Allen des Noyers returns to Rosebud to celebrate 40 years of original play

By John Watson Local Journalism Initiative Reporter

Allen des Noyers is returning to perform at the Rosebud Opera House for the first time in 40 years to commemorate the anniversary of his musical, When the Sun Meets the Earth.

He will be performing many of the original songs which were present in the musical, as well as several others which were written with Rosebud in mind. 

“It is just a solo concert; I am coming to play several songs from that show and several others I have written about Rosebud over the past 40 years,” said des Noyers. “40 years ago, it was not a concert, it was a full length play for my high school students.”

Prior to the launch of When the Sun Meets the Earth, an outdoor dinner theatre had been hosted in Rosebud. 

Having an idea for a production which would require a more complex and indoor lighting environment, des Noyers wrote a grant application for a lighting system, and was granted access to a community hall which had been neglected for over a decade. 

He ultimately began writing the script for the production six months prior to its debut performance. 

“It was a bit of a whirlwind to get it written in time. Several songs were original and it was about a two-and-a-half-hour show. Most of the parts, I was able to write for the students I knew would be there that summer,” said des Noyers. “I designed a set and made posters and handbills, and helped build the set and would write in the evenings after rehearsals, and I was still catching up to finish act two a week before opening night.”

Des Noyers described When the Sun Meets the Earth as a musical about the depression era, featuring a farming community not unlike Rosebud – effectively being a stand in, and touched on some themes common to the Rosebud community. 

He added he had been invited back to Rosebud last year to celebrate the 40th anniversary of the dinner theatre, having also been asked to perform several songs from When the Sun Meets the Earth. 

“It was a meaningful event for people at the time for sure when the show launched, but also it seems to still have a real nice meaning to people now,” he said. “I wanted to come back and give these songs a different kind of life on CD that would be something you could hear more than once in a theatre.”

Des Noyers is scheduled to perform in Rosebud, July 18, in concert at the Rosebud Opera House. Tickets and more information are available online (rosebudtheatre.com).