Run, don’t walk, to see The River…a smart and sharply executed production.

—Rafael A., Audience Member

…hauntingly bittersweet…brilliantly directed…

—Chuck Graham, tucsonstage.com

Still pondering The River. Another excellent production!

—Anne P., Audience Member

The River is one of those plays that takes days to contemplate. The phenomenal acting ensemble and the direction all contributed to an experience that stayed with me as I exited the theater and is with me still.

—Laura K., Audience Member

…spellbinding.

—Barbara S., Audience Member 

…such a wonderful play…

—Andy B., Audience Member

...beautiful, lyrical, superbly acted. Leaves you talking about it and thinking about it long after... Seeing it again!

—Carley P., Audience Member

Mysterious, magical, mythical, and mind-boggling. And anchored by a stellar performance by Ryan Parker Knox.

—Mark K., Audience Member

Trailer

Watch a short video that provides a glimpse into one of the many moods of this mysterious play.

Click here to play video

Reviews

Trophy fish and trophy women are equally important catches to make in The River at The Rogue Theatre
Review by Chuck Graham on February 26 at Let The Show Begin! and TucsonStage.com

Supporting Materials

Free “Open Talk” Video

Click here to see the video.

Old Flames, Still Waters: Jez Butterworth & The River

A Free Open Talk on Saturday, February 14, 2026, 2:00–3:00 P.M.

Associate Artistic Director Christopher Johnson talks about playwright Jez Butterworth and his play, The River, Cast members perform a scene from the play.

This open talk is supported in part by a generous gift from Lynn Ratener.

Essay

For more background on the play, check out Jerry James’ essay

Myth, Music and Making Things Up:
The Theatre and Film of Jez Butterworth

Poster

View the full-sized poster for the play.

Christopher Johnson (Director) first came to The Rogue in 2011 to play Jewel in As I Lay Dying and now serves as Associate 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 Cloud 9, Romeo and Juliet, Marjorie Prime, Under Milk Wood, Heartbreak House, 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 The Year of Magical Thinking, Lemons Lemons Lemons Lemons Lemons, The Great God Pan, Of Mice and Men, Seascape, 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 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, 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 has acted in over 30 plays at The Rogue, is the author of three of The Rogue’s original stage adaptations, has served on the Board of Directors, and creates all of The Rogue’s social media and video content.

Christopher Johnson’s direction of The River is supported in part by
generous gifts from Marianne Leedy and Meg & Peter Hovell

Director’s Notes

English playwright Jez Butterworth has spent his life steeped in the folklore of his homeland, ancient myths that seek to pull back the veil on our basest human anxieties and appetites.

His 2012 play The River begins with a woman’s voice, offstage, singing a rendition of W.B. Yeats’ 1897 poem The Song of Wandering Aengus. In Celtic mythology, Aengus was the god of love, youth, and poetic inspiration –– best known for spending years searching the land for a beautiful woman who appeared to him only in dreams. Yeats’ poem reimagines Aengus as a mortal man who goes into a hazel wood and catches a trout in a stream:

“When I had laid it on the floor / I went to blow the fire a-flame, / But something rustled on the floor, / And someone called me by my name; / It had become a glimmering girl / With apple blossom in her hair / Who called me by my name and ran / And faded through the brightening air. / Though I am old with wandering / Through hollow lands and hilly lands, / I will find where she has gone, / And kiss her lips and take her hands…”

This is the first of many tantalizing clues the playwright gives us about what’s really going on in the story. Set in modern day and playing out over the course of a single moonless night at a riverside cabin in the woods, The River introduces us to a character known only as The Man, and his companion, The Woman. This relationship is a new one. They’re still getting to know one another. He grew up visiting this cabin, but she’s visiting for the first time. She has her sights set on watching the sunset and reading, whereas he’s dead set on teaching her to fly fish for trout in the nearby river.

Funny, sexy, and somewhat tense due to the typical conflicts that might arise out of any two people’s differing expectations of intimacy––the familiar trappings of romantic comedy soon go off the rails into something much more strange and mysterious when The Man and The Woman set out for the titular river.

It’s said that you can’t step into the same river twice. When the river is evoked throughout the play, it’s a signal that something has changed in the story––something that won’t be immediately obvious. Maybe it’s just the passage of time, or perhaps a boundary has been crossed. The veil between past and present, reality and memory, seems to be at its thinnest when the river comes again to our attention.

One of the great thrills of the play is not knowing where the story will lead you, and all that is possible as a result. Over and again you are likely to find yourself beginning to understand what it means, only to have the rug pulled out from under you with another twist, turn, or contradiction. When it’s over, you may not be certain whether you’ve come to the end or the beginning.

