The Rogue Theatre, mere blocks from the UA campus on Fourth Avenue and University Boulevard, opens its latest production, Edward Albee’s “”A Delicate Balance,”” this weekend.
Theatergoers may remember The Rogue Theatre’s last production, “”Animal Farm,”” the southwest premiere of a new adaptation by Andrew Periale. It was the first production in the company’s fifth season and the first at the troupe’s permanent location on University Boulevard.
Famous for its ambitious and uncommon productions, The Rogue Theatre’s season includes works by such theatre greats as Samuel Beckett and William Shakespeare. The current production, “”A Delicate Balance,”” was penned by legendary playwright Edward Albee and received the Pulitzer Prize in 1967.
The story of uneasy suburbanites and what happens when their carefully constructed lives are shattered, “”A Delicate Balance”” tackles many common themes in Albee’s body of work, such as the hypocrisy of modern American society and the dangerous notion of the American dream. The team at The Rogue is at its best with complex and difficult works, and its production of “”Balance”” is sure to be another electric and thought-provoking evening of theater.
“”The brilliance of Albee is his ability to jump between the comic, the absurd and the deeply serious,”” said director David Morden, who Rogue veterans will remember as Napoleon in the wonderful “”Animal Farm.”” “”His characters are intelligent, witty and deeply flawed all at the same time. These multi-faceted people become a mirror for us, the audience, as we see ourselves flash by in their ever-changing moods,”” he said in The Rogue Theatre’s press release.
With a preview this Thursday, Nov. 5, at 7:30 p.m., the opening performance is this Saturday at 7:30 p.m. The show runs through Nov. 29, with no productions Nov. 6 and Nov. 26. Tickets are $24, but The Rogue is also famous for its Pay-What-You-Will Nights, Thursdays Nov. 12 and 19. Reservations are recommended and can be made at www.theroguetheatre.com or by telephone at 551-2053.
A new offer from The Rogue Theatre for this show is rush tickets for students. Anyone with a student ID can come to a show by 7:15 p.m. (or 1:45 on Sunday afternoons) and purchase available tickets for half the regular price — $12 for most shows.
In collaboration with The Rogue Theatre, The Now Theatre Company also opens its production of Neil LaBute’s “”Some Girl(s)”” this weekend. The performance begins immediately after “”A Delicate Balance”” at 10:30 p.m, Thursdays through Saturday and Sundays at 5 p.m. Founded, produced, and performed by UA students, tickets to the show are $10 in cash only.
“”Some Girl(s)”” is a tale of modern love, loss and heartbreak as a middle-aged everyman, Guy, goes to visit his old girlfriends on the verge of his engagement. “”It’s about motives, and not being translucent. People should see this show because they’re characters in it,”” said cast member and UA student Lauren Orlowski, who plays Sam in the production.
“”A Delicate Balance”” and “”Some Girl(s)”” are sure to offer students and theatergoers a lovely night at the theatre and more than a few things to think about.
