Who would have thought that a commentary on the British social, economic and political milieu at the start of World War I would have so much relevance for today?

–Laura K., Audience Member

I am constantly amazed at your ability to open the doors to our tantalizing search for who we are and why we do what we do.

–Dottie D., Audience Member

A totally satisfying and complete evening at the theater.

–Eloise G., Audience Member

Performance run time of Heartbreak House is 2 hours 20 minutes,
including one 10-minute intermission.

We LOVED your Heartbreak House...

–Sharie S., Audience Member

The play is brilliant. Has stuck with me all day.

–Barbara S., Audience Member

Wonderful, a terrific piece of ensemble acting! I expect we (all of us) inherently understand how special an opportunity it is to be a part of this moment in The Rogue’s history.

–Gian M., Audience Member

Supporting Materials

Free “Open Talk” Video

Click here to see the video

Comedy on the Barricades: George Bernard Shaw & Heartbreak House

A Free Open Talk presented on Saturday, September 2 at 2:00 P.M.

Director Christopher Johnson talks about the crucible years of Shaw’s career in which public outrage over his statements against the English handling of the Great War led to this comedy of manners about the spiritual bankruptcy of the leisure class.

This open talk is supported in part by a generous gift from
the Arizona Humanities Council

Meet the Characters

Click here to see the video

This short video was filmed with the cast during a break from rehearsal. We’ve had such fun developing these witty and outlandish characters that we just couldn’t wait any longer to introduce them to you!

Teaser Trailer for Heartbreak House

Click here to see the video

For an idea of the madcap humor in this comedy of manners, you can now watch a video preview of our production.

Essay

Read Jerry James’ essay about the complicated and eclectic life of Shaw, a self-educated gadfly of odd habits, who came to profoundly affect British thought and culture.

The Quintessence of GBS: George Bernard Shaw—Master of Media Manipulation

Poster

View the full-sized poster for the play

Reviews

This 1916 play on stage in Tucson is still relevant over a century later
Review by Kathleen Allen on September 13, special to the Arizona Daily Star

George Bernard Shaw’s satirical Heartbreak House is uncannily timely
Review by Chuck Graham on September 12 at Let The Show Begin! and TucsonStage.com

“Old-fashioned people think you can have a soul without money. They think the less money you have, the more soul you have. Young people nowadays know better. A soul is a very expensive thing to keep: much more so than a motor car.”

—Ellie in Heartbreak House 

Heartbreak House:
A Fantasia in the Russian Manner on English Themes
by George Bernard Shaw

Written in 1919, Shaw modeled Heartbreak House after the writing of Anton Chekhov, presenting an eclectic cross-section of figures from the leisure class all grappling with fate, privilege, and social responsibility in the throes of the World War I. Within this cross-section, Shaw humorously presents us with two factions: those paralyzed by their own intelligence and those cocksure to the point of idiocy, both angling for power and both dangerously ineffective.

The play unfolds over the course of a single evening in which a dinner party is held for new friends, old rivals, and the estranged family members of Mrs. Hesione Hushabye. Notable interruptions include the arrival of an honest burglar, an accidental hypnotism, several mistaken identities, and an impromptu wedding conducted by an elderly pirate. Presiding over all of this is the wily patriarch Captain Shotover, an inventor of war machines and retired ship’s captain in his 80s.

Built to resemble the stern of a ship, Heartbreak House is both where the play takes place and a symbol of the mystery at its center—how do we survive the turbulent waters ahead? Or are we, as a civilization, already as good as sunk? Written later in his career, Shaw was increasingly alarmed with the direction in which his countrymen were steering their vessel. In his own words, “You’ll never have a quiet world till you knock the patriotism out of the human race.”

