COVID: We are committed to the safety of audience members, performers, and staff. Masks are strongly recommended inside the theatre. Read more about our COVID-19 protocols and precautions.

…A magical moment of creative theatre.

—Jean Nerenberg, Audience Member

We sit entranced as the Rogue cast carries on.

—Let the Show Begin review 

The production, insightfully directed by Christopher Johnson, is dark and funny and disturbing.

—Arizona Daily Star review

Click here or on the image above to see the trailer video.

Supporting Materials

Free “Open Talk” Video

Click here to see the video

Free Open Talk: Sympathy, Vengeance, and Great Expectations

presented on Saturday, October 29 at 2:00 p.m.

Director Christopher Johnson talks about the life, times, and influence of Charles Dickens' iconic coming-of-age story and Jo Clifford's stage adaptation. The cast also presents a scene from the play.

This open talk is supported in part by a generous gift from
Meg & Peter Hovell and the Arizona Humanities Council

The Prop Master’s Guide to Great Expectations

Preview some of the custom props and puppets created for our production by Rogue staff member Christopher Pankratz. Click here or on the image below to view the video.

Essay

Read Jerry James’ essay about the convolutions of the British class system of the early 19th century, and how Dickens’ drew from his own experiences and hidden family secret to create Pip’s story:

Mr. Pip, Gent.:
Becoming a Gentlemen in Regency England

Poster

View the full-sized poster for the play

Reviews

Great Expectations at The Rogue reminds us in any century more money always means more problems
Review of Great Expectations by Chuck Graham on November 12 at Let The Show Begin! and TucsonStage.com

Dickens production on stage in Tucson doesn’t disappoint
Review by Kathleen Allen on November 8, special to the Arizona Daily Star

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 Board Member. The recipient of eight Arizona Daily Star Mac Award nominations for Best Director, his directing credits include The Rogue productions of 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 I Am My Own Wife, Our Country’s Good, Loveplay, Let Me Down Easy, Everybody, The Importance of Being Earnest, 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; Hedwig and The Angry Inch for The Bastard Theatre; 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 Johnson’s direction is supported in part by generous gifts
from Katherine Jacobson and Denice Blake & John Blackwell

DIRECTOR’S NOTES

Thanks to its endurance in the canon and the culture, there’s an ongoing conversation inherent in any encounter with Great Expectations. For many, it’s a story that manages to speak to us right where we are, in different ways and at different times. But we all bring a point of view to the discussion, even if it’s just a culturally inherited perception of what this iconic coming-of-age story is all about.

And while Great Expectations is quite limited in its representation (centering on a white male protagonist), it captures something universal about the reliably terrifying experience of growing up and falling in love, no matter who you are.

Jo Clifford’s adaptation cuts Charles Dickens’ novel to the bone. If you’re familiar with the source material you’ll notice whole swaths of the book have been tossed out, characters cut or combined, and Dickens’ nineteenth century language streamlined. Clifford allows us to experience Dickens’ story in a concentrated dosage that feels immediate and fresh—whether it’s your first time meeting with Pip and Estella or your tenth.

The challenge of bringing this adaptation to life has been one of speed. The momentum with which the script moves from scene to scene requires a nimbleness of imagination not only in how we present the play, but in how you participate with it in the audience. What the playwright ultimately asks is that we engage with the story creatively, which is precisely where Great Expectations succeeds or fails in its transformation from a novel to a piece of theatre.

You’ll find a lot to wrestle with in Clifford’s play thanks to Dickens’ trademark wit, vivid and grotesque characters, and scathing social critique. Keep an eye out for the many different forms of love on display; romantic, fraternal, platonic, and paternal. Better still, watch for the ways in which these forms of love consistently fail us, or go wrong; are abused or neglected. Do we ever mature in our ability to love, or is it a skill that degrades over time?

Wherever you are in your life and whatever you currently bring to this story, I hope Great Expectations is as rewarding for you to continue the conversation as it has been for us to foster it.

