I just saw "The Honeymoon Period is Over" at Dians's South and it is wonderful, one of the best performances I've seen at the Rogue. Gemma Wilcox is from England, has a stong background the in theatre, and it shows in this professional production. She had a well deserved standing ovation at the end of the show. Try to see it.

You will not want to miss The California ARTS Academy's performance of RENT. We attending opening night yesterday, and saw a flawless show. This is the very first time that RENT has been presented by anyone other than the broadway tour on the Western Coast. And, these teens/young adults pulled it off in an awesome way. The songs, the harmonys, the music.. everything was so impressive. We will definitely be attending again before its finished and will be bringing friends and relatives.

Not sure where else to post this, but we have an exciting update regarding the "Meet the Artist" show times:

Today, Sunday 3/1, 2:30 pm Jayne Day will be stepping in for her daughter, Rogue Gallery artist, Erynn Richardson.

Wednesday, 3/4, 8:45pm our 2009 Muse artist, Dominic Barajas will join our group to talk about his muse creation!

Both shows still at Ashtree Studios, check page 24 in your Rogue Map for other show details.

I attended the, what I believe was a sold out, opening for "Cupid is a B*tch." I found it to be quite entertaining overall. Josh's audience participation moment was pure genius. He could not have picked on a better subject. Great job Will and company!

Not seeing any 'BeeHive' coverage of Liesl's show 'Strengthen me With Raisins,'
-which is too bad.

She's got some great stuff happening this year, one show left, and presents really well, (Not surprising, the girls got a lot of talent, and her stuff is really starting to hook up (progressively) each year.

The venue? (Friday Night) really detracted due to lack of heating, (lotsa outdoor gas heaters (NO propane tanks in them... (what was this? Placaebo Effect attempt?)

---so bring a few folks, (or a blanket) and huddle up. (maybe Veni's will rectify this? Has rectified this?)

Sorta a bummer, because you need to be comfortable and relaxed to sit and really get absorbed in spoken word.
-She handles it like a trooper though, but would benefit from more hospitable surroundings, (such as the old spectrum gallery where she read, folks freaked, and a tall Swiss girl rocked the house.)

Rogue virgins, my true love and I, caught the opening of Cupid is a B*tch and were quite entertained. Great music and an overall fun experience. Sheer cupidity!

I heard two minutes of a music sample from "Cupid..."...someone owes me two minutes of my life back.

Annette Ash is a must see singer. She and her group provide a lovely,quiet soft song fest, taking you back to the seventies folk song period. In between her songs she sharesa number of witty and feeling descriptions of her experiences in Northern California during the era of the flower children and anti Viet Nam demonstrations.

Go see 'Rent The Musical' (School Edition) at the Severance Theatre!! I saw it this past sunday and im glad i did. this is one of the best Rogue shows by far. You're missing out if you miss this show.

I agree with Marcus and Debbie. RENT the junior edition features some amazing talent, both in the cast and band. I was worried the 'junior' edition would cut too much from the meat of the show, but amazingly all it does is cut the cuss words (replacing them flawlessly...only huge fans will notice, and still won't care). Also cut the orgy number, but duh, of course they did.

Director Daniel Chavez has stretched these kids to a new level for each and every one of them, and it's very impressive.

I called them out on the Rogue review site for horrendous sound issues (bad mix, mics not on, monitors and speakers not focused) and trouble with lighting (kids singing in the dark, no proper illumination) and insist they hire pros for these areas from now on. Those kids in the cast work too hard and RENT is too technologically difficult to take anything away from them...for RENT newbies, you can miss on important lyrics and moments with the tech issues. I wish they'd just charge us $15 (it's now $12) and hire those pros.

It's worth $15 dollars, tho. What does CMT charge? It's worth that at least to see RENT. As an avowed RENThead, I was worried that kids couldn't pull off the tough singing and emotions. Boy was I surprised. Roger, Tom Collins, Maureen...they were really stunning. Not too far behind were the other leads, Mark, Angel (a lovely Miguel), Mimi, Joanne.

I also really appreciate director Chavez giving everyone in the cast a chance to shine or sing a solo, no matter their talent level. This way they all come together as an ensemble, and many of the other role players shined (I really liked Alexi Darling's character, and the blond actress from 'Xmas Bells are ringing.')

And, once again, the band (almost all 'kids') was tremendous.

Just wish the sound, lighting, and tech had rehearsed as much as these other folks did...but I'll likely see this again. As should you!

Sorry, it was just a quick oversight....I did NOT mean to forget one of the best voices in the show, the character of Benny!

@dana: thanks for your comment :)

we added a fifth performance (thursday at 5:30 pm), and we'd like to invite you to actually see the show.

that way, if you still aren't impressed, we can owe you 40 more minutes of your life.

I look for entertainment and creativity at the rogue festival and found it at the Baba program. It's more than modern dance, adding a comic video. I was impressed by the dancing, the use of lighting, the live music and even the maneuvers with office chairs, all with a sense of humor and imagination. It clearly appealed to all ages.

my thoughts on travis sheridan's bipolarity of life:
travis' show was great. it was funny, it made you think, and he pulled a lot of unexpected things out of the bag. his honest reflections on his life experiencing poverty, prejudice and puberty was refreshing and fun.

however, i can't speak as highly of the crowd. two issues: 1. older (than me) ladies that seem to have had too much wine, stfu. really, i didn't come to hear you talk while the performance is going on. those daggers i'm shooting you with my eyes apparently don't hurt enough because you're still talking.
2. rogue performer that was sitting in front of me and gladly jumped up to talk about your show about it during the promo time: same message, stfu and stop being a distraction. you wouldn't stand for someone checking their phone, telling their neighbor how they've got to go, going over to talk to the box office staff a couple of times all during the performance. yeah, you did it all. it was distracting. if you've got to leave early, stand in the back. don't sit in the crowd. i'm trying to hate you specifically, but you were a distaction to the people around you and as a fellow roguer i would hope for better.

let me throw a little disclaimer out there. my complaints sound waaaaay to personal, especially #2. i didn't mean for it to be an attack on anyone. it was intended to be more about being a performer and respecting/being curteous to other performers during their shows. i regret singling out a particular person and i'd like to extend an apology if i offended.