2020 TRUE WEST AWARD: WILLIAM HAHN AND JESSICA ROBBLEE

2020 True West Awards William Hahn Jessica Robblee


Component GradientStart is not available in React's context. It is defined in agility, however. Please check React Dev tools for props.

'The casting is nothing less than brilliant.’

– Juliet Wittman, Westword

By John Moore, Senior Arts Journalist

Psst. Hey, do you remember "plays"? You know ... in the B.C. times (Before COVID)? With packed audiences and winter coats cavalierly spread over your lap by the oblivious person in front of you? Followed by coughing fits that only annoyed, rather than terrified you? Ah, yeah ... the good old days.

Jessica Robblee and William Hahn But even had more than 500 Colorado theatre productions not been canceled by the COVID shutdown in March, theatregoers surely would still be looking back at the 2020 theatre year and talking fondly about Jessica Robblee and William Hahn's humane performances in the Miners Alley Playhouse's production of "Frankie and Johnny at the Clair de Lune."

Terrence McNally's first-date play has been exploring relationships and romance between these two wary, weary veterans of the heart since 1987. They've already slept together; that's the easy part. Now they face the daunting prospect of true connection. "You just don't decide to fall in love with people out of the blue," says Frankie. But Johnny, a fast-talking short-order cook and diehard romantic, tenaciously disagrees.

This is a play that strikes a universally empathetic nerve among audiences because of the utterly recognizable ordinariness of this random encounter that dares to ask: Is this the rare one-night stand that could stand the test of time?

It's a play that's been played, occasionally spectacularly, by local actors of every size and stripe over the decades. But there was something special about the Miners Alley Playhouse's nakedly honest production, from the intimate confines of the Golden stage that put us within breathing distance of the characters, to Warren Sherrill's sensitive direction, to this pair of accomplished actors at their most tenacious – and vulnerable.

Here's some of what was said about them at the time:

"Jessica Robblee’s Frankie is slight and luminescent. Hahn makes Johnny so passionately and nakedly human, so much his own unique and eccentric self, that you can’t help rooting for him." – Juliet Wittman, Westword

"Under Warren Sherrill’s guidance, these two take it the next level as they maneuver around and with each other on the small, darkened stage. Both actors’ performances are so vulnerable, their characterizations so precise, that we are willing to forgive their characters’ personal shortcomings. Hahn’s portrayal of the offbeat, high-strung Johnny is spot-on. And Robblee’s Frankie is divine. The flashes of vulnerability that slip through under her tough façade give her a warmth and humanity that prevents her from appearing harsh We sympathize with them and understand that their idiosyncrasies stem from loneliness rather than bad intentions."  – Lane Ware, OnStage Colorado

"There is a convenience in watching these two work, a reassurance that these are two professionals who are not about to slip or fall. Hahn succeeds in masking the animalistic nature of Johnny with a determination to make Frankie aware of the joy and delicacy of his skewed grasp of reality. And Robblee responds in grounding Frankie firmly to the floor." Denver Theatre Perspectives

Video bonus: Interview with Jessica Robblee


Jessica Robblee holds a B.A. in Theatre and English from Davidson College and an M.A. in Theatre Education from the University of Northern Colorado in Greeley. She performed with the Colorado Shakespeare Festival in "Twelfth Night" and "Romeo and Juliet." In September, she performed in the worldwide launch of the play "Waiting for Obama" on Broadway On Demand. Other credits include "The Moors," "Sense and Sensibility," "The Foreigner," "Electric Baby" and "Drowning Girls" (Arvada Center Black Box); "Frankenstein," "All the Way," "Lord of the Butterflies" and "Drag Machine" (Denver Center); "Siren Song," "Duck Duck Dupe" and "Trunks" (Buntport Theater for All Ages); "5 Lesbians Eating a Quiche" (Square Product Theatre); and "This" (Boulder Ensemble Theatre Company).

