Rainy
day people
by Michael
Dresdner
L to R: Mason Quinn, Elliot Weiner Photo by Dean Lapin
Lakewood
Playhouse, apparently set on making us forget about how wet it is this April,
has brought the arid, depression-era play The Rainmaker to its stage. This 1954
property is not to be confused with the Grisham lawyer novel/movie of the same
name.
A
traveling con man named Starbuck (Bruce Story) blows into a drought- crippled town
and promises rain in 24 hours in exchange for $100, at the time a serious sum.
Insinuating himself into a cattle-raising family, he insists they each engage
in a variety of somewhat embarrassing and pointless acts. It’s part distraction
and part technique to make them have skin in his game of believing, and intentionally
or not, he becomes a catalyst for change.
Sparked either
directly or inadvertently by his actions, those he touches overcome their fears.
The untrusting learn to hope, the timid become brave, and the self-doubting
learn to love, both themselves and those they yearn for but believe are out of
reach.
If this
sounds like a darker, less melodic version of The Music Man, you’re on the
right track. (For what it is worth, The Rainmaker opened on Broadway three
years before The Music Man.)
There
are some exceptional performances afoot here. Elliot Weiner does a wonderfully
subtle job as the father, H. C. Curry, who, after his wife’s death, became a softer,
more guiding parent. He accepts and loves his children for exactly who they
are, and gently tries to steer each to what he or she needs.
Elder
son Noah (Jacob Tice) has taken over running the ranch, and by extension, the
family. It’s a burden, but also a bulwark to support his cynical pragmatism,
and an excuse to influence his siblings. Younger brother Jim (Mason Quinn),
whom Noah sees as rather stupid, is instead a delightfully realistic chap who
wins us over with his trusting, energetic hopefulness.
Anchoring
it all is a superbly cast sister, Lizzie (Tanya Barber), who believes herself
to be too plain to ever land a man, a self-doubt Noah encourages. Her catharsis
is at the root of the play.
Rounding
out the small cast are the very believable deputy File (Jed Slaughter),
emotionally crippled by a divorce he can barely admit to himself, and his constant
and stalwart Sheriff (Ernie Heller.) While Story’s Starbuck is not the spellbinder
that Preston’s Harold Hill was, he does bring a dose of enthusiastic
self-assurance, and does a credible turn in his seduction scene with Lizzie.
All this
takes place on an beautifully clever stage designed by Judy Cullen. There are actually
three sets; a house, an office, and a barn. All are hidden in plain sight when
not being used, thanks in large part to excellent lighting (and dark) effects
by Niclas R. Olson.
Diane
Runkel does a fine job, as usual, with appropriate costumes, and sound designer
John Burton adds another dimension both with accurately subtle sound effects and
with superbly chosen musical interludes between the scenes. I can’t say the
same about the fight scenes; the fight choreography definitely needs work, and perhaps
that will improve during its run.
In the
final analysis, I came away feeling that in spite of a lot of great actors and characterizations
on that stage, at least as far as opening night was concerned, the whole fell
short of the magic that it could be. Perhaps it will improve with age, but even
in its nascent state, there’s enough to make it worth seeing.
The
Rainmaker
April 19th
to May 12th, 2013
Lakewood
Playhouse
