Rue

Rue
by August Schulenburg
Directed by Kelly O’Donnell

presented at Theatre for the New City
March 2006

Cast: Rachel Bauder, Ian Bedford, Kacy Christensen, Tiffany Clementi, Jessica Conrad, David Crommett, Liz Dailey, Will Ditterline, Candice Holdorf, Michelle O’Connor, Jason Paradine, August Schulenburg, Rodman Spilling, Isaiah Tanenbaum, Victor Truro, Laura Walczak, Gregory Waller, Cotton Wright

Creative Team: Jessa Raye Court, Costume Designer; Phaedra Sirju, Costume Assistant; Michael Janney, Stage Manager;
Jaren Klein, Lighting/Set Designer; Rebecca Marzalek-Kelly;
Joe Mathers, Technical Director;
Michelle O’Connor, Composer; Owen Timoney, Stage Combat Director

The Story: Rue is a whimsical dark comedy of love and power set on an imaginary island in the style of Twelfth Night, As You Like It and The Tempest. Thirty years ago, the Purity Wars divided the once Arden-esque Island of Ru into two provinces: Turu, the northern half, and Suru, the southern half. Turu is home to the brutal dictator known simply as “The Goat” who operates within its most distinguishable feature, a giant, mostly dormant volcano called “The Goat’s Chin.” This arid region is powered by industries that have all but decimated the landscape and have sent the natives scrambling to the borders in the hopes of escaping the squalid ghettos and crippling poverty. Across the mountainous countryside and beyond the “The Forbidden Zone, lies Suru, the “last lush slice of Eden” where anything goes (and comes!), and the only consequence is not remembering how many days it’s been since your last Bacchanalian indulgence!