Video bonus: Interview with William Hahn

William Hahn, a graduate of the University of Northern Colorado in Greeley, is a member of Curious Theatre Company, where his roles have included Ralph in "Frozen," Dorian in "Opus," The Dead Man in "Dead Man’s Cell Phone," Max in "Becky Shaw" and EKO in "The Elaborate Entrance of Chad Diety." Other local roles have included "To Kill A Mockingbird" and "King Lear with the DCPA Theatre Company, "Escanaba In Da Moonlight" and "K2" for the Aurora Fox, and "A Lie of the Mind" for Paragon Theatre. He won the 2006 Denver Post Ovation Award for Outstanding Season by an Actor for “Frozen,” “Insignificance” and Escanaba in Da Moonlight." He can be seen in the feature films "Silent Rose" and "A Test of Wills."

Video interviews by Ray Bailey TV.

Home,Reignite the Arts,Donate Now,Donate Now,Corporate Giving,2024-2025 Theatre Season,Renew,Visit Us,Dining Partners,View All Events,Roland Bernier: In Other Words,Word Play,Lola Montejo: After Another After,Floyd D. Tunson: Ascent,Anthony Garcia Sr: Pigment,Pamela Webb: Hand + Hammer,Lauri Lynnxe Murphy: Seeing the Trees For the Forest,Pink Progression: Collaborations,Imprint: Print Educators of Colorado,528.0: Regional Juried Printmaking Exhibition,Wood.Works,Carley Warren: Three Pieces,Viral Influence: Art in the Time of Coronavirus,Brady Smith: (Don’t be embarrassed by) Your Trouble with Living,Melody Epperson: 100 Years + 1,Blurring The Line,Narkita Gold: Black In Denver,Art of the State 2022,One Sheet,Colorado Abstract +10: A Survey,Gary Staab: Second Nature,Flora: Scientific Botanical Illustrations of Colorado Plants,Art + Science,Jeffco Schools Foundation High School Art Exhibition,Wendy Kowynia: Following the Thread,Bueno: Mark Bueno,Ramón Bonilla: The boundary lines have fallen in pleasant places for me.,Drawn: From The Source,Day of African Culture,Big Draw Colorado,Allyship & Advocacy in Action: Supporting the LGBTQAI+ Community,Beautiful - The Carole King Musical,A Year With Frog and Toad,Kaleidoscope,Spring Pottery Sale,53rd Annual Jeffco Schools Foundation High School Art Exhibition,Matt Christie: Between Then and Now,Robin Cole: Genesis,3rd Law Dance/Theater,Emilio Lobato: A Mi Manera A 40-Year Survey,Latitude 37° Art of Southern Colorado,The Laramie Project,The Laramie Project Talkbacks with Judy and Dennis Shepard,Rodgers and Hammerstein's Cinderella,Noises Off,Sue Oehme Inclusions,Artist Proof: Print Process at Oehme Graphics,So…You Want to be a Public Artist: Navigating Rejection in Art,Voices of Honor,Standing for Humanity in Gaza and Israel ,Colcha Embroidery of the San Luis Valley,Denver Gay Men's Chorus: Shout!,Spin Doctors with Cracker,Orquesta Akokán with Jon Cleary & The Absolute Monster Gentlemen,Cleo Parker Robinson Dance Ensemble: Prisms,Denver Brass presents: Brass, Camera, Action,Kingfish,CJRO Presents: Lady Sings the Groove with Tatiana LadyMay Mayfield,Ricky Skaggs and Kentucky Thunder,Mozart Under Moonlight,Melissa Etheridge: I’m Not Broken Tour,Preservation Hall Jazz Band,A Gentleman's Guide to Love and Murder,Summertime in Winter: The Music of Gershwin and more,Tower of Power,A Tribute to Arthur Fiedler and the Boston Pops,Waitress - Audio Described Performance,Clybourne Park - Audio Described Performance,A Gentleman's Guide to Love and Murder - Audio Described Performance,Natasha, Pierre and The Great Comet of 1812,Honeymoon In Vegas,Funkin’ it Up,inFORMed Space: Perspectives in Sculpture,I Regret