—Christopher Johnson, Director
director@TheRogueTheatre.org

Playwright

Jo Clifford (formerly known as John Clifford, born March 22, 1950) is an award-winning playwright, translator, poet, and performer, who has also worked as a journalist and academic. She was instrumental in establishing the reputation of the Traverse Theatre Company in the 1980s. Jo Clifford is the author of over 70 works including The Trees of Knowledge; Sex, Chips and the Holy Ghost; Everyone; An Apple a Day; Losing Venice; Tchaikovsky & the Queen of Spades; and Charles Dickens: The Haunted Man. Jo’s adaptation of Charles Dickens’s Great Expectations has toured the United Kingdom. She lives in Edinburgh and is a former Professor of Theatre at Queen Margaret University.

Cast

in alphabetical order

Bryn Booth (Estella) is a graduate of the BFA Acting program at the University of Arizona. She was most recently seen as Sally Seton in Mrs Dalloway, Q in Passage, Letta in Death of a Salesman, Viola in Twelfth Night, Edna in The Awakening, Celia in As You Like It, Electra in The Oresteia, Mary Shelley in Mary Shelley’s Frankenstein and as Catherine in A View from the Bridge. This is Bryn’s sixth season as a member of the Resident Acting Ensemble with The Rogue where she has performed in 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 Sally Krusing

Chelsea Bowdren (Biddy/Camilla Pocket) is grateful to be a member of The Rogue Resident Acting Ensemble this season. She has previously performed on The Rogue stage as Jessie in Sweat, Miss Killman in Mrs Dalloway, Jenny/Miss Forsythe in Death of a Salesman and Maria in Twelfth Night. Her Rogue Theatre stage debut was many 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. After exploring for a couple years, she’s ecstatic to be back in Tucson and back in theatre. For Archer & Eloise.

Chelsea Bowdren’s performance is supported in part by
generous gifts from Clay Shirk and Todd Hansen

Lucas Gonzales (Man/Cousin Raymond) is excited to return to The Rogue stage, after last appearing as Oscar in Sweat and last season, as Stanley in Death of a Salesman. He is a Tucson native and University of Arizona graduate having made his first Rogue appearance in Major Barbara back in 2011. Over the last decade, he has also been seen at Beowulf Alley Theatre and the Roadrunner Theatre along with several local films from students and professionals based right here in town. His other focus is being an emcee/DJ at countless venues across Tucson, sparking everything from open mic nights to karaoke shows in an effort to bring out the artistry of whoever dares to try. Enjoy the show! We’ve all made it this far, so continue to be safe. For Baby Jack and Little Emma.

Lucas Gonzales’ performance is supported in part by generous gifts
from Meg & Peter Hovell and Eloise Gore & Allen Hile

Hunter Hnat (Pip) is grateful to be in his fifth season as a member of The Rogue Resident Acting Ensemble. You may have seen him in previous Rogue productions as 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
Jan Linn & Richard Pincus, Meg & Peter Hovell and Jordan & Jean Nerenberg

Joseph McGrath (Jaggers/Magwitch) is a graduate of the Juilliard School of Drama and Co-Founder and Artistic Director for The Rogue Theatre. He has recently appeared in 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. Joe owns, with his wife Regina Gagliano, Sonora Theatre Works, which produces theatrical scenery and draperies.

Joseph McGrath’s performance is supported in part by generous gifts from
Jim Wilson & Adam Hostetter, John & Diane Wilson and Jordan & Jean Nerenberg

Cynthia Meier (Miss Havisham) is Co-Founder and Managing/Associate Artistic Director for The Rogue, and has appeared recently in 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 Susan Tiss and Brock & Chantal McCaman

Dennis O’Dell (Wemmick) is thrilled to be returning to his first love, theatre, after a 26-year hiatus in the world of Retail Business Management. Dennis and his wife founded and operated an Off-Loop Professional/Educational theatre company, The Center Ring, in Chicago in the 1980s and 1990s, with an emphasis on training young actors and showcasing them in productions with working professionals. As an actor, favorite roles include Shaw in Dear Liar, Tevya in Fiddler on the Roof, Glas in Slow Dance on the Killing Ground, and anything and everything Shakespeare. He has previously appeared on The Rogue Theatre stage in Death of a Salesman, The Oresteia and As You Like It.

