Tiburon producer aims to make scientists rock stars with ‘Particle Fever’

Tiburon resident Annie Roney (left) and Megan Kingery sit on a staircase at CERN’s headquarters near Geneva, Switzerland, in August. The two are producing ‘Particle Fever,’ a musical based on the 2013 documentary about the Higgs boson discovery that Roney’s company, Roco Films, distributed; it opens Feb. 16 at the La Jolla Playhouse. (via Annie Roney)

When Annie Roney screened the 2013 documentary “Particle Fever” as part of her job as CEO of the film-distribution company Roco Films, the story resonated with her.

The 2012 discovery of the Higgs boson confirmed a theory nearly 50 years in the making on how particles obtain their mass. But Roney, a 25-year Tiburon resident, says she was equally struck by the way the documentary focused on the scientists behind the discovery at the European Organization for Nuclear Research, known as CERN.

“It gave physics a human story,” Roney says. “It got audiences who know nothing about physics invested in the outcome of these amazing, extraordinary human beings.”

Roney has spent the past decade turning the story behind “Particle Fever” into a musical of the same name. She’s a lead producer of the show, which is set for its world premiere run at the La Jolla Playhouse from Feb. 16 to March 21, with reduced-price “First Look” performances through Feb. 21.

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