to Inform You…Rejected Public Art,Waitress - ASL Performances,Clybourne Park - ASL Performances,A Gentleman's Guide to Love and Murder - ASL Performances, Community Cultural Celebration and Concert with Baaba Maal,Big Richard,Corinne Bailey Rae,The High Kings and Gaelic Storm,Yola,Swingin’ Through Time with the CJRO and Marion Powers,Hazel Miller and the Collective: Christmas with Soul,Clybourne Park,Dracula: A Feminist Revenge Fantasy, Really - Audio Described Performance,Rockley Instrument Sale,An Evening Remembering the Holocaust,Waitress,Once Upon A Mattress - Sensory Friendly Performances,Once Upon A Mattress - ASL Performances,Dracula: A Feminist Revenge Fantasy, Really - ASL Performances,Guitar Gods: Metheny, Montgomery, and More,Wright Place, Wrong Time: Triumphs & Flops for Mid-Century Modern Table,Bebe Alexander: Impact & Influence,Holiday Pottery Sale,Fine Art Market,MUGSHOT: Artistic Drinking Vessels,Dracula: A Feminist Revenge Fantasy, Really,Lyle the Crocodile - Sensory Friendly Performance,Lyle the Crocodile: Weekends,Lyle the Crocodile,Lyle the Crocodile - ASL Shadow Interpreted Performances,Stories on Stage: Making Merry - Celebration of the Season in Stories and Song,Once Upon A Mattress - Audio Described Performance,Winter Wonderland Dance Performance,Once Upon A Mattress,Accessibility Events,Amplify,Theatre,Upcoming Shows,Group Tickets,2024-2025 Theatre Season,Renew,Performances for Students,Auditions,Galleries,Current Exhibitions,Gallery Events,Upcoming Exhibitions,Art Sales,Art Submissions,Sculpture Field,History Museum,Archive,Education,View All Classes,Summer Camps,Full Day,Summer Camp Performances,FAQ,Spring Break Camps,Classes for Kids,Classes for Adults,Ceramics,Front Range Youth Symphony,FRYS Concerts,Dance Classes,Links and Forms,Arts Day,Arts Day Outreach,Ageless Adults,Scholarships,Field Trips and Outreach,ECE Field Trips,K-5 Field Trips,Middle and High School Field Trips,Outreach Programs,Preschool Partnership Program,Music and Dance,Colorado Jazz Repertory Orchestra,Summer Concerts,Humanities,Private Event Rentals,Caterers,Vendors,Arvada Center News,Getting to Know The Big Tuna,Getting to Know: Keith Ewer and his Hammered Dulcimer,Understanding Farce in Theatre,2024 Summer Concert Series Playlist Volume 1,2024 Summer Concert Series artists and who they sound like,Introducing the opening acts of the Arvada Center 2024 Summer Concert Series,Adapted for the stage - the previous lives of the 2024-2025 theatre season,Getting to know Baaba Maal,Adapting Waitress: From Screen to Stage,Final Girls and Gothic Heroines,5 Reasons To Love Waitress,Behind the Scenes: Lighting the World of Waitress with Jonathan Dunkle,Getting Medieval with Once Upon a Mattress Costume Designer Madison Booth,Inside the Arvada Center,Humans of the Arvada Center: Meet Collin Parson ,Christina Noel-Adcock,Humans of the Arvada Center: Meet Christine Moore,Humans of the Arvada Center: Ashi K. Smythe,City of Arvada to install new sculpture in Hoskinson Park,Humans of the Arvada Center Jessie Page,Humans of the Arvada Center Cal Meakins,Supreme Court workplace ruling hits home for Lisa Leafgreen,'Time for talk is over': Arvada Center launch 'Amplify' series to raise black male voices,Humans of the Arvada Center Jon Olson ,Revealing The Dialogue,Amplify Epiode 3 launches, series expanding to include black women,Humans of the Arvada Center: Gabriel Morales,Cleo Parker Robinson dances back in the box with Arvada