Christopher Johnson (Director) first came to The Rogue in 2011 to play Jewel in As I Lay Dying and now serves as Assistant Artistic Director, Play-reading Producer, and Resident Ensemble Member. The recipient of eight Arizona Daily Star Mac Award nominations for Best Director, his directing credits include The Rogue productions of The Seafarer, Great Expectations, Passage, The Awakening, The Weir, A View from the Bridge, The Beauty Queen of Leenane, Middletown, The Crucible, Three Tall Women, Penelope, and The Picture of Dorian Gray; as well as Rogue’s play-readings of Heroes of the Fourth Turning, I Am My Own Wife, Our Country’s Good, Loveplay, Let Me Down Easy, Everybody, The Illusion, No Exit, Don Juan in Hell, A House of Pomegranates, The River, and Elizabeth Rex. Elsewhere in Tucson Christopher has directed boom, Cabaret, The Year of Magical Thinking, The Altruists, and Speech & Debate for Winding Road Theater Ensemble as well as Wit, Persephone or Slow Time, The Book Of Liz, My Name is Rachel Corrie, Say You Love Satan, Killer Joe, The Rocky Horror Show, Danny and the Deep Blue Sea, Savage In Limbo, Bug, Titus Andronicus, and A Midsummer Night’s Dream for Etcetera at Live Theatre Workshop (where he served as late-night series Artistic Director from 2007-12). Christopher was recognized by ON Media in 2022 as a Tucson Arts Hero.

Christopher Johnson’s direction of Heartbreak House is supported in part
by generous gifts from Susan Tiss and Jordan & Jean Nerenberg

DIRECTOR’S NOTES

“If that the heavens do not their visible spirits
Send quickly down to tame these vile offences
It will come,
Humanity must perforce prey on itself,
Like monsters of the deep.”

—King Lear by William Shakespeare 

When 58-year-old George Bernard Shaw published Common Sense about the War in 1914, the peak of goodwill and popularity he had recently achieved with his play Pygmalion quickly soured to public outrage. War, said Shaw, “burns the house to roast the pig.” But the patriotic zeal in England at the outbreak of WWI turned his pleas for peace and sanity into the outcries of a traitor. The press encouraged their readers to boycott Shaw’s plays and public officials suggested he be shot.

Taking inspiration from Chekov’s The Cherry Orchard, Shakespeare’s King Lear, and Aristophanes’ The Clouds, Shaw set out to write Heartbreak House in response to the spiritual bankruptcy he saw in “cultured, leisured Europe before the war.” His aim was to illuminate the moral and economic conditions in which a people might become not only indifferent to its own fate, but enthusiastic about destruction and death. Shaw was wrangling with this even in himself, confessing in a letter to a friend the “enchanting” beauty he found in watching a Zeppelin get shot down near his home in 1916, “falling like a burning newspaper, with its human contents roasting…”

The set of Heartbreak House is built like the deck of an old-fashioned, high-pooped ship, Shaw’s symbol for the state of England drifting into the choppy waters of WWI. The crew of this ship of fools have fallen under the spell of happiness, dedicating their lives to the pursuit of satisfaction rather than purpose and responsibility, what old Captain Shotover describes as “yielding and dreaming, rather than resisting and doing.” The trap of satisfaction, of course, is that it can only lead us in a rush to death’s door. What is war, after all, but a violent demand for satisfaction?

There are enough ideas here for multiple plays. Watch how the women rule the roost at a time when they cannot vote. See the concern for what one generation leaves the next, and the defeat of idealists by the reality of modern life. Hear the desperation for justice and order amidst the trivial chaos of privilege as Captain Shotover’s son-in-law Hector repeatedly begs the heavens above to “Fall! Fall and crush!”

Just as the thumping of axes are heard at the end of Chekov’s The Cherry Orchard, so the drums of war percuss the skies over Heartbreak House in its final act. Having read this, you may wonder as the play unfolds why no character so much as mentions the conflict I’ve just set down as both inspiration and backdrop over the course of the entire evening. You may feel, as we did in early rehearsals, that you are missing something crucial.

