Robin Goodrin Nordli and Michael Elich will star in story of former college sweethearts who encounter each other 17 years later

By Lee Juillerat for Ashland.news

What happens when two people who years ago were lovers accidentally meet on an otherwise empty train?

That’s what audiences will discover at performances of “Off Peak,” the season opener at the Rogue Theater Company.

Robin Goodrin Nordli and Michael Elich play the man and woman, Sarita and Martin, who 17 years earlier were college sweethearts. They unexpectedly meet up on an evening Metro North commuter train, traveling upstate from New York City’s Grand Central Station to Poughkeepsie.

“It’s relatable because everybody has a friendship or a love relationship with someone in the past,” said Jessica Sage, RTC’s artistic director. “There are two sides, two perspectives to every story. Things get complicated because each has a different view of what happened and why their relationship dissolved. It’s an interesting premise with surprises. Their perspectives on the past differ and the play spools out in real time as they hash out freshly revealed details about shared prior events.”

‘Like a family reunion’

Sage said pairing Nordli and Elich in the Rogue’s season opener “feels like a family reunion,” noting it’s Nordli’s third appearance with RTC and Elich’s second. Likewise, it will be third RTC play directed by Robynn Rodriguez.

“There’s a level of comfort, ease and a shorthand that develops when artists repeatedly work with each other,” Sage said. “It’s thrilling to be in the rehearsal hall as they explore these complex characters.”

Written by Brenda Withers, “Off Peak” was suggested by Nordli and Elich.

“What we’re doing is picking plays for the actors,” Sage said, noting some of this year’s upcoming plays were also recommended by actors. “The driving force is a strong script and wonderful actors.”

Unusually, Sage said, the actors, directors, stage manager and others involved in a upcoming production need a week to discuss and decide how a play will be presented. For “Off Peak,” however, the process took only two days with Elich and Nordli going off book in a short time. It was also decided to change the stage, which will be raised, Sage said, “so everybody is going to have a prime view. It’s such a treat for people to be so close to the actors. They feel part of the plot. The audience finds themselves more engaged.”

‘Twists and turns’

Audiences elsewhere have enjoyed the play. The New Yorker called it “sly, smart, often very funny” with “an abundance of emotional and intellectual twists and turns … there’s equal parts poignant monologues and rueful laughs.”

Sage said “Off Peak” and other plays being offered this season reflect an effort to “raise the bar for ourselves at RTC.” New, for example, is a reading of Tracy Letts’s “August: Osage County,” directed by Henry Woronicz with a 13-actor cast that includes favorites Linda Alper, Denis Arndt, Wayne Carr, James Ryen, Vilma Silva and K.T. Vogt.

Familiar faces for local theatergoers

The season will include plays not previously produced in the region but often using familiar actors. Sage said, “We are eager to welcome back to the Rogue Valley Dan Donohue and Ray Porter in Marie Jones’s hilarious ‘Stones in His Pockets,’ directed by John Plumpis. Our season closes with the poignant and compelling ‘Gidion’s Knot’ by Johnna Adams, with Domenique Lozano and Erica Sullivan, directed by Terri McMahon. I’m beyond excited about our season this year.”

All performances of “Off Peak” will be 1 p.m. at the Grizzly Peak Winery Wednesday through Sunday from March 13 to 31. Tickets are $30 for the March 13 preview, $45 for the March 14 opening, which includes wine and a talkback with the actors and director, and $35 for all other shows. The play runs 90 minutes without an intermission. For more information or to purchase tickets, visit the website at www.roguetheatercompany.com, call 541-205-9190 or visit the box office at 389 E. Main St., Ashland between 10 a.m. and noon Wednesday through Friday.

Email freelance writer Lee Juillerat at 337lee337@charter.net.