Door County community theater brings in some pros for 'One Flew Over the Cuckoo's Nest'

STURGEON BAY - Local community theater company Rogue Theater welcomes a couple of well-known theater professionals to help it present the powerful play "One Flew Over the Cuckoo’s Nest" seven times over two weekends at the DC Arts Center in Sturgeon Bay.

The play was adapted by Dale Wasserman from Ken Kesey’s novel of the same name, and the famed Oscar-winning 1975 movie of the same name is based largely on the play. It looks at the characters in what was then called a "mental institution" of the 1960s with humor and empathy, but also with brutal honesty about the conditions in which they live.

The story has a rebellious rogue named Randle McMurphy contrive to serve a short sentence for petty theft in that institution rather than prison. But he immediately clashes with the authoritarian Nurse Ratched.

Despite Ratched’s strict reign, McMurphy quickly becomes the leader of the residents, bringing some out of their introverted shells, staging a revolt so that they can see the World Series on television, and arranging a rollicking midnight party. But his brash insubordination eventually has its consequences.

Wasserman's adaptation premiered on Broadway in late 1963, a year after Kesey's novel was published, with Kirk Douglas starring as McMurphy and Gene Wilder as Billy Bibbit, the character struggling with stuttering. William Devane played McMurphy in a 1971 off-Broadway revival and Gary Sinise played him in a 2001 Broadway run that won the Tony Award for Best Revival of a Play.

Douglas wanted to turn the play into a movie and held the film rights but, unable to find a studio willing to do so, eventually turned the rights over to his son, Michael, who got the film made with Jack Nicholson and Louise Fletcher as McMurphy and Ratched, directed by Milos Forman. It remains one of the most iconic movies ever made, one of only three to win all five major Academy Awards (Best Picture, Director, Adapted Screenplay, Actor and Actress).

For this production, Rogue has theater professionals Doug Mancheski and Amy Ensign starring in the roles of McMurphy and Ratched. Both are Actors' Equity Association members and very well-known to Door County theater buffs for their stage roles with a variety of companies across the Peninsula, Mancheski especially for his work at Northern Sky Theater and Ensign with Door Shakespeare, where she serves as producing artistic director.

Directing the show is John Wilson, who previously directed another drama for Rogue, "All My Sons" by Arthur Miller, in 2016, as well as several shows for another Door County community troupe, Isadoora Theatre Company. Rogue co-artistic director Lola DeVillers said Wilson is responsible not only for bringing "… Cuckoo's Nest" to the company, financing the production and supplying the sound equipment but also for bringing Mancheski and Ensign into the cast.

"John Wilson has always dreamed of putting on 'Cuckoo's Nest,'" DeVillers said in an email to the Advocate. "When he knew we were building a theater, he asked if he could help bring his vision of this production to our venue. … Wilson felt that including equity actors in this production would help put Rogue Theater on the map."

And with DeVillers and Rogue co-artistic director Stuart Champeau having recently opened their new DC Arts Center as a permanent home for the company as well as a venue for other arts and entertainment, they took the opportunity with this show to hopefully give Rogue a higher profile in the busy local arts scene.

"Rogue Theater's vision has always been to have a space where all forms of entertainment and art can come together, including community and professional theater, music, dance, and visual arts. Together with the DC Arts Center, they are committed to creating a center that can be used by the community for a multitude of events," DeVillers said. "We are a community theater with a lot to offer – a lot more than the typical Door County theater goer realizes."

Along with Mancheski and Ensign, the cast includes Champeau, Oneida Nation member Christopher Powless and local actors Tim Erskine, Marcel Bruyere, Kent Moraga, Chris Weidenbacher, Vance Toivonen, Dan Sallinen, Mark Moede, Flynn Smith, Holly Erskine, Chris Scudder, Jen Birkholz and Michaela Kraft.

Rogue Theater's production of "One Flew Over the Cuckoo's Nest" is on stage Nov. 24 to 26 and Nov. 30 to Dec. 3 at the DC Arts Center, 917 N. 14th Ave., Sturgeon Bay. Showtimes are at 7 p.m. Thursdays through Saturdays and 2 p.m. Sundays. Tickets are $30 for adults, $20 for students, and reservations are required. The play may not be suitable for some because of content and language, and a mental health counselor will be available at each performance if anyone becomes triggered or uncomfortable by the subject matter.

For tickets or more information, call 920-818-0816 or visit roguetheater.org.

Contact Christopher Clough at 920-562-8900 or cclough@doorcountyadvocate.com.

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This article originally appeared on Green Bay Press-Gazette: Door County theater pros join Rogue Theater for '... Cuckoo's Nest'