'The Rainmaker' Rolls into ACT Oct.25 - Nov.25

American Conservatory Theater (ACT) presents N. Richard Nash's classic western romance The Rainmaker. The show's cast, headed by ACT core Acting Company member Rene Augesen and Canadian star Geordie Johnson and directed by the esteemed Mark Rucker, includes ACT favorites, celebrated Bay Area actors, and a current ACT Master of Fine Arts Program student. The Rainmaker will play ACT October 25 through November 25. Press night is Tuesday, October 30, at 8PM. Tickets - starting at $14 - are now available by calling ACT Ticket Services at 415.749.2228 or by logging on to www.act-sf.org.

"The subject of the beloved 1956 filmof the same name, starring Burt Lancaster and Katharine Hepburn, The Rainmaker is a classic American romance about a drought, a con artist, a country girl, and the way that love can overcome cynicism in even the most tired of souls. When a charismatic huckster named Starbuck comes to the drought-stricken Curry farm, he promises to make it rain - for a price, of course. But as Starbuck and Lizzie, the lone daughter of the family, discover a genuine chemistry, they begin to consider the possibility of a real miracle," explain press notes. Theatre fans may recognize this play as the source material to the Tom Jones musical 110 in the Shade, which recently received an acclaimed Broadway revival by the Roundabout Theatre Company last season.

The cast of The Rainmaker features a mix of ACT favorites and renowned actors. Having recently shared the stage in ACT's production of Travesties (2006), ACT core Acting Company member and associate artist Rene Augesen and Canadian star of stage and screen Geordie Johnson head the cast as Lizzie Curry and Bill Starbuck. Augesen's recent performances at ACT include Happy End, Travesties, Luminescence Dating (at the Magic Theatre), the title character in Hedda Gabler, and, most recently, The Imaginary Invalid.

Geordie Johnson's notable New York credits include Spinning into Butter (Lincoln Center Theater), Macbeth (with Alec Baldwin and Angela Bassett, Public Theater), It's My Party… (with F. Murray Abraham and Joyce Van Patten, Arc Light Theater), and Overruled (Drama League). Johnson has performed for nine seasons with the Stratford Festival of Canada, where his credits have included major roles in Troilus and Cressida, Richard II, Romeo and Juliet, King Lear, The Winter's Tale, The Cherry Orchard, Pride and Prejudice, Death of a Salesman, Sweet Bird of Youth, The Night of the Iguana, and Cat on a Hot Tin Roof.

The remainder of the cast includes: Jack Willis, playing H.C. Curry, Lizzie's father; core acting company member Anthony Fusco appears as File, the sheriff's deputy vying with Starbuck for Lizzie's hand; plus ACT and Bay Area veteran Rod Gnapp, playing Sheriff Thomas.  Stephen Barker Turner - appearing as Lizzie's skeptical brother, Noah - is a frequent ACT collaborator. Rounding out the cast as the easygoing Jim Curry is Alex Morf, a third-year student in ACT's Master of Fine Arts Program.

The creative team for The Rainmaker includes Robert Morgan (sets), Lydia Tanji (costumes), Don Darnutzer (lighting) and Jeff Mockus (sound). 

Director Mark Ruker, previously directed Luminescence Dating (at the Magic Theatre) and The Beard of Avon for ACT. He is an associate artist at South Coast Repertory Theatre, where he has directed more than 20 productions, including world premieres by Richard Greenberg, Christopher Shinn, Annie Weisman, and Culture Clash. Other regional theater credits include work at Yale Repertory Theatre, La Jolla Playhouse, Arena Stage, Intiman Theatre, Berkeley Repertory Theatre, Syracuse Stage, The Old Globe, Ford's Theatre, California Shakespeare Theater, and The Acting Company. Rucker's first feature film, Die, Mommie, Die!, won a Special Jury Prize at the Sundance Film Festival.

Performances are Tuesday - Saturday at 8PM (except Oct. 31 & Nov. 22); Wednesday, Saturday & Sunday at 2PM (except no matinee on Oct. 28, Oct. 31, & Nov. 14).  Plus Sundays Oct. 28 & Nov. 18 at 7PM and Tuesday November 6 at 7PM.

Tickets for The Rainmaker can be purchased at ACT Ticket Services, located at 405 Geary Street, 415.749.2228; or via the ACT website, www.act-sf.org. Groups of 15 or more people are eligible for discounts; please call 415-439-2473.