But which of these characters has the time or perspective—between getting their heads shampooed, juggling multiple love triangles, and bilking innocent people out of their life’s savings—to worry themselves with the costs and consequences of war? At a time when wealth and privilege are considered winning credentials for political office, the laughter and lessons of Heartbreak House are as sorely needed today as they were a century ago.

—Christopher Johnson, Director
director@TheRogueTheatre.org

Playwright

George Bernard Shaw (1856–1950) was an Irish playwright, critic, and political activist. His influence on Western theatre, culture and politics extended from the 1880s to his death and beyond. He wrote more than sixty plays, including major works such as Man and Superman (1902), Pygmalion (the basis for My Fair Lady) (1913) and Saint Joan (1923). Shaw became the leading dramatist of his generation, and in 1925 was awarded the Nobel Prize in Literature. He has regularly been rated among British dramatists as second only to Shakespeare and is recognized for his extensive influence on generations of English-language playwrights.

Cast

in order of appearance

Biographies

Bryn Booth (Ellie Dunn) is a graduate of the BFA Acting program at the University of Arizona. She was most recently seen as Hermia in A Midsummer Night’s Dream, Martine in Babette’s Feast, and Estella in Great Expectations. This is Bryn’s seventh season as a member of the Resident Acting Ensemble with The Rogue where she has performed in Mrs Dalloway, Passage, Death of a Salesman, Twelfth Night, The Awakening, As You Like It, The Oresteia, Mary Shelley’s Frankenstein, A View from the Bridge, Moby Dick, Blithe Spirit, Middletown, The Crucible (Mac Award Nominee for Best Actress), The Secret in the Wings, Much Ado About Nothing, The Curious Incident of the Dog in the Night-Time, Galileo, King Lear, The Grapes of Wrath, A House of Pomegranates, and Macbeth. In 2018, Bryn played Mag in the Scoundrel & Scamp’s production of Lovers (Mac Award Nominee for Best Actress). Other credits include The Love Talker (Scoundrel & Scamp), Romeo & Juliet (Tucson Shakespeare in the Park), and Othello (Arizona Repertory Theatre). She also had the pleasure of understudying with Arizona Theatre Company in Romeo & Juliet and Of Mice and Men. Bryn wants to thank Joe and Cindy for giving her the best job she’s ever had with the most amazing people she’s ever met.

Bryn Booth’s performance is supported in part by generous gifts
from Carol Mangold and Jane & Jim Peterson

Chelsea Bowdren (Hesione Hushabye) is excited to start her second season as a member of The Rogue Resident Acting Ensemble. She has previously performed on The Rogue stage as Helena in A Midsummer Night’s Dream, Biddy/Camilla Pocket in Great Expectations, Jessie in Sweat, Miss Killman in Mrs Dalloway, Jenny/Miss Forsythe in Death of a Salesman and Maria in Twelfth Night. Her Rogue Theatre debut was 15 years ago as Rosalind in Immortal Longings. Chelsea received her BFA in Acting from the University of Arizona and performed in Taming of the Shrew, Diary of Anne Frank, Love’s Labour’s Lost, Medea, & Titus Andronicus as a member of Arizona Repertory Theatre. For Archer, Eloise, and Feloise.

Chelsea Bowdren’s performance is supported in part by generous gifts
from Barbara & Gerald Goldberg and Brock & Chantal McCaman

Hunter Hnat (Randall Utterword) is grateful to be in his sixth season as a member of The Rogue Resident Acting Ensemble. You may have seen him in previous Rogue productions as Puck in A Midsummer Night’s Dream, Young Loewenhielm in Babette’s Feast, Pip in Great Expectations, Jason in Sweat, Inner Septimus in Mrs Dalloway, M in Passage, Happy in Death of a Salesman, Sebastian in Twelfth Night, Robert in The Awakening, Le Beau/Sylvius in As You Like It, Brenden in The Weir, Orestes in The Oresteia, Lord Byron/Frankenstein in Mary Shelley’s Frankenstein, Rodolpho in A View from the Bridge, Ray Dooley in The Beauty Queen of Leenane, Flask in Moby Dick, Edmund Tyrone in Long Day’s Journey Into Night, the Mechanic in Middletown, Ezekiel Cheever in The Crucible, Ensemble in The Secret in the Wings, Claudio in Much Ado About Nothing, Christopher in The Curious Incident of the Dog in the Night-Time, Andrea in Galileo, Oswald in King Lear, Steindorff in Bach at Leipzig, and Ensemble for A House of Pomegranates. Other credits include Salomé (Scoundrel & Scamp), U/S in Romeo and Juliet (Arizona Theatre Company), and How the House Burned Down (Live Theatre Workshop). He is a U of A alumnus with his BFA in Musical Theatre, class of 2015. Enjoy the show!

