This September, Empty ( ) Space Company, led by Bradford Rosenbloom and Evan Wilmes, will present us with the deeply moving and provocative story Closer by playwright Patrick Marber. Closer premiered on Broadway in January, 1999 and was nominated for the Tony Award for Best Play that same year. The play was later adapted into the 2004 film of the same name and won two Golden Globe Awards in 2005.

The Empty ( ) Space production of Closer will host the talents of Jenna Ciralli, Isaac Mills, Bradford Rosenbloom, and Sara Williams. As many may recall, Rosenbloom recently performed as the Emcee in Cabaret alongside Isaac Mills as Clifford Bradshaw, and Sara Williams as Fräulein Kost. Jenna Ciralli was last seen on stage in Anton Chekhov’s The Seagull. The strong and talented cast for Closer will prove invaluable to the difficult roles and realities required in this play. 

As audiences have seen with past Empty ( ) Space Company productions, Rosenbloom and Wilmes will continue to push the experiential envelope, pulling the audience into the scenes and asking them to experience the breadth of emotion inherent in relationships, truth, betrayal, and love.

Jenna Ciralli, Bradford Rosenbloom

Previous Empty ( ) Space Productions

Empty ( ) Space Company has provided Bozeman with insightful, introspective, and purpose driven stage performances, including Middletown (2022), Red (2023), and Constellations (2025). Each play presented the experiences, lives, struggles, and joys of life, with an honest yet raw display of human vulnerability. 

In Red, the audience was placed within the stage space, as the theater became famous painter Mark Rothko’s studio, and seventeen original paintings by Wilmes lined the walls around the audience, literally placing them in the heart of the play. Wilmes, who played Rothko, plastered and painted alongside his assistant Ken, played by Isaac Mills, as the characters battled with their internal navigation through life and their behaviors. The audience was pulled to share in the experience, questioning the factors and experiences of life that pushed Rothko to behave in this way.

Rosenbloom and Wilmes pushed us again in Constellations; approaching the audience as viewers from multiple angles, they afforded multiple possible outcomes. By incorporating a stage set that was assembled and then disassembled in front of the audience with each scene, the actors Rosenbloom and Kyrie Dawson emphasized the many coexisting universes, possible outcomes, and consequences of our choices. Layering meanings through expressions, body movement, lighting, and space, the audience felt the pull of shared life experience. The emotions within this play displayed a tangible embrace of all possible feelings, beliefs, thoughts, and moments.

As we approach the September dates for Closer, audiences anxiously await the reveal of artistic ingenuity from Rosenbloom and Wilmes. When asked what inspired their choice to bring Closer to Bozeman, Rosenbloom explained that, “when it comes to theater, show choice and art in general, I am consistently drawn to its level of humanity, going above and below the surface—and that level of humanity, the dark and the light side of humanity and truth usually involves intense love and pain, joy and sorrow, honor and shame: these truths are honest portrayals of our day to day lives.” It seems clear that audiences should expect to engage with their own truths, emotions, and expectations, while simultaneously enjoying artistic creativity.

Immerse yourself in live theatre and see Closer at the Bozeman Event Space in downtown Bozeman on September 25, 26, and 27th. Tickets are available at Eventbrite.

Kelsey Green (she/her) is a passionate Writing and Seminar instructor at Montana State University, where she fosters critical thinking and creative expression in her students. Currently pursuing a PhD in Education, Kelsey is dedicated to exploring innovative teaching methods and advocating for meaningful educational change.