Dennis O’Dell’s performance is supported in part
by generous gifts from Kristi Lewis and Nancy Bissell

Christopher Pankratz (Herbert Pocket) is honored to be both an actor and a member of the production staff at The Rogue. He has previously performed on The Rogue stage in The Awakening, As You Like It, A View from the Bridge, Moby Dick, The Crucible, Much Ado About Nothing, King Lear and The Grapes of Wrath. He has also stage managed Sweat and Death of a Salesman. In 2019, he directed An Enemy of the People for the John and Joyce Ambruster Play-Reading Series. Christopher has written and produced several plays at Flowing Wells High School including Black Friday, Frankenstein, Cuando Soñamos, Spinning Tales The Musical, Leave It to the Snakes, Cuando Mentimos, Cuckoo, Cuando Perdonamos, The Snow Queen, You Can’t Make Wine from Raisins, and two newly-published plays: The Longest Day of April and The Story Seller’s Tale. Christopher would like to thank his colleagues, family, and friends for their support and inspiration.

Christopher Pankratz’s performance is supported in part
by generous gifts from Shawn Burke and Els Duvigneau

Aaron Shand (Mr. Wopsle/Bentley Drummle) was last seen on The Rogue stage as Howard Wagner in Death of a Salesman. Now in his fifth season as a member of The Rogue Theatre’s Resident Acting Ensemble, Aaron has also appeared as Duke Orsino in Twelfth Night, Leonce Pontellier in The Awakening, Orlando in As You Like It, Jim in The Weir, Agamemnon in The Oresteia, Eddie Carbone in A View from the Bridge, Ishmael in Moby Dick, The Cop in Middletown, Hathorne in The Crucible, The Sea Captain in The Secret in the Wings, Don Pedro in Much Ado About Nothing, Sagredo in Galileo, Noah Joad in The Grapes of Wrath and Duke of Albany in King Lear. Born and raised in Tucson, he received his B.F.A. in Acting from the University of Arizona, performing for the Arizona Repertory Theatre in Bus Stop, The Miracle Worker and Romeo & Juliet. He also spent a season with the Milwaukee Repertory Theater, performing in The Cherry Orchard, State of the Union and A Christmas Carol.

Aaron Shand’s performance is supported in part by generous gifts
from Barbara & Gerald Goldberg and Lori Levine & Gary Benna

Matt Walley (Joe) is excited to be returning this season as a member of The Rogue Theatre Resident Acting Ensemble. He previously appeared as 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 has 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. In 2019, as an Artist in Residence at The Scoundrel and Scamp Theatre, Walley co-created and performed in Oaf. Matt is on the board of The Tucson Fringe Festival and also The Shakespeare Forum in New York City. His company, Theatre 3, created new work for Live Theatre Workshop’s late night series Etcetera including Theatrum Orbis Terrarum and Mixtape. He graduated from Dell’Arte International in 2009 with an MFA in Physical Ensemble Theatre. He has also performed with The Pinnacle Peak Pistoleros and their Wild West Stunt Shows, Stories that Soar!, and Live Theatre Workshop.

Matt Walley’s performance is supported in part by
generous gifts from Todd Hansen and Karen DeLay & Bill Sandel

Gretchen Wirges (Mrs. Joe/Sarah Pocket/Molly) is thrilled to be performing in her first full production at The Rogue. Gretchen has been seen on many of the stages in Tucson over the last 10 years as an actor, director, and playwright. As an actor, she was seen most recently as Margery in Hand to God (Arizona Onstage) Annabella Byron in Ada and the Engine (Scoundrel & Scamp), and Lynn in Secrets of a Soccer Mom (Invisible Theatre). Later this season, Gretchen will be appearing at Live Theatre Workshop in No Other Nemesis and Scoundrel & Scamp’s One Twig.  She has written and directed several well received shows at Live Theatre Workshop and serves as a mentor/director for their Young Playwright’s Contest since its inception three years ago. Gretchen also teaches and directs for Scoundrel & Scamp Theatre’s scamp acting classes and productions.