Hunter Hnat’s performance is supported in part by generous gifts
from Peggy Houghton & Paul Garner and Laurie & Tom Pew

John Keeney (Mazzini Dunn) is an interdisciplinary artist, thrilled to be working with The Rogue again. He has previously appeared on stage at The Rogue in As You Like It, Galileo and Much Ado About Nothing, with The Scoundrel and Scamp in There Is a Happiness that Morning Is, and as music director for Two Plays for Lost Souls. He provided guitar, harmonica and vocals for The Rogue’s productions of The Weir and The Seafarer.

John Keeney’s performance is supported in part
by a generous gift from Clay Shirk

Ryan Parker Knox (Hector Hushabye) is so pleased to be back at The Rogue for his ninth season in The Rogue Resident Acting Ensemble. He is particularly excited to unravel such a challenging collection of titles with his fellow compañeros. Ryan is a South Dakota native who returns to the Old Pueblo from an Eastern sabbatical where he found that Tucson is where he wanted to be all along. Some of his favorites at The Rogue have been Rosencrantz & Guildenstern are Dead, Long Day's Journey into Night, Betrayal, and Moby Dick. RPK would like to thank his lovely partner and biggest fan CM, his family for the decades of support, and his damn pets for making sure no one sleeps in our house.

Ryan Parker Knox’s performance is supported in part by generous gifts
from Kathy Ortega & Larry Johnson and Marianne Leedy

Joseph McGrath (Captain Shotover) is a graduate of the Juilliard School of Drama and Co-Founder and Artistic Director for The Rogue Theatre. He has recently appeared in A Midsummer Night’s Dream, The Seafarer, Great Expectations, Mrs Dalloway, Passage, Death of a Salesman, Twelfth Night, The Awakening, As You Like It, The Weir, A View from the Bridge, Moby Dick, Long Day’s Journey into Night, The Crucible, The Secret in the Wings, Galileo (2018 Mac Award for Best Actor), and King Lear. He also received the Mac Award for Best Actor for his portrayal of Tobias in A Delicate Balance. Joe has toured with John Houseman’s Acting Company and has performed with the Utah Shakespearean Festival. He has been a frequent performer with Ballet Tucson appearing in The Hunchback of Notre Dame, A Midsummer Night’s Dream, and for seventeen years as Herr Drosselmeyer in The Nutcracker. He has also performed with Arizona Theatre Company, Arizona Opera, and Arizona Onstage.

Joseph McGrath’s performance is supported in part by
generous gifts from Els Duvigneau and Julia Royall

Steve McKee (Billy Dunn—Burglar) has appeared at The Rogue in Twelfth Night, Much Ado About Nothing, The Grapes of Wrath, A House of Pomegranates, Awake and Sing, Measure for Measure, Richard III, Mother Courage and Her Children and The Winter’s Tale. Steve has been fortunate to play several wonderful and diverse roles, from Alan in God of Carnage to Roger DeBris in The Producers. Steve also performs with The Gaslight Theatre as well as Live Theatre Workshop and has been featured in independent and student films. Thank you for supporting the arts!

