photo by Tim Fuller

Estraven (Matt Walley) the prime minister of Karhide, confers with Genly Ai (Kevin Aoussou), a travelling envoy from the Ekumen.

Have you ever wished you had become a philosopher instead of the more practical career choice you did make? If so, “The Left Hand of Darkness” now at The Rogue Theatre is your kind of play. A great place to have your imagination stretched in all sorts of new directions, appreciating whole new possibilities that you just never thought about before.

This fanciful play directed by Matt Bowdren has been adapted by Cynthia Meier from the award-winning novel by Ursula K. Le Guin, whose parents were both anthropologists. When it comes to knowing all the variations different cultures can take to survive and perpetuate themselves, Le Guin grew up in the middle of reading all about it.

This ambitious author added more layers of possibility in her sci-fi trek by imagining nations of beings who were totally androgynous, equally able to change back and forth between male and female several times during the normal course of their lives. They considered this experience a blessing because each one could then grasp the full meaning of “humanity.”

First published in 1969, the play is centered on two people, Genly Ai (Kevin Aoussou) and Estraven (Matt Wally). Genly Ai is “an envoy from the Ekumen” sent to develop new trade in the exchange of ideas by building relationships with other as yet unknown civilizations in galactic space.

If you quickly connect with the otherworldly experience of Christopher Columbus seeking a richer spice trade by crossing strange lands, buckle up because you've only scratched the surface.

“The Left Hand of Darkness” will change your own way of looking at both history and society. Imagine feasting on high octane brain candy by the handfuls. That's what it feels like.

Genly Ai is the one most like ourselves. He is always male and always interested in mating. Most everyone he meets feels sorry for him.

Estraven is the otherworldly being who is somehow attracted to this strange creature Genly Ai. The play, really, is their journey of discovery.

A collection of eight other players portray a panoply of figures, characters who are sometimes weird and other times painfully Earth-like.

The strongest of these is King Argavan (Joseph McGrath), always suspicious of anyone performing good deeds, and believing it is essential that everyone fears the King.

A massive stage prop shell more than 10 feet tall that gets moved around on silent wheels is so imperious it becomes like another character, changing atmospheres and adding mystery as Genly Ai and Estavan journey on.

Because each of the eight actors play several roles, each one with an unusual name and history, the whole business can become confusing. But you don't need to keep it all sorted out to get LeGuin's message about the importance of a rich variety of cultures.

That comes through loud and clear.

“The Left Hand of Darkness” runs through Nov. 19 with performances at 7:30 p.m. Thursdays-Saturdays, 2 p.m. Saturdays-Sundays, in The Rogue Theatre, 300 E. University Blvd.

Run time is 2 hours, 20 minutes with one intermission.

Tickets are $42. For details, reservations and present COVID protocol, 520-551-2053, or visit www.TheRogueTheatre.org

photo by Nicci Radhe

From left, Greg (Taylor Rascher), Carly (Taige' Lauren), Stephanie (Samantha Cormier) and Kent (Lucas Gonzales).

Setting all of today's sexist and feminist politics aside, Mark Klugheit's Next Stage Theatre Southwest has dug deeper into Neil LaBute's Tony-nominated “Reasons to be Pretty,” a play that considers the importance of being attractive.

Back in the 1950s it was popular for young guys to say “She was the cutest girl I could get with the car I had.” Klugheit as director has set his play in “more or less the present,” but those surface values are still running rampant.

Greg (Taylor Rascher) and Kent (Lucas Gonzales) are two of today's young guys. Their yesterday dreams of freedom and happiness are turning into the bitter reality of hope getting eroded daily by dull factory work and that work's impersonal demands.

Their women are Carly (Taige' Lauren), married to Kent, and Stephanie (Samantha Cormier) in a four-year relationship with Greg.

But immediately in Act One, Scene One, Greg and Stephanie self-destruct in a Hellacious argument, attacking each other with salvos of F-bombs and other colorful verbal fireworks. Stephanie is incensed that Greg thinks her looks are just average.

Kent and Carly, the married ones, face other pressures that build as Carly learns she is pregnant and Kent begins looking around at other young women working at the factory.

Rascher and Gonzales create distinctly different personalities in their angry young men. Rascher's Greg wants to be popular, basically, while Gonzales' Kent wants to always make himself number one.

It's true, LaBute does give his men the best lines, which Klugheit uses in bold strokes to define their personalities. Looking beyond the livid language we can see both Greg and Kent are already feeling the tightening chains of assembly line workers who will always have a job – as long as they do exactly what they are told.

The drama builds as each of the four keep fighting in their own ways for some relief, without anyone having much success.

Cormier has the trickiest part, feeling insecure that she isn't pretty enough for Greg. Her acting has a strong presence, though, that also brings her sympathy.

Lauren has perhaps the most traditional part. She sees herself with Kent as being the loyal wife. But still, her Carly is also strong and determined.

While abusive language has always been the artistic trademark of LaBute's plays and movies, the talk is harsh and may limit the play's appeal for some theatergoers.

But maybe we should also recognize how polite conversation seems to have little value anymore. These aren't bad people. They aren't trash.

They are just fighting for a piece of the pie they thought was promised, once they graduated from high school.

“Reasons to be Pretty” continues through Nov. 19 with performances most weekend evenings at 7:30 p.m., matinees at 3 p.m., in the upstairs Cabaret Space at the downtown Temple of Music and Art, 330 Scott Ave. Tickets are $22-$25. For details and reservations, 520-907-7209 or visit www.nextstagesw.com

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