Center,Amplify turns the mic over to local Black women ,Humans of the Arvada Center: Meet Emily King,Amplify Women Episode 2,amplify-series-comes-to-powerful-conclusion,Humans of the Arvada Center: John Hamilton,On being Black in Denver and all the colors that it brings,2020 True West Awards: Buntpivot ,2020 True West Awards: Lily Bradford,2020 True West Awards: The Scenesters,2020 True West Awards: Podcastic,2020 True West Awards: Phamaly takes 'Honk' to Japan,2020 True West Awards: Christine Moore,2020 True West Awards: Alive Inside,2020 True West Awards: Michael Ensminger,True West Awards: They Wrote the Book,True West Awards: Rent-A-Pals,True West Awards: Of Spacious Skies,True West Awards: Christopher Page-Sanders,2020 True West Awards: Suffer the little children,2020 True West Awards: Spirit of Giving,2020 True West Awards: Secret Gardeners,2020 True West Awards: Denis Berkfeldt,2020 True West Awards: Amplify,2020 True West Awards: Reclaiming One Star,2020 True West Awards: William Hahn and Jessica Robblee,2020 True West Awards: Lisa Wagner Erickson,Meet the Frasers,Reunite the Arts Collin Parson,Jodie Steeves and Nancy Terry,Reunite the Arts Lisa Leafgreen,Remembering John Gratkins,Reunite the Arts: From our CEO,Danielle Johnson Q&A,Reunite the Arts Lynne Collins,The Show Must Go On,Diana and Mike Kinsey,Meet Suzanna Champion,The Gear of Million Dollar Quartet,Stories From the Studio,Hispanic Heritage Month: Meet Lares Feliciano,An interview with Geoffrey Kent: The Liar,An interview with Jada Suzanne Dixon: Stick Fly,An interview with Jessica Robblee: Animal Farm,Fast Facts About Kinky Boots,Costume Department Boots Up,Rod A Lansberry Announces Retirement from Arvada Center,Lynne Collins Named Artistic Director of Arvada Center Theatre,Setting the mood: Into the Woods Set Designer Brian Mallgrave,What is Magical Realism?,Hispanic Heritage Month: Meet Ana María Hernando,Meet Ceramics Artist Luanne Burke,From student to teacher: Hadley’s story,Tackling the Beast,Things to Know About Our Town,Creating the Look of Our Town: A Q and A with Set Designer Brian Mallgrave,Whatever Lola Wants - A Deep Dive into the Damn Yankees Signature Song,Selling Your Soul - A Pop Culture Favorite,The Book Club Play Reads,Metatheatre Elements in Our Town - When a Play Knows It's a Play,90s Throwback Vibe with Arvada Center 2023 Summer Concert Series,Colorado Jazz Repertory Orchestra at the Arvada Center,Opening Acts of the Arvada Center 2023 Summer Concert Series,Big Draw Highlights,The Music of Keb' Mo,Getting to Know Lucero,Listen to the hits of Carole King with this playlist,Carole King: The Writer Behind The Music,Songs inspired by Matthew Shepard,Summer Internship at The Arvada Center,Arvada Center journeys to Southern Colorado : A Photo Diary,Arvada Center and Colorado Chapter of Free Mom Hugs share the love,Costume Inspiration for Cinderella with Costume Designer Madison Booth,The Many Faces of Cinderella,Arvada Center awarded Social Impact Theatre Grant from Biller Family Foundation,The music that influenced the music of Natasha, Pierre and the Great Comet of 1812,Volunteer,Accessibility,Web Accessibility,About Us,Ticketing Policies,Authorized Ticketing,Ticket Discounts,Contact Us,Health and Safety,Inclusion, Diversity, Equity, Access,Careers,Tours,Temp,Land Acknowledgement,What To Expect at the Theatre,One Sheet Music,Gift Certificates,Privacy Policy,Gala,Gala Sponsors,Art of the State Submissions,Errors,404,Concessions