Steve McKee’s performance is supported
in part by a generous gift from Meg & Peter Hovell

Cynthia Meier (Nurse Guinness) is Co-Founder and Managing/Associate Artistic Director for The Rogue, and has appeared recently in Babette’s Feast, Great Expectations, Death of a Salesman, The Awakening, The Oresteia, A View from the Bridge, The Beauty Queen of Leenane, Blithe Spirit, The Crucible, Three Tall Women, and The Grapes of Wrath. Cynthia has been nominated for nine Mac Awards for Best Actress from the Arizona Daily Star and received the 2008 Mac Award for her portrayal of Stevie in Edward Albee’s The Goat. She has also performed with Arizona Repertory Theatre, Arizona Theatre Company, Michigan Repertory Theatre, and Borderlands Theatre. In the 1990s, Cynthia co-founded a women’s theatre company, Bloodhut Productions, which toured throughout the American West and was published by St. Martin’s Press. Cynthia holds a Ph.D. in Performance Studies from the University of Arizona.

Cynthia Meier’s performance is supported in part by generous gifts
from Paul Winick & Ronda Lustman and an anonymous donor

Carley Elizabeth Preston (Lady Utterword) was last seen on The Rogue stage as Titania/Hippolyta in A Midsummer Night’s Dream. Now in her fifth season as a member of The Rogue Theatre’s Resident Acting Ensemble, Carley has also appeared as Babette in Babette’s Feast, Cynthia in Sweat, Lucrezia in Mrs Dalloway, B in Passage, Olivia in Twelfth Night, Adele in The Awakening, Rosalind in As You Like It, Valerie in The Weir, Beatrice Carbone in A View from the Bridge, Mrs. Bradman in Blithe Spirit, and as Tituba in The Crucible. Carley received her BFA from the University of Arizona where she was a member of the Arizona Repertory Theatre. Some of her other stage credits include Time Stands Still (Mac Award for Best Actress), Molly Sweeney, Enchanted April, The Search for Signs of Intelligent Life in the Universe (Live Theatre Workshop), Mrs. Mannerly (Mac Award Nominee for Best Actress), Boston Marriage, By the Bog of Cats, Miracle on 34th Street (Mac Award Nominee for Best Actress), Kimberly Akimbo, and Good People. Carley is also the Diversity Specialist for The Rogue. She would like to thank the loves of her life, Jerrad McMurrich and their fur babies Loki Björn Hiddlesto, Freyja Laveau and Indiana Idris Jones for supporting her theatre habit!

Carley Elizabeth Preston’s performance is supported in part
by generous gifts from Eloise Gore & Allen Hile and Mona Mizell

Matt Walley (Boss Mangan) is a member of The Rogue Theatre Resident Acting Ensemble and was most recently seen as Francis Flute in A Midsummer Night’s Dream. Other appearances include Richard in The Seafarer, Stan in Sweat, Stubb in Moby Dick, Dr. Bradman in Blithe Spirit, Thomas Putnam in The Crucible, Mr. Walley in The Secret in the Wings, Dogberry in Much Ado About Nothing, Roger in The Curious Incident of the Dog in the Night-Time, Matti in Galileo, Edmund in King Lear and Uncle John in The Grapes of Wrath. He also enjoyed previous roles at The Rogue in Bach at Leipzig, Macbeth, Richard III, Journey to the West, The Winter’s Tale, Shipwrecked!, As I Lay Dying and Major Barbara. He also co-created and performed in Oaf at The Scoundrel and Scamp Theatre. He received an MFA from Dell’Arte International.

Matt Walley’s performance is supported in part by
generous gifts from Katherine Jacobson and Sally Krusing

Preshow Music

Nocturne by Lili Boulanger (1893–1918)
Flute Sonata by Francis Poulenc (1899–1963)

Production Music

excerpts from
Nocturne by Lili Boulanger
Flute Sonata by Francis Poulenc
Keep the Home-Fires Burning by Igor Novello (1893–1951)