Gretchen Wirges’ performance is supported in part by generous gifts
from Paul Winick & Ronda Lustman and Tim Wernette & Carolyn Brown

Music

Russell Ronnebaum—Pianist
Brian Hanner—Percussion

Preshow Music

Song of the Black Swan, from the opera The Medium,
by Gian Carlo Menotti (1911–2007)
Waltz Macabre by Russell Ronnebaum
Danse Macabre by Camille Saint-Saëns (1835–1921) 

Production Themes

Score by Russell Ronnebaum
Satis House
Old Clem (Pip)
Old Clem (Joe)
Waltz Macabre (London)
Waltz Macabre (Jaggers)
Waltz Macabre (Royal Subscription Ball)

Russell Ronnebaum (Music Director, Pianist, Composer) 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 where he studied under Dr. Paula Fan. He currently serves as the assistant director of music at St. Mark the Evangelist Catholic Church in Oro Valley, as well as the staff accompanist for the Tucson Masterworks Chorale. As a classically trained pianist, Russell has performed with the Tucson Symphony Orchestra, the American Wind Symphony Orchestra, Artifact Dance Company, Arizona Repertory Theatre, and as a concerto soloist with the Tucson Masterworks Chorale. Russell made his Carnegie Hall debut in 2016 performing the music of composer Dan Forrest. Past credits include The Rogue’s recent productions of 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, Much Ado About Nothing and The Secret in the Wings (Vocal Director). 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 Peggy Houghton & Paul Garner and Sally Krusing

Brian Hanner (Percussion) is a professional drummer and percussionist living in Tucson, Arizona. He is Principal Percussionist for the Flagstaff Symphony Orchestra and has also performed with the Tucson Symphony, Arizona Opera, and True Concord Voices and Orchestra. Brian has an extensive background in a diverse list of musical styles - rock, funk, country, and everything in between. In addition to a career as a performer, he is co-owner, producer, and recording engineer at Hanner House Records. He is also co-host of (modernist_society), a progressive rock radio show on 99.1 FM Downtown Radio, with his lovely and talented wife, Syndenn Sweet. 

MUSIC DIRECTOR’S NOTES

The curtain opens with the first glimpse of Satis House, which was the residence of Miss Havisham. This theme’s low substantial bass notes provide a strong “foundation,” but the higher melody is disjointed, lost, and never quite resolves. This theme accompanies Miss Havisham throughout the play and becomes more deconstructed as the story progresses.

Pip is torn between two versions of the same theme in Old Clem. Pip’s desire to acquire more is often met with resistance, and his version of Old Clem is in a minor key, lacks a clear rhythmic meter, and always ends unresolved. In contrast, Pip’s best friend, Joe lives a simple and happy life as a blacksmith and is satisfied by his station in life. The theme Old Clem (Joe) is melodic and jaunty and always ends on a perfect authentic cadence.

Waltz Macabre is a versatile theme and serves as the backbone of Act 2. An uproarious version sets the scene for a bustling picture of London, while a stiffer and more calculated version accompanies the lawyer, Jaggers. The final iteration of this theme comes in the form of The Royal Subscription Ball, followed by Ms. Havisham’s broken-off engagement.

Russell Ronnebaum—Music Director, Pianist, Composer

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 Ann & Lewis Roscoe

Joseph McGrath (Set Design) worked in the scene shops at West Virginia State 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 set design is supported in part
by a generous gift from Kathy Ortega & Larry Johnson

Domino Mannheim (Lighting Designer) is a freelance Lighting Designer from Tucson, Arizona. She graduated from the University of Arizona in 2017 with a BFA in Technical Theatre and Lighting Design, and most recently graduated in 2022 from Rose Bruford College in London with her Masters in Lighting In Performance. Some recent productions she designed include Die Planeten at the Staatsopera in Hannover Germany, Ordinary Days in London England, and The Revolutionists at Atlas Performing Arts Center in Washington, DC. As a traveling Designer, she is very grateful to have the opportunity to work with such an amazing team back in her hometown, and is excited to see the production come to fruition!

