photo by Tim Fuller

The Man (Ryan Parker Knox) and The Woman (Sophie Gibson-Rush) intently discuss how  important it is to land their own dreams in "The River." 

English playwright Jez Butterworth finds philosophical meaning in the locked-on longing of fishermen who can't stop dreaming about the one that got away. This is the hauntingly bittersweet reminiscence that fills “The River” playing at The Rogue Theatre.

Brilliantly directed by Christopher Johnson, a cast of four captures the essential tension that sustains the essence that must be maintained between rationalizing one's past and keeping hopes alive to nourish the future.

It is how a man remembers past events that shape how he responds to future events.

The Man, as he is identified in the program, is played by Ryan Parker Knox. Cast opposite him are The Woman (Sophie Gibson-Rush), The Other Woman (Bryn Booth) and Another Woman (Chelsea Jean Smith).

“The River” is not one of those Point A leads to Point B leads to Point C kinds of theatrical production. “The River” is more of an abstract experience running 85 minutes without intermission, with lots of room for fanciful possibilities.

Butterworth's gift for writing tense dialogue quickly establishes The Man as kind of a control freak obsessed with catching trophy fish.

There is a rustic cabin near his favorite fishing spot where the man brings his women, one at a time, hoping they will latch on to his dream of going for the big one.

As every man knows, once you have The Woman, next will come the Other Woman. 

That dream of making a bigger catch is what keeps the fisherman casting one more time, always believing his next cast will hook the trophy winner.

Each of The Man's conversations begins with conflict that becomes more conflicted with each emotional reveal.

At the performance I attended, a packed house was compelled to follow in concentrated silence – no coughs, no shuffling feet, no shifting chairs or crumpled programs.

This complete silence from beginning to end was the most continuous quiet I have ever known in any theater, so evenly balanced is The Man's determination to convince these uncommitted women.

Knox is white-knuckled convincing in his dedication to this role. Maybe The Man did let a record-setter get away once before, but now he is sure to snag an even larger one on the next try. Or with the next fishing trip companion.

Gibson-Rush finds her hope in watching picturesque sunsets, each one promising brighter times tomorrow.

Booth has a more complicated role, making bigger promises, understanding how a dedicated fisherman will believe in the greater power of a more elaborate lure.

"The River" runs through March 15 in The Rogue Theatre at the Historic Y, 300 E. University Blvd., running 85 minutes with no intermission. For details and reservations, visit www.theroguetheatre.org

As a theatrical performance, the conversations between turbulent Marjorie and mechanical Walter are brilliantly performed. Playwright Jordan Harrison has constructed “Marjorie Prime” so cleverly, and director Christopher Johnson puts so much attention to the most subtle details, we come away believing reality can indeed exist in many shades of imagination.

Completing the cast are Carley Elizabeth Preston and Matt Walley as Marjorie's tense daughter Tess and her goodhearted husband Jon. Tess is equally as mercurial as her mom in abrupt mood shifts. Slipping into middle age Tess faces her own dystopia that she never had a warm relationship with her mother.

Every conversation between the two always ends in a bickering, sputtering argument. For both women, family life exists more in their head than in their hearts. In one series of short bursts, Preston brilliantly leaps from crisis conclusion to crisis combustion.

So we in the audience are left to ponder, does it really matter what happened in the past? Or does what we remember become more important than what actually happened?

ing in various combinations deliver one intense rendition after another filled with their personal hopes for some relief, offering 27 blues flavored pieces straight from the 1930s gut of Depression Era struggles in gritty cities, nearly 100 years ago.

Award winning Sheldon Epps first conceived of this revue in 1980, opening a successful Broadway run in 1982, followed by an equally popular London production in 1987.

Epps found ways to blend the music of such established composers as Harold Arlen and Johnny Mercer with the popular blues success of marque names like Duke Ellington, Billy Strayhorn, Bessie Smith and others.

From the evergreen favorites “Lush Life” and “Stompin' at the Savoy” to the sly double entendre of “Take Me For A Buggy Ride” to the equally defiant “Wild Women Don't Have the Blues,” no heart left wanting goes unexamined.

Think of this indigo journey as a musical confessional so convincing in its search for sweet release, the capacity audience on opening night at the downtown Temple of Music and Art jumped to its feet in a standing ovation of the joyful discovery to learn what is meant by making it hurt so good.

This remarkable metaphor of a religious experience is carried out in the soaring stage design of Edward E. Haynes Jr. A towering church-like arc is filled with patterned columns that could also represent endless towers of faceless apartment buildings in a shadowy urban setting.

Included in the stage design are setups representing four generic apartments flaunting their ordinariness in cold concern for these star-crossed performers.

Each is given a descriptive title rather than a name. They are: The Lady from the Road (Roz White), The Woman of the World (April Nixon), The Girl with a Date (Camryn Hamm) and The Man in the Saloon (Darryl Reuben Hall). As the titles imply, each of these women represents all women at different stages in their lives.

The man, presumably, stands for all men who end up by themselves in a bar.

There is no dialogue or plot per se but each song is self-contained, telling its own story, adding another chapter to the challenging life of being female.

“Blues in the Night” runs through Feb. 15, with performances at various times Tuesdays through Sundays in the downtown Temple of Music and Art, 330 S. Scott Ave. Run time is approximately two hours, including intermission.

Tickets are $33-$113. For additional details and reservations, 833-ATC-SEAT (282-7328) or online, atc.org

Gaslight photo 

Another eager audience settles into the pine paneled theater to start their new  year with comic western history and free popcorn.

This Gaslight Theatre classic has returned in a new production that flaunts its soaring wiles across a curtained stage of high notes and evil intentions.