Russell Ronnebaum (Music Director, Pianist) serves as The Rogue Theatre’s Director of Music and Resident Composer. He holds a Master of Music degree in collaborative piano from the University of Arizona and is the assistant director of music at St. Mark the Evangelist Catholic Church in Oro Valley. As a pianist, Russell often performs with the Tucson Symphony Orchestra and various ensembles and choirs in the greater Tucson area. Russell made his Carnegie Hall debut in 2016, performing the music of Dan Forrest. Past Rogue credits include productions of A Midsummer Night’s Dream, The Seafarer, Babette’s Feast, Great Expectations, Mrs Dalloway, Passage, Death of a Salesman, Twelfth Night, The Awakening, As You Like It, The Weir, The Oresteia, Mary Shelley’s Frankenstein, A View from the Bridge, The Beauty Queen of Leenane, Moby Dick, Blithe Spirit, Long Day’s Journey into Night, and Much Ado About Nothing. Russell also composes the music for Rogue Radio, a radio play series produced in partnership with Arizona Public Media, NPR 89.1 FM. Recordings, videos, sheet music, and upcoming concert dates can be found at www.RRonnebaum.com.

Russell Ronnebaum’s music direction is supported in part by
generous gifts from Karen DeLay & Bill Sandel and Sally Krusing

Diana Schaible (Flutist) is an award-winning flutist, guitarist, and music educator originally from Idaho Falls, Idaho, now based in Tucson. She received a bachelor’s degree in Music Performance from the University of Idaho in 2011 and received her master’s degree in Music Performance at the University of Arizona in 2013. While at UA, Diana was a part of the prestigious Fred Fox Graduate Wind Quintet and played principal flute in the Arizona Symphony and UA Wind Ensemble. More recently, Ms. Schaible was a prize winner in the 2020 Flute Society of Kentucky Young Artist Competition, and has also won prizes in classical guitar at several music festivals, including MusicFest Northwest in Spokane, WA, San Francisco Bay Area Guitar Competition, and 1st prize at the Sierra Nevada Guitar Competition. She has performed internationally on both flute and guitar in Canada, Mexico, Ireland, and the United States. In addition to performing, Diana currently shares her passion for music as an instrumental Teaching Artist for Tucson Unified School District and maintains a private teaching studio.

Designers and Production Staff

Cynthia Meier (Costume Design) worked her way through college at Eastern Michigan University by assisting in the costume shop. Most of what she knows about Costume Design, she learned from Katie Holkeboer, the costume designer and professor at EMU. After graduating with her MA in Speech & Theatre, Cynthia stayed on at EMU to teach Costume Design, Costume Construction, Stage Makeup, and Introduction to Technical Theatre while designing the university mainstage plays and supervising the costume shop. She has designed costumes for each and every one of The Rogue plays since 2005. 

Cynthia Meier’s costume design is supported in part
by a generous gift from Kristi Lewis

Joseph McGrath (Scenic Design) worked in the scene shops at West Virginia University and the Juilliard School of Drama while he was studying to become an actor. He served as Technical Director for Arizona Theatre Company from 1987–88, and opened his own scene shop, Sonora Theatre Works, in the 1990s. Joe has designed and built scenery for Ballet Tucson for most of their ballets for over 20 years, as well as various projects with UA Opera Theatre. He has designed each and every set for The Rogue since its inception in 2005.

Joseph McGrath’s scenic design is supported in part
by a generous gift from Nancy Bissell

Christopher Mason (Lighting Design) is a native of Tucson and just finished getting his MFA in Lighting Design at the University of Arizona. After 26 years as an air traffic controller, he retired and went back to school to follow his passion for the theatre, receiving his BFA from the U. of A. in 2020. He has designed several shows for other companies in Tucson and is thrilled to be working with The Rogue. Christopher would like to thank his wife Ginger for all her support in changing things up. You can visit Christopher at www.lux2152.com

Christopher Mason’s lighting design is supported in part by
a generous gift from Katherine Jacobson

