An Extraordinary Evening

About the Reading:

Join Emmy and L.A. Drama Critics Circle Award-winning actor JOE SPANO, and screenwriter, television writer, playwright and producer JOHN ROMANO for a one-night-only benefit for Rubicon Theatre Company entitled An Extraordinary Evening. Part of the Ventura LIVE! ’26 special event series, the event includes the very first public performance of John’s compelling new one-man play King of the Wild Frontier, read by Joe, followed by a Q & A with Joe and John hosted by Rubicon Artistic Associate and Director JENNY SULLIVAN. Tickets are $49.50. 

Those who add the VIP Option (a minimum donation in any multiple of $80 in honor of Joe Spano’s birthday), will join the artists, Joe’s daughters and special guests in The Rose Room for exceptional Italian cuisine, fine wines, and a chance to raise a toast to one of our favorite human beings! 

Click HERE to Donate!

JOE SPANO, beloved for his work in “NCIS,” “Hill Street Blues,” “Apollo 13,” and for an extraordinary career spanning stage, film, and television. Rubicon audiences have cherished Joe’s unforgettable performances in Heisenberg,Sylvia, and Who’s Afraid of Virginia Woolf?, to name just a few. This intimate reading offers a rare opportunity to experience one of America’s finest actors in a tour-de-force performance.

JOHN ROMANO, whose distinguished career spans multiple mediums, is perhaps best known for his films “The Lincoln Lawyer” “Nights in Rodanthe” “Intolerable Cruelty” and “The Third Miracle.” In TV, his credits include “Hill Street Blues” (Emmy nomination), “L.A. Law,” “Party of Five,” and “Monk.” He holds a Ph.D. from Yale in English and Comparative Literature, taught at Columbia, has written a book on Charles Dickens, and contributed book reviews to the New York Times and the Los Angeles Times Review of Books. 

In King of the Wild Frontier, he has crafted a richly layered, deeply personal story of family, faith, organized crime, and the moral choices that shape a life. Funny, suspenseful, and profoundly moving, it is storytelling at its finest. 

JENNY SULLIVAN is an award-winning director and longtime Artistic Associate of Rubicon Theatre Company. She has directed more than twenty productions for Rubicon, including Our Town, The Mystery of Irma Vep, Nazi Hunter – Simon Wiesenthal, Doubt, Hamlet, Art, Dancing at Lughnasa and Old Wicked Songs, and Who’s Afraid of Virginia Woolf? with Joe Spano, earning multiple Indy Awards and an Ovation Award nomination. Other credits include Off-Broadway, The Geffen, multiple seasons at Williamstown Theatre Festival, Long Wharf, and Ensemble Theatre.

Tickets: 

Reading & Q & A – $49.50

Enjoy the staged reading of King of the Wild Frontier, followed by a live conversation with Joe Spano and John Romano hosted by Jenny Sullivan. Hear about the inspiration for the play, and Joe and John’s careers and collaborations on stage and screen. 

OR

Reading, Conversation & Celebration with Joe – $49.50 Reading Ticket + Birthday Gift/Donation in Joe’s Honor to Rubicon ($80—or Any Meaningful Multiple of 80)

Following the reading, guests are invited to continue the celebration at an intimate birthday gathering honoring Joe Spano’s 80th birthday in The Rose Room Cabaret & Bistro.

With an advance Birthday Gift in Joe’s Honor to the theatre he has called home for more than two decades—Rubicon Theatre Company—of $80 or any meaningful multiple of 80 (such as $240, $400, or $800), you’ll enjoy an evening of some of Joe’s favorite Italian family recipes, carefully selected wines, and warm conversation with Joe, his daughters, John Romano, and fellow theatre lovers in one of Rubicon’s most intimate settings.

Click HERE to Donate!

Birthday Celebration reservations are limited and must be made in advance. 

Experience a remarkable new play. Celebrate an extraordinary artist. Support the future of Rubicon Theatre Company.