In effect, The River is closer to a poem than a play––more likely to produce emotional déjà vu than clear answers. Stay with it. Have patience. Like love, the impact it has or what it ultimately means to you may not reveal itself until it’s long gone.

—Christopher Johnson, Director
director@theroguetheatre.org

About the Playwright

Jez Butterworth (born 1969) is an acclaimed British playwright, screenwriter, and director known for works like Mojo, Jerusalem, and The Ferryman. Educated at Cambridge, he quickly established a career with sharp, character-driven dramas. He has won multiple awards, including Tony and Olivier awards, for his stage work, while contributing to major films like Spectre and Ford v Ferrari.

CAST

THE OTHER WOMAN Bryn Booth*
THE WOMAN Sophie Gibson-Rush*
THE MAN Ryan Parker Knox*
ANOTHER WOMAN Chelsey Jean Smith

*Member of The Rogue Resident Acting Ensemble

Stand-By: Shannon Elias

Biographies

Bryn Booth (The Other Woman) is a graduate of the BFA Acting program at the University of Arizona. She was most recently seen as Mariane in Tartuffe, Juliet in Romeo and Juliet, and Pegeen Mike in The Playboy of the Western World. This is Bryn’s eighth season as a member of the Resident Acting Ensemble and her 33rd show with The Rogue. Some of her favorite shows at The Rogue are Romeo & Juliet, The Awakening, Much Ado About Nothing, and Passage. Bryn has also been seen at the Scoundrel and Scamp Theatre as Mag in Lovers and Gowdie in The Love Talker. Bryn is also active in the Tucson Indie Film Community where she has worked as an actor and writer. 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 Denice Blake & John Blackwell

Sophie Gibson-Rush (The Woman) is honored to be a member of the Rogue Resident Acting Ensemble. She is also the co-founder of Koso Theatre Collective, and the front woman and primary songwriter for the rock quartet Holy Faint. She attended Boston University and London Academy of Music and Dramatic Art where she earned a BFA in acting. She continued her education at Double Edge Theatre studying devised theatre. Favorite acting credits include Elmire in Tartuffe, Widow Quinn in The Playboy of the Western World, Gladys in The Skin of Our Teeth, Marc Antony in Julius Caesar, and Thomasina Coverly in Arcadia. Always for Jojo with love. IG: @soatgoat

Sophie Gibson-Rush’s performance is supported in part by generous gifts
from Susan Tiss, Marianne Leedy and John Wilson

Ryan Parker Knox (The Man) is thrilled to appear in his fourth Jez Butterworth production, third at The Rogue. Fresh off the boisterous pirate adventure that was Peter and the Starcatcher, The River gives him a chance to dig deep into a complex character, which is his favorite kind. Ryan has been a member of the Rogue Resident Acting Ensemble since its inception in 2012, save for a year-long pandemic sabbatical, and has been in dozens of productions, including Arcadia, Angels in America, Rosencrantz & Guildenstern Are Dead, and Moby Dick, to name some of his favorites. He is a South Dakota native and spent over a decade in Minnesota’s Twin Cities, an exceptional pair of cities filled with resilient people to whom he dedicates his performance. Thanks to CM for all her support and patience and love to our zoo of four-legged gremlins.

Ryan Parker Knox’s performance is supported in part by generous gifts from
Kathy Ortega & Larry Johnson, Joan Warfield and Sylvia Pozarnsky & Tom Riley

Chelsey Jean Smith (Another Woman) is thrilled to be returning to The Rogue stage, after appearing as Molly in Peter and the Starcatcher and Honor Blake in The Playboy of the Western World. A Jersey native, she’s appeared on east coast stages such as Walnut Street Theatre, Bristol Riverside Theatre, and the Majorie S. Dean Little Theater in NYC. Previous credits include Evelyn Nesbit in Ragtime, Amy in Company, and Catherine in The Foreigner. Recent local credits include Arizona Theatre Company: Ms. Holmes & Ms. Watson: Apt 2B (u/s Ms. Sherlock Holmes), Dial M for Murder (u/s Margot Wendice); Invisible Theatre: Almost, Maine. Her forever-favorite role is “Mama” to Jude. Smith holds her BFA in Musical Theatre from Shenandoah Conservatory. Sincerest thanks to the Rogue team for their kindness!