Christopher Pankratz (Stage Manager, Property Master) is honored to be both an actor and a member of the production staff at The Rogue. Christopher previously stage-managed Babette’s Feast, Sweat, and Death of a Salesman. He has performed at The Rogue in The Grapes of Wrath, King Lear, Much Ado About Nothing, The Crucible, Moby Dick, A View from the Bridge, As You Like It, The Awakening, Great Expectations and A Midsummer Night’s Dream. For the John and Joyce Ambruster Play-Reading Series, Christopher directed An Enemy of the People and Constellations as well as acted in Everybody and The Boys in the Band. Christopher has written or adapted several plays including Black Friday, Frankenstein, Cuando Soñamos, Spinning Tales The Musical, Leave It to the Snakes, Cuando Mentimos, Cuckoo, Cuando Perdonamos, and The Snow Queen, and three published plays: The Longest Day of April, The Story Seller’s Tale, and You Can’t Make Wine from Raisins. Christopher would like to thank his colleagues, family, and friends for their support and inspiration.

Christopher Pankratz is supported as stage manager in part
by a generous gift from Rhonda & Robert Fleming

Christopher Pankratz is supported as props master in part
by a generous gift from Ann & Andrew Lettes

Shannon Wallace (Production Stage Manager, Associate Lighting Design) first came to The Rogue in 2015 to stage manage The Picture of Dorian Gray, and now serves as their Production Stage Manager and Operations Manager. She has worked on over 30 shows with The Rogue, some of her favorites include: The Picture of Dorian Gray, The Bridge of San Luis Rey, The Grapes of Wrath, King Lear, Curious Incident, Much Ado About Nothing, Secret in the Wings, The Crucible, Mary Shelley’s Frankenstein, As You Like It and A Midsummer Night’s Dream. She graduated from the University of Arizona with a Bachelor of Fine Arts, focusing on both stage management and lighting design. During her time in school she worked on over 25 productions with Arizona Repertory Theatre. She has also worked for Arizona Theatre Company, the Oklahoma City Philharmonic, and the Contemporary American Theatre Festival. She spent a year living in Chicago and worked as the Operations Assistant for Mudlark Theater Company. She is grateful to be working full-time as a theater artist in her hometown.

Shannon Wallace’s production stage management is supported in
part by a generous gift from Sally Krusing

Amy Novelli (Scenic Artist) is originally from Ohio and Pennsylvania. She received her Cum Laude BFA from the Columbus (Ohio) College of Art & Design in 1987 and her MFA from Carnegie Mellon University in Pittsburgh in 1994. Novelli’s scenic art career began in New York City at the Macy’s Thanksgiving Day Parade Studio. Charge Scenic Artist for the Arizona Theatre Company 2010–2014, Amy also painted several sets for Arizona Opera and UA Opera, and presently paints for The Rogue Theatre and until COVID at the Arizona Broadway Theatre in Peoria (Phoenix). Amy created monstrous Halloween decor for Hotel Congress for 20 years and was lead painter for Marshal-Fields 1998 award winning Easter Window display “Alice in Wonderland.” She supervised four public art projects in the Tucson area with high school youth and won commissions to design and paint five large scale outdoor murals across the country as well as at the Biosphere II and La Posada Hotel on Oracle Blvd. She has taught at the University of Arizona and Pima Community College. Novelli’s fine art work has been exhibited at several Tucson Galleries and in May-August 2020 she had a one woman show at the Tucson International Airport. Amy Novelli has been living in Tucson since 1996. When not painting, Novelli trains rescue horses and dogs and enjoys riding wilderness trails all over the western states.

Any Novelli’s scenic painting is supported
in part by a generous gift from Meg & Peter Hovell

Peter Bleasby (Master Electrician) lit his first show at 13. Professionally, he was with BBC Television for several years, and was an assistant to the UK lighting designer Richard Pilbrow during the inaugural production of the National Theatre (Hamlet, directed by Olivier.) Although his career was in architectural lighting, he maintained some theatre lighting involvement on both sides of the Atlantic. In 2009, he volunteered for The Rogue’s initial season at the Historic Y. He has been master electrician at The Rogue for every show from 2013 to the present, supporting our lighting designers. He devised the system that enables lights to be quickly re-arranged, allowing more time for the creative process. Elsewhere in Tucson, he directed the technical and logistical aspects of fundraisers for the Southern Arizona AIDS Foundation, including the fashion show Moda Provocateur.

