One More Night, words and music by Phil Collins, @1984 Phil Collins Ltd., Published by Hit & Run Music (Publishing) Ltd.

Ironically enough, it was raining today when I saw The Rainmaker at Center Stage. The play was excellent. I laughed out loud a million times. The Rainmaker is now tied with Ain’t Misbehavin as my favorite play for Center Stage’s 2002-2003 season.

I was saddened to find out that this is the last play that Tim Vasen will direct for Center Stage. Tim Vasen was in his fifth and final season as Center Stage’s Resident Director. The Rainmaker definitely goes down as one of his most memorable directorial achievements. Of the plays he has directed my favorites in no particular order have been, The Woman in Black, Dinah Was, and Short Plays by Thornton Wilder. I never saw the two plays that he also got raves for, The Glass Menagerie with Robert Sean Leonard, and Blithe Spirit.

The Rainmaker


By N. Richard Nast


The Cast

Matthew Boston
NOAH CURRY

Tom Ligon
H.C. CURRY

Kevin Wheatley
JIM CURRY

Katie MacNichol
LIZZIE CURRY

Jeffrey Ware
SHERIFF THOMAS

Thomas M. Hammond

DEPUTY FILE

Kevin Isola
BILL STARBUCK

THE SETTING
In a Western state during a time of drought.

Henry “H.C.” Curry has some problems. There is no rain, his ranch is suffering, and cattle are dying in droves. His elder son, Noah, manages the ranch and frets, trying to run the family like an orderly business. Jim, the youngest, is either tuning in faraway places on his crystal radio set or scooting off with town flirt, Snookie McGuire in her new car. Daughter Lizzie, the sensible bedrock of the family, has them all stumped in their best efforts to get her married off. She just can’t talk to a man without scaring him away. Maybe Deputy File, the town’s most eligible bachelor (seems a widower from way back), can be lured over with a promise of supper? Or maybe the smooth talking Starbuck can help, the stranger who just rolled up in a wagon, promising to bring rain-and-hope for a flat fee. Can all his fancy stories and all his magic bring a downpour to the dry places inside and out?

The play was an enjoyable magical mix of a comedy as well as a romance. The stage set gave you a feeling of a drought. It was designed on a very extreme slant. I know that almost all stage plays are on a slant of some kind but this one seemed more extreme than usual.

The stage floor had the look of parched earth or stone. I thought this was neat because it gave the feel of a drought. Also the backdrop was a painting of the sky with a series of telephone poles doting the landscape. This gave it the feel of the open spaces you find in the Mid-west.

My favorite standout performers in this play are Kevin Wheatley, Tom Ligon, Katie MacNichol, and Kevin Isola.
Here’s my brief summary of each individual actor’s performance.

The man who played Deputy File, Thomas M. Hammond was an absolute dead ringer for Harry Connick Jr. I half way expected him to break into song any second. His performance was also very laid back like I’d imagine Harry Connick Jr.would be if he had this role. I found it difficult to believe that this guy(Deputy File) was passionate about anything. He seemed to be sleepwalking through life. I still can not believe that Lizzie chose him over Starbuck

Kevin Isola who played Bill Starbuck aka the rainmaker was very energetic. He kind of reminded me of the way Fonzi played the role in that Happy Days episode I vaguely remembered from long ago. Despite his energy he was shorter than the woman who played Lizzie. In the back of mind I kept thinking he’s a miniature man! Why I could just put him in my pocket! Overall, he gave the right tone to a character you could call a dreamer despite his coning ways. I honestly felt he believed the lies he was telling. I also felt sorry for him when Lizzie chose boring unimaginative Deputy File over him.

Tom Ligon who played the part of gruff, H.C. Curry, seemed vaguely familiar to me. When I looked back at my play book during intermission I knew why. He has a lot of TV and film credits. His noted TV credits include, Alvin Wood on Oz, and Lucas Prentiss on the Young and the Restless. In the movies he played Piney Woods in Bang the Drum Slowly (in which he sang the title song), and Horton Fenton in Paint Your Wagon. Paint Your Wagon was a movie oddity which I loved. It is the only musical to feature, tough guy actor, Clint Eastwood singing and dancing.Ligon was absolutely the best person for the part. I have no criticisms what so ever.

Matthew Boston who played Noah did an adequate job. There were times when I felt it seemed like he stumbled through his lines. Also it seemed like he was mumbling half the time. I don’t know, his characterization just did not seem strong to me.

Kevin Wheatley as Jim did an excellent job. I really did feel that he was stupid. I couldn't discern any miscues or stumbling or mumbling like I did in the guy who played Noah. There was absolutely no over emoting. He had his character down pat. I hope to that Wheatley makes it big.

Two returning actors for this show were Katie MacNichol and Jeffrey Ware who played Lizzie Curry and Sheriff Thomas respectively.

Katie MacNichol’s performance was good. However, there were times when she seemed to over emote and I could tell she was “acting”. I did feel a little creeped out in the scene where she pretends to be the town flirt with her father and starts to tickle him and then he tickles her. In the back of my mind I thought, incest? However, I know that this wasn't Nash’s intention when he wrote the play in the sexually innocent 50’s. It was my cynical 21st century mind working overtime. Overall, MacNichol’s performance was good. I really did believe she was Lizzie.

However, the actress was beautiful despite her character’s insistence that she was plain. It kind of reminded me of if someone like Nicole Kidman was in this play. I imagine that audience goers would role their eyes every time she said she was plain. This was how I felt watching the play. When her brother Noah said she was plain I was shocked and felt like crying. I mean look at this woman! She’s a knockout! Are you blind!!

Jeffrey Ware is another returning actor. Overall, Ware’s performance was adequate. It was not the center standout role like he had in The Investigation. The character he played kind of reminded me of Barney Fife. I didn't hate him. I didn't like him. My feelings are neutral on his role because it was so small. I do know that he can deliver the goods and create a connection of emotion like he did in, The Investigation.I believe I gave him raves for his standout performance as the vicious Nazi Fredrich Boger in that play. Also earlier in the season he read Eliahu in the First Look workshop of Mott Lerner’s, “wonderful, incendiary” The Murder of Issac, both directed by Irene Lewis.

Hmmmm, two consecutive season at Center Stage, how unusual. I wonder if they’re thinking of making him an Associate Artist. Making an actor an Associate Artist in my opinion is a huge complement because then they are a part of the staff. It means in short that they really, really like you. Currently, there are seven Associate Artists at Center Stage they are, Wiley Conley (a deaf actor and playwright), Judy Dennis (casting director), Robert Dorfman (an actor that does broad comedic roles), Karen Hansen (musician/composer), Danny Hoch (actor/playwright who does one man shows where a he talks about his life as a white boy who’s into the hip hop culture), Marion Mclinton (director of African American plays), and last but not least, Laurence O’Dwyer (lovable elderly actor).

The writing prompt for today is to write about what you avoid doing more than anything else and explain why.

The one thing I avoid doing more than anything is washing my underpants at the laundromat. The reason for this is that I’m still creeped about a time long ago when I in my teens and in a rush to leave the laundromat. I was in such a rush that I left my blue underpants in the washing machine. As I was leaving out the door a man held up my underpants and said, “Miss you forgot these.” I was horrified to have a strange man touch my wet underwear. I vowed that that would never happen again. Who knows where his hands had last been? To this very day I wash my underpants by hand to avoid the possibility of a stranger coming in contact with them.