with a unique bent: John Capecci's adaptation of Italo Calvino's IF ON A WINTER'S NIGHT A TRAVELER, John Millington Synge's THE PLAYBOY OF THE WESTERN WORLD, Jordan Harrison's MARJORIE PRIME, and culminating with Shakespeare's ROMEO AND JULIET (the Bard is a staple of The Rogue's repertoire). The productions are expertly staged in a thrust setting for an immersive experience.
The Rogue's challenge for continued success is both formidable and straightforward: transform a magnum opus into an instructive meditation on current affairs. This commitment reflects the enduring dedication and talent of its founders, Joe McGrath and Cindy Meier, whose twenty-year journey has inspired both audiences and fellow theater practitioners.
The company's ability to consistently stage high-quality productions reveals a calibrated precision. Both founders brought exceptional credentials to the table: Joe, a Juilliard-trained actor with extensive experience in set design and construction, and Cindy, who holds a Ph.D. in Performance Studies from the University of Arizona. Their expertise and dedication are the backbone of The Rogue Theatre's success.
From the very beginning, both founders have valued language and academic rigor. They don't do it to appear highbrow; it's Joe and Cindy's commission to provoke intellectual inquiry.
"Joe and I maintain a long list of plays we'd like to do," says Cindy. "We add more to the list every year and sometimes remove a title or two. We like plays that make you think and give you something to talk about on the car ride home and in the coming days. Often, we are drawn to plays with big themes—life and death, integrity, honor, greed, love lost and found—the full range of human tragedy and comedy."
Live music and movement are notable elements in all Rogue productions, enhancing the emotional impact and dynamic quality of the experience. Cindy observes that live music is integral to every production they unveil.
"We love finding ways music moves a play forward and works on our imagination and emotions. Coming to the theatre and being greeted with close-up live music is special. Movement, of course, allows the language of the production to appeal to more senses -- and dance, when it's right, takes us to deep and thrilling places in the theatre."
Joe and Cindy's journey began serendipitously in 2002 when they met while working on a staged reading at Old Pueblo Playwrights. This collaboration led to the founding of The Rogue Theatre in 2005. Selecting a name for their new venture took time, with Cindy considering numerous options, often by "flipping through the collected works of Shakespeare." When "The Rogue" caught Joe's eye, they didn't hesitate and never looked back. The company was officially incorporated in April 2005 and achieved not-for-profit status by August of the same year.
A Legacy of Bold Choices
Early successes, such as The MAIDS and THE GOOD WOMAN OF SETZUAN, brought critical acclaim and a growing audience. A pivotal moment came in the 2007-08 season with THE GOAT, which sparked post-show discussions and fostered a sense of community among audience members.
In 2009, The Rogue secured a permanent home at the Historic Y, enabling it to expand its programming and attract a larger audience. This period of growth was recognized with a prestigious American Theatre Wing Award in 2012. The theater continued to push artistic boundaries with ambitious productions like WAITING FOR GODOT and HAMLET while nurturing inventive collaborations and original adaptations.
The COVID-19 pandemic in 2020 was a significant challenge for The Rogue, but the company's resilience and determination became apparent. They pivoted to online platforms, maintaining audience engagement and artistic output. By 2021, live performances had resumed under strict safety protocols, and audience numbers began to recover to pre-pandemic levels. The 2023-24 season set new records with high ticket sales and fresh creative projects.
Given the recent struggles confronting theatre companies nationwide, it's worth examining how The Rogue has managed to survive and thrive in a climate of economic uncertainty. I was intent on finding out the winning formula, and Cindy was quick with the answer.
"We are incredibly grateful to our audience and supporters (and the local and federal governments!) for keeping us alive during the pandemic. In many ways, the years of the pandemic were some of our most creative ones! We are happy to say that as of last season (when we sold more season tickets than ever), we have found our way back from the edge and added more performances this season."
And what does the 20th anniversary of The Rogue Theatre mean to her, personally?
"It means we're getting old, Robert! But truly, when I look over the 95 plays we've produced in those 20 years, I am beyond grateful. To have lived these years with some of the greatest writers and some of my dearest friends on stage is a dream come true."
Photo Credit: Tim Fuller
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