Chelsey Jean Smith’s performance is supported in part by generous gifts
from Vicki Ettleman and Ann & Andrew Lettes

Russell Ronnebaum – Music Director, Composer

Musicians

John Keeney – Guitar, Vocals

Bryn Booth,
Sophie Gibson-Rush
& Chelsey Jean Smith – Vocals

Songs

Hares on the Mountain – Traditional
If I Were a Blackbird – Traditional
The Fisherman’s Wife – Arranged by Russell Ronnebaum

The Song of Wandering Aengus – Music by Russell Ronnebaum,
lyrics by William Butler Yeats

Russell Ronnebaum (Music Director) has served as The Rogue Theatre’s Resident Composer and Director of Music since 2019. Some favorite productions include Peter and the Starcatcher, Tartuffe, Marjorie Prime, If on a winter’s night a traveler, Under Milk Wood, The Left Hand of Darkness, Mrs Dalloway, Death of a Salesman, The Awakening, As You Like It, Frankenstein, Moby Dick, and Much Ado About Nothing. Russell holds a Master of Music degree in collaborative piano from the University of Arizona. He 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. Russell made his Carnegie Hall debut in 2016, performing the music of Dan Forrest. Recordings, videos, sheet music, and more are available at www.RRonnebaum.com.

Russell Ronnebaum’s music direction is supported in part by generous gifts
from Peggy Houghton & Paul Garner, Shawn Burke and Bill & Nancy Sohn

John Keeney (Guitar, Harmonica, Vocals)is an interdisciplinary artist, thrilled to be working with The Rogue again. He has previously appeared on stage at The Rogue in The Playboy of the Western World, The Skin of Our Teeth, Love’s Labor’s Lost, Heartbreak House, Twelfth Night, As You Like It, Galileo, and Much Ado About Nothing, and with The Scoundrel and Scamp in There Is a Happiness that Morning Is, and as music director for Two Plays for Lost Souls. He also provided guitar and vocals for The Rogue’s productions of The Weir and The Seafarer.

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 Katherine Jacobson

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
generous gifts from Susan Dick and Donna Rudolph

Deanna Fitzgerald (Lighting Design) is a member of United Scenic Artists and her lighting design credits include theatre, dance, opera, circus-themed, puppets, architectural lighting and more. She is a yoga and meditation teacher, and conducts workshops focused on using “quietive” practices to aid creative process. Deanna is the author of The Heart of Light (2022). She now resides in New England, where she is the Dean of the School of Fine Arts at U-CONN. Deanna has been smitten with her Rogue family since 2014 when she designed their extraordinary creation, Jerusalem, and has since designed a couple dozen Rogue productions, including these favorites: The Left Hand of Darkness, Sweat, The Curious Incident of the Dog in the Night-Time, Penelope, The Secret in the Wings, Mary Shelley’s Frankenstein, Beauty Queen of Leenane, Celia A Slave, Tales from the Jazz Age, and The Picture of Dorian Gray. She is grateful for every moment she gets to spend making things with The Rogue, and for the great friends and lighting collaborators, Shannon Wallace, Peter Bleasby, and Connor Greene, who make it possible for her do that.

Deanna Fitzgerald’s lighting design is supported in part by 
a generous gift from Rick & Debby Apling

Hannah Al-Baiaty (Stage Manager) is excited to continue her work with The Rogue Theatre after previously stage-managing Peter and the Starcatcher, Romeo and Juliet, Marjorie Prime, If on a winter’s night a traveler, The Skin of Our Teeth, Love’s Labor’s Lost, Under Milk Wood, The Left Hand of Darkness, The Seafarer, Great Expectations, Twelfth Night, and Passage. Hannah earned her BFA in Technical Theatre Production and Design from the University of Arizona. Hannah’s previous credits include serving as Stage Manager for the Under Construction Series: Ralph Lemon & Friends at Park Avenue Armory, Helen Simoneau Danse’s Flight Distance at Joyce SoHo, Tucson Folk Festival, Arizona Repertory Theatre’s productions of Avenue Q, 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 as a Costume Technician for The Gaslight Theatre. Hannah would like to thank her husband, beautiful baby boy, family, and friends for their endless support and love.

Hannah Al-Baiaty’s stage management is supported in part by
a generous gift from Barbara Martinsons & Larry Boutis

Shannon Wallace (Associate Lighting Design, 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. She has worked on over 30 shows with The Rogue, some favorites include: Peter and the Starcatcher, If on a winter’s night a traveler, As You Like It, Mary Shelley’s Frankenstein, Curious Incident, The Grapes of Wrath, and The Bridge of San Luis Rey. She holds a BFA from the University of Arizona, with a dual emphasis in stage management and lighting design. During her college years, she worked on over 25 productions with Arizona Repertory Theatre and dabbled in production and company management at Arizona Theatre Company and the Contemporary American Theatre Festival. After graduating, she continued to expand her arts management experience, including being Operations Assistant at Mudlark Theater Company. Apart from a one-year sojourn to Chicago, The Rogue has been her home for almost 10 years, and she is grateful every day to be a part of this vibrant and loving community.