Susan Collinet (House Manager) earned her Bachelor of Arts Degree in Creative Writing and English Literature from the University of Arizona in 2008. Decades before returning to college as a non-traditional student, Susan spent twenty years in amateur theater, mostly on the East coast, as well as in Brussels, Belgium in the American Theater of Brussels, and the Theatre de Chenois in Waterloo. She has worked in such positions as a volunteer bi-lingual guide in the Children’s Museum of Brussels, the Bursar of a Naturopathic Medical school in Tempe, Arizona, an entrepreneur with two “Susan’s of Scottsdale” hotel gift shops in Scottsdale, Arizona, and as the volunteer assistant Director of Development of the Arizona Aids Project in Phoenix. Susan continues to work on collections of poetry and non-fiction. Her writing has won awards from Sandscript Magazine, the John Hearst Poetry Contest, the Salem College for Women’s Center for Writing, and was published in a Norton Anthology of Student’s Writing. In addition to being House Manager, Susan serves on the Board of Directors for the Rogue.

Matt Elias (Assistant House Manager, Sound Engineer) is constantly seeking out art whether it be theatre, music, television or video games. He became enamored with live performance at The Rogue Theatre in 2014 while joining his wife, Shannon, as an usher. His experience as a touring musician, his penchant for audio production and his general obsession with how stuff works, makes him useful in all sorts of tight places throughout the production process. Nowadays you’ll see him as Assistant House Manager, trading off shows with Susan Collinet and you won’t see him sneaking a peek at each of those shows from the couch in the hallway or the back hallway behind the curtains. Matt has experience as a Master Bicycle Technician, Emergency Medical Technician, Fire/EMS 911 Dispatcher, and most recently a Production Brewer at Dragoon Brewing Company.

Thomas Wentzel (Box Office Manager, Program, Website) is a Scientific Programmer for the National Solar Observatory and holds a Ph.D. in Physics from the University of Arizona. Previously he has worked as a Data Manager for several prevention programs in the Arizona Cancer Center and the Mel and Enid Zuckerman Arizona College of Public Health. He has served on the Board of the Tucson Men’s Cooperative, editing its newsletter for five years, and on the Executive Committee of Sons of Orpheus—The Male Choir of Tucson. He has sung with Furry Day Singers, Sons of Orpheus, AwenRising and Arizona Repertory Singers, and has performed with Tucson Art Theatre in Viktor Slavkin’s Cerceau and Clifford Odets’ Waiting for Lefty. Thomas has designed and built The Rogue Theatre Web site (with great assistance from Bill Sandel and Bryan Falcón in creating the 2020 Website update), and serves as Webmaster and Business Manager. He has also served on The Rogue’s Board of Directors since the founding of the theatre.

Shannon Elias (Box Office Associate, Volunteer Coordinator) got her first big break in theatre at age 11 when she was cast as the Wicked Witch of the West in The Wizard of Oz in school. After that first applause, she was hooked. She began at The Rogue Theatre as an usher in 2008, and volunteered in various roles until she was hired to the box office in 2018. She made her debut on The Rogue stage in The Oresteia in 2020 and has since appeared in Babette’s Feast and the staged-readings of Everybody and The Sign in Sidney Brustein’s Window. She also worked backstage with The Rogue as Assistant Stage Manager for The Awakening, Mrs Dalloway and A Midsummer Night’s Dream. Shannon holds a Bachelor of Arts in Theatre Arts from the University of Arizona with a minor in Special Education and Rehabilitation Psychology.

Our Thanks

Performance Schedule

Performance run time of Heartbreak House is 2 hours 20 minutes,
including one 10-minute intermission.