The Rogue Theater Company will be back in action in 2025 with plays to captivate and invigorate audiences.

The 2025 season will include four new plays and a discussion and lecture series on Shakespeare’s “Julius Caesar” and “As You Like It.”

As for the productions, the coming season will include “Doubt: A Parable” by John Patrick Shanley; Tennessee Williams’ “Cat on a Hot Tin Roof;” “Ripcord” by David Lindsay-Abaire; and Samuel Beckett’s “Waiting for Godot.”

“I’m thrilled for this season, the response so far and how many people have bought tickets for plays in February and even (next) November. It’s just a testament that we’re doing things right,” said Jessica Sage, artistic director and founder of the Rogue Theater Company.

Tickets went on sale Nov. 24 and between 40% to 50% of tickets have already been purchased, according to Sage.

To purchase tickets, visit roguetheatercompany.com and select the “tickets and information” button for the desired play.

Each of the shows are performed at the Richard L. Hay Center at Grizzly Peak Winery, located at 1600 E. Nevada St. in Ashland.

While this year’s season includes a couple well-loved productions, the theater company typically selects cerebral plays with plenty to contemplate, regardless of popularity.

“The plays we choose have got a lot of meat on the bones; they’re entertaining, thought provoking and also heart stirring,” Sage said. “It’s a formula that’s working as we grow our audience.”

The season will open with lifelong Shakespeare enthusiast and actor Barry Kraft, who will use his wealth of expertise on the English playwright to lecture and discuss “Julius Caesar” and “As You Like It” from 10 to 11:30 a.m. Saturday and Sunday, Feb. 8-9.

“I feel that being a part of the Ashland community, it’s significant to have something Shakespeare-related, and this is how RTC represents Shakespeare,” Sage said. “(Kraft) does a deep dive into everything from the history of the plays to the characters of the plays to the plots of the plays and how they connect with other plays.”

“He knows so much,” she added.

The first play of the season will be “Doubt: A Parable,” directed by John Sipes, and will run March 12-30.

The show follows the clergy of a fictional Catholic school and is a drama that explores the boundaries of faith, trust and truth, igniting moral reflection.

The Tennessee Williams classic “Cat on a Hot Tin Roof” will play from April 30 to May 4 and involves the dysfunctional and wealthy Pollitt family. The piece — directed by Domenique Lozano — explores intense familial tensions, lies and desires and delves into human vulnerability.

“I love the fact that even though it’s a classic, I feel in a lot of ways it’s stood the test of time and … still says something today about the morals of society,” Sage said. “The dysfunctional family dynamics are in many of our plays; it makes for great theater.”

Next is “Ripcord” by David Lindsay-Abaire, offering a witty comedy of two elderly women and set to be on stage from July 16 through Aug. 3.

“I couldn’t resist having two elderly women; it’s funny and fast moving and a delightful play,” Sage said. “‘Ripcord’ was a no-brainer.”

The play will be directed by Henry Woronicz.

To round out the 2025 season, RTC will finish with Samuel Beckett’s “Waiting for Godot” from Oct. 15 to Nov. 2.

The play follows two men meeting near a tree and explores the meaning of life as the two characters converse.

“Waiting for Godot” will be directed by Robynn Rodriguez.

“We’re just thrilled,” Sage said of the season. “Every actor in this season is A-plus.”

RTC started in 2019. Shopping a play around that she’d written prior, Sage decided to make action of advice and produce it herself.

“What I found out is that I loved the whole process — from selling tickets to finding space to finding actors and audiences — it was all thrilling to me,” she said. “I loved it so much that I decided I wasn’t turning back.”

Braving the pandemic and continuing to build a following, RTC is entering five years of productions.

“It’s kind of humbling to see what we are now, moving out of the Rogue Valley in terms of audience; we have more and more people coming up from California and coming down from Seattle and Portland,” Sage said. “Even though we’re growing and spreading, we still have a specific niche that I’m holding on to, and we’re making sure it’s not muddled or diluted.”

To learn more about the Rogue Theater Company, visit roguetheatercompany.com.