“Performers and fans all agree: The absence of performing arts during the pandemic truly sucked.
“I know a lot of my friends and other actors in town who went through a serious depression when this was taken away, because this is such a big part of so many people’s personalities and their lives and mental state,” said Robbie Wayne, the artistic director of the Desert Rose Playhouse. “When it’s just taken away without warning for so long, it wears on people—so that was part of my drive. I was focused on knowing that we could get back to business here soon, and I wanted to be ready for it as soon as we could. That’s what I thought every day.”
Wayne’s drive—shared by managing director Matthew McLean, who is also Wayne’s fiancé—led Desert Rose to not only move to a bigger, better location during the pandemic; it led Desert Rose to become the first local theater company to put on a full, live production since the shutdowns…”

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