Kate Chopin’s Desirée’s Baby

Adapted by Christopher Johnson from the 1893 short story

Featuring Carley Elizabeth Preston, Christopher Johnson and Cynthia Meier

Dear Rogues,

We have been awash in Kate Chopin’s writing these last few months. An early feminist voice of the late 19th century, Chopin writes from a unique and compelling perspective. After we completed The Awakening, we turned to one of her most famous short stories to share with listeners on NPR.

To hear our second edition of Rogue Radio on NPR, click here and scroll to about 15:08 on the Arizona Spotlight recording.

Thank you, as always, dear friends.

— Cindy Meier, Managing & Associate Artistic Director

Kate Chopin’s The Awakening

We are very excited to share with you the audio adaptation by Christopher Johnson of Kate Chopin’s 1899 novel The Awakening, performed by The Rogue ensemble.

The story centers on Edna Pontellier, a married woman, spending the summer in Grand Isle, a holiday resort popular with the wealthy inhabitants of nearby New Orleans.

Edna is vacationing with her husband, Léonce, and their two sons at the cottages of Madame Lebrun. Léonces’s frequent business-related absences mar his domestic life with Edna. Consequently, Edna spends most of her time with her friend Adèle Ratignolle, a married Creole who epitomizes womenly elegance and charm.

Edna’s relationship with Adèle begins Edna’s process of “awakening.” The process accelerates as Edna comes to know Robert Lebrun, the elder, single son of Madame Lebrun. Robert is known among the Grand Isle vacationers as a man who chooses one woman each year—often a married woman—to whom he then plays “attendant” all summer long. This summer, he devotes himself to Edna, and the two spend their days together lounging and talking by the shore...

For an optimal experience, we recommend listening with speakers rather than headphones.

Virginia Woolf’s
The Mark on the Wall

featuring
Ryan Parker Knox,
Joseph McGrath, and
Cynthia Meier

Dear Rogues,

Last January, long before the pandemic hit Arizona, Joe and I met with Mark McLemore at Arizona Public Media to talk about the concept of Rogue Radio—a series of short 10-minute plays broadcast on NPR.

Our timing couldn’t have been better.

We are thrilled to share with you our first edition of Rogue Radio on NPR! Just click here and scroll to about 14:30 on the Arizona Spotlight recording.

Wishing you all the best, dear Rogues!

Cindy Meier, Managing Director

Oscar Wilde’s 
The Importance of Being Earnest

Ryan Parker Knox as John Worthington
Holly Griffith as Gwendolen Fairfax
Hunter Hnat as Algernon Moncrieff
Bryn Booth as Cecily Cardew
Carley Preston as Miss Prism
Joseph McGrath as Doctor Chausable
with
Aaron Shand as Lane / Merriman
and
Cynthia Meier as Lady Bracknell