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

Christopher Pankratz (Property Master) Christopher’s Rogue acting credits include Peter and the Starcatcher, Cloud 9, Tartuffe, Romeo and Juliet, The Playboy of the Western World, If on a winter’s night a traveler, The Skin of Our Teeth, Love’s Labor’s Lost, Under Milk Wood, The Left Hand of Darkness, A Midsummer Night’s Dream, Great Expectations, 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. Christopher also directed An Enemy of the People, Constellations and The Sun Also Rises for the John and Joyce Ambruster Play-Reading Series. Christopher formerly taught theatre at Flowing Wells High School where he wrote and produced numerous new plays including The Longest Day of April, The Story Seller’s Tale, and You Can’t Make Wine from Raisins, which are available online for licensing and performance. While attending the University of Arizona, Christopher earned a Bachelor of Fine Arts, as well as a master’s degree from the College of Education.

Christopher Pankratz’s work as prop master is supported in part by generous gifts
from Eloise Gore & Allen Hile and Kay Crofoot & Robin Oggins

Peter Bleasby (Master Electrician) has been actively involved with lighting for theatre and other entertainments for 70 years. That is not a typo! Professionally it includes stints with BBC Television, and with UK lighting designer Richard Pilbrow for the opening of the National Theatre (Director: Laurence Olivier). Non-theatrical lighting has included Commercial/Industrial, Cathedrals, Major Sports Venues and Fashion Shows. He assisted with The Rogue’s initial lighting rig at the Historic “Y” in 2009 and has been the master electrician for every show since the 2013/14 season. His most recent contribution was the design and oversight of the $95K LED lighting installation in time for Tartuffe - the 100th production - in September 2025. From light bulbs in coffee cans to LED lights with internal software, it’s been an amazing  technological journey, but always in the service of the productions.

Connor J. Greene (Assistant Master Electrician) first came to The Rogue as a volunteer electrician on Miss Julie in 2016. In 2018, he interned for Peter Bleasby on The Grapes of Wrath. Starting with The Awakening in 2020, he began drafting for Deanna Fitzgerald’s designs. In 2021, when a piece of lighting technology misbehaved during Twelfth Night, he became a special projects electrician. Now, in 2025, Connor is excited to serve as The Rogue’s Assistant Master Electrician. He is looking forward to the learning and growth that comes from making good art with the wonderful community who supported and fostered him throughout his entire career. Connor holds a BFA from the University of Arizona, with an emphasis in lighting design. He was a Journeyman Electrician for Williamstown Theatre Festival in 2019, a freelance electrician in NYC from 2019-2020, and the Lighting Programmer for Arizona Opera Company from 2021-2023. He would like to thank his families of both blood and water.

Kara Clauser (House Manager) has been involved with the Rogue for more than a decade as a box officer, volunteer usher, and now house manager. She studied ecology and geographic information systems at the University of Arizona, and has a day job as a scientist at the Center for Biological Diversity.

Megan Coy (House Manager, Box Office Staff) is excited to return to the Rogue after taking a few years away! As the resident stage manager in 2019-2020, she worked on Middletown, Long Day’s Journey into Night, Moby Dick, and The Beauty Queen of Leenane. In 2020, she decided to leave the Rogue to be home with her daughter Eleanor and has now welcomed a son, Esben. Always looking for a creative outlet, Megan started her jewelry business, Coy Creative, in 2020 as well! Prior to working at the Rogue, she worked in marketing and production at The Magik Theatre in San Antonio, traveled internationally with a touring production, and graduated from the U of A in 2013 with a BFA in Theatre Production. She is so excited to be back with her friends at the Rogue!

Matt Elias (House Manager, Sound Consultant) 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 House Manager, trading off shows with Woods Fairchild and you might not see him sneaking a peek at each of those shows from behind the scenes. 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 The Playboy of the Western World, The Skin of Our Teeth, Babette’s Feast, The Left Hand of Darkness, 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, A Midsummer Night’s Dream and Love’s Labor’s Lost. 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 The River is 1 hours 20 minutes. There is no intermission.

This production of The River is by arrangement with Nick Hern Books.

Supported by the Arizona Commission on the Arts with funding from the State of Arizona and the National Endowment for the Arts. Support is also provided by generous grants from the Arts Foundation for Tucson and Southern Arizona, the Community Foundation for Southern Arizona, and the Shubert Foundation.