Joshua Morgan took DC by storm when the (then) Off-Broadway sensation, Hedwig and the Angry Itch, opened at the Warehouse Theater. Morgan, who directed the musical, must have liked what he saw for he added DC as a second location for the Chapel Hills, NC company No Rules Theatre Company.
The name was a perfect fit; they never met a genre they didn’t love. Neil LaBute’s Some Girl(s) was followed by You’re a Good Man, Charlie Brown,and our introduction to powerhouse performer Carolyn Cole. Joel Markowitz, writing for DCTS, summed it up best: “adorable and nuts.”
By 2012, they drew the notice of the Helen Hayes Awards and received the John Aniello Award. Signature Theatre noticed them too, and gave the young company a generous gift of performance space in the ARK Theatre and marketing support.
In all, No Rules produced more than a dozen shows, ending with their own sketch comedy show last May, which also showed off Joshua’s sparkly show tune piano accompaniment.
We loved Joshua Morgan and No Rules, and they loved us back.
Today came the bad news/fabulous news: the company has closed and Joshua goes into the Broadway production of Les Misérables on Saturday.
Here is his announcement on Facebook.
“Two big life announcements…
First – it is with a huge mixed bag of emotions that the board has decided to dissolve No Rules Theatre Company after 6 years of tremendous work. This company has been my motivator every single day and I am so incredibly proud of what we have been able to accomplish with the incredibly diverse artists that I’ve had the pleasure of working with. I’ve learned more about grace, productivity, efficiency, communication, gratitude, leadership, and art through No Rules than I could have ever gotten anywhere else. Thank you to *everyone* who made it possible. I could spend hours tagging everyone that includes…
Second – I start rehearsals for the Broadway production of Les Misérables Broadway this coming Saturday with my first performance on Tuesday, Sept. 1. I’m in the ensemble and u/s Thenardier and apparently will be going on for Thenardier fairly soon thereafter.
What a wild year it’s been…
So grateful to so many people who have sacrificed so much because they believe in me.
It’s a terrifying, thrilling new chapter in my life.”
Our heartfelt thanks go out to all who made up the No Rules Company.
And to Joshua Morgan – thanks for the fun, break a leg Saturday night, enjoy the Les Mis run, and come back to play with us anytime.
