Cynthia Meier, left, as Solange with Susan Arnold as Claire in Rogue Theatre's "The Maids."

joseph mcgrath

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It seems only fitting that French writer Jean Genet's words be given voice by the Rogue Theatre.

He was unquestionably a rogue himself.

But the real attraction for artistic director Joseph McGrath is not Genet's roguish personal history but his exceptional way with words.

"His voice is unlike any other I've heard in the theater," says McGrath, who is directing "The Maids," which previews Thursday at the Cabaret Theatre at the Temple of Music and Art. "It is completely singular. Cindy (Cynthia Meier, Rogue's managing director) and I have always loved Genet."

Indeed, in the short history of one of Tucson's youngest theaters — this is only its second three-play season — a Genet play takes the stage for the second time.

"His dialogue possesses enormous depth. It resonates. It suggests several things at the same time," says McGrath.

"The Maids" was first produced in 1949 in Paris, at a time when Genet's works were banned in the United States. The story is based on an actual event, the brutal murder by sisters Lea and Christine Papin of their mistress and her daughter in 1933.

"This event probably spoke to Genet in numerous ways," says McGrath. "And it certainly created an opportunity for him to explore some of the ideas that intrigued him throughout his work, like the individual's relationship to authority and the isolation that we can feel in the worlds we are often forced to inhabit. How do we deal with these difficult things?"

In Genet's play, the two maids, Solange and Claire, plot endlessly to kill their mistress with role-playing and brutal fantasy. They create elaborate and detailed sadomasochistic rituals in the absence of their mistress, taking turns portraying their vision of the powerful and the powerless.

The production features Meier and Susan Arnold as the maids. Arlene Naughton plays their employer.

"Every rehearsal is a challenge," says McGrath. "It's a wrestling match with the script. Some plays simply are what they appear to be. Genet's are extraordinarily complex."

A pre-show musical presentation will begin 15 minutes before curtain. It will feature musical director Harlan Hokin with David Morden and McGrath performing various works by composers of the era, including Kurt Weill and Erik Satie.

"We thought it would provide a type of symmetry to the production," says McGrath.