Domino Mannheim’s lighting design is supported in part
by a generous gift from Clem & Sharie Shute

Hannah Al-Baiaty (Stage Manager) is thrilled to be working with The Rogue Theatre again this season after stage managing Twelfth Night and Passage last season. Hannah earned her BFA in Technical Theatre Production and Design from the University of Arizona. Her previous credits include Stage Manager for Under Construction Series: Ralph Lemon & Friends at Park Avenue Armory, Helen Simoneau Danse’s Flight Distance at Joyce SoHo, Arizona Repertory Theatre’s productions of Avenue Q and Voice of the Prairie, Assistant Stage Manager for Eugene Opera's production of Nixon in China and Assistant Production Manager for Pipeline Theatre Company’s world premiere of Byuioo.  She also spent five seasons working as a Costume Technician for The Gaslight Theatre.  Hannah would like to thank the entire cast and production team of Great Expectations for an amazing creative experience, with a special thank you to Shannon Wallace for bringing her into the Rogue community. She would also like to thank her husband, family and friends for their endless support and love.

Hannah Al-Baiaty’s stage management is supported in part
by a generous gift from Paul Winick & Ronda Lustman

Shannon Wallace (Production Stage Manager) 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. Her stage management credits at The Rogue include: The Picture of Dorian Gray, The Bridge of San Luis Rey, Angels in America, Uncle Vanya, Penelope, Macbeth, A House of Pomegranates, Celia, A Slave, Bach at Leipzig, The Grapes of Wrath, Three Tall Women, King Lear, Galileo, Curious Incident, Much Ado About Nothing, Secret in the Wings, The Crucible, A View from the Bridge, Mary Shelley’s Frankenstein, The Oresteia, The Weir, As You Like It, The Awakening and Mrs Dalloway. She also served as Production Stage Manager for Twelfth Night, Death of a Salesman, Passage and Sweat. 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 generous gifts from Ann & Andrew Lettes and Jordan & Jean Nerenberg

Daniel Precup (Choreographer) is a graduate of the Floria Capsali National School of Dance in Romania. He has been principal dancer of the Oleg Danovski Ballet Theater, the Oakland Ballet and Ballet Tucson. Among the many roles he has danced in his thirty year performing career are Siegfried in Swan Lake, Albrecht in Giselle, Oberon in A Midsummer Night’s Dream, the Prince in Cinderella and The Sleeping Beauty, the Mandarin in The Miraculous Mandarin, Frollo in The Hunchback of Notre Dame, Dracula in Dracula, as well as the Cavalier and Herr Drosselmeyer in The Nutcracker . Following his retirement to the position of Ballet Master and Choreographer for Ballet Tucson, he created the ballets Boler-O, Gemini, Mosaico, Steps, Love Songs, Carmina Burana, Carmen, Divertimento, Perseus and Andromeda and The Lady of the Camellias. Mr. Precup embraces the power of movement to express tone in diverse mediums and has cherished his time working with the talented artists of The Rogue Theatre. He has collaborated with The Rogue on their productions of The Tempest, By the Bog of Cats, Moby Dick and Mrs. Dalloway.

Daniel Precup’s choreography is supported in part
by a generous gift from Julia Annas

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.

Amy Novelli’s scenic painting is supported in part by
a generous gift from Lawrence Lee & Beth Valenzuela

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 Deanna Fitzgerald, Don Fox, and Josh Hemmo. 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 ofStudent’s Writing. In addition to being House Manager, Susan serves on the Board of Directors for the Rogue.

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.

Our Thanks

Performance Schedule

Performance run time of Great Expectations is two hours and five minutes, including one ten-minute intermission.