El Nino at Rogue Machine Theatre

WINNER BEST SEASON 2017 - OVATION AWARD
Rogue Machine kicks off their 2018 season with Justin Tanner’s new play El Niño, directed by his long time collaborator Lisa James with French Stewart and John Perrin Flynn producing.

Will the winds blow? The rains come? The cat die? Legendary local playwright Justin Tanner fashions a new laugh-out-loud comedy that encompasses his talent for writing an equally brilliant underbelly of sadness for humankind. Once again discover all you’ve come to love about a Tanner piece, including his regular cast.

“Our four new plays are about the haunted, about how we see ourselves and how we survive in a world that is increasingly nonsensical," says Artistic Director John Perrin Flynn. "One of Rogue Machine’s most important missions is to offer visionary playwrights a professional platform and we are honored to do just that, by presenting four important world premieres from established playwrights."

Justin Tanner is a Los Angeles playwright with over twenty produced plays to his credit. His first play, Changing Channels, was named one of the “best of the year” by the LA Times, produced by Jon Lawrence Rivera at The Second Stage Theater in Hollywood. He then partnered with Diana Gibson and Andy Daley at Hollywood's CAST Theatre where he wrote eleven plays, including the long running hits Zombie Attack! Teen Girl, Pot Mom and Heartbreak Help, working with such notable actors as French Stewart, Mark Ruffalo, Laurie Metcalf, Pamela Adlon, John Glover and Fred Willard. Justin’s plays Space Therapy, Voice Lessons, and Day Drinkers all received Ovation Award nominations for Best Play. In addition to his work in theatre, Justin wrote for multi-award winning television series My So-Called Life (with Claire Danes and Jared Leto) and Gilmore Girls. His pilot Silver Lake was produced by Aaron Spelling. Since 2009 he has written, directed, photographed and edited 86 chapters of his mind-bending web series "Ave 43."

Director Lisa James is a multi-award winner for her work on Heartstopper (LA Weekly Award), Palladium is Moving (Los Angeles Drama Critics Circle Award), Lynn Siefert’s Litte Egypt, Wendy Macleod’s The Water Children (LADCC nomination and Garland Awards), Justin Tanner’s Bitter Women (LADCC Award), Bold Girls, and The Visible Horse (LADCC and Garland Awards). World Premieres include Beth Henley’s Tight Pants, Billy Aaronson’s The News, ASCAP/Disney presentation Scream (music by David Foster), Justin Tanner’s Oklahomo! and Little Egypt The Musical (music/lyrics Gregg Lee Henry) at both the Matrix Theatre (LA) and the Acorn Theatre (NYC), Dying is Easy Comedy is Hard Ensemble Studio Theatre/LA and NYC, and End Days at the Odyssey Theatre. West Coast premieres include Smoke by Kim Davies at Rogue Machine (LA Weekly – GO!) and Punk Rock for the Odyssey Theatre (Ovation Recommended). Lisa is currently developing a new musical, That Was Then.

Ensemble cast includes Melissa Denton (Andrea), Maile Flanagan (Colleen), Danielle Kennedy (June), Joe Keyes (Kevin), Jonathan Palmer (Todd), and Nick Ullett (Harvey)

Production team includes John Iacovelli (Scenic Design), Brian Gale (Lighting Design), Christopher Moscatiello (Sound Design), and Halei Parker (Costume Design).

Rogue Machine Theatre received 12 Ovation Award nominations in 2017, including two for BEST PRODUCTION, winning the award for BEST SEASON - 2017 and the Polly Warfield Award for Outstanding Season from the LA Drama Critics Circle for the previous season. They are the only theatre company to be given this award twice in the past sixteen years. KCRW (Best Theatre 2016) was another highlight of last season as well as receiving a Shubert Foundation grant, awarded to select theatre organizations for their artistic achievement, administrative strength, and fiscal stability along with company’s development of new work and other significant contributions to the field of professional theatre in the United States. A recipient of the American Theatre Wing’s 2014 National Theatre Company Grant, given only to 12 theatre companies in the country, Rogue Machine (BEST PRODUCTION for three years – Ovation and LADCC Awards) presents plays that are new to Los Angeles, and the company has garnered recognition for their work in upwards of 75 awards and nominations.

EL NIÑO opens on Saturday, February 24th at 8:30pm and runs Saturdays and Mondays at 8:30pm, Sundays at 3:00pm through April 2, 2018 (no performances on February 26th or March 19th). Rogue Machine is located in The Met, 1089 N Oxford Ave, Los Angeles, CA 90029. Tickets are $40. Reservations: 855-585-5185 or at www.roguemachinetheatre.com