BWW Reviews: Radiant Revival of THE RAINMAKER at the Good Theater

Portland's Good Theater opened its thirteenth season with a radiant revival of N. Richard Nash's 1954 play, The Rainmaker. The production, perfectly cast, sensitively directed and acted, and capped by an attractive physical production, speaks volumes about the virtues of this little company.

Nash's play, set in a western ranching town crippled by drought, is a bitter sweet tale of a young woman imprisoned in her self-image of plainness and of the charismatic con man who brings not only rain, but also the healing power of dreams.

Like his heroine, director Brian P. Allen excels at finding the inner radiance of the characters, drawing from his actors performances rich in naturalism, humanity, pathos, and humor. He manages to strike exactly the right tone for this family drama -with enough laughter to warm the heart and plenty of moments of genuine, yet subtle anguish. Pacing is note perfect, and the ensemble plays brilliantly off one another.

Laurel Casillo shines in the central role of Lizzie Curry. Even before she blossoms in the final scenes, she radiates a hidden strength behind her sadness, and when her transformation comes, it is filled with wisdom and tenderness. Michael Kimball plays her father, HC Curry, as a weather beaten, yet resilient patriarch, able to listen to his heart when the moment requires it. Graham Emmons gives a taut and tortured performance as his son Noah, who stumbles along shouldering the responsibilities of the ranch and family, blinded to hope and constrained by a misguided reality. Conor Riordan Martin gives younger brother, Jim, a sweet, goofy dimness which touchingly disguises an inner emotional reservoir.

Christopher Holt makes a convincingly repressed File, complete with signature physical details - the hooked in belt thumbs and inadvertent facial tick - and when he does let loose his emotions toward the end of the play, they pour out with a volcanic intensity. Glenn Anderson is a sympathetic Sheriff Thomas.

As Starbuck, Max Waszak endows the sweet talking dreamer and con man with just the right mix of flamboyance, manipulation, self-deprecating humor, while still retaining his child-like belief in the transformative power of dreams and his unquenched thirst for miracles. He brings a gentle sparkle to the final scenes with Lizzie.

Stephen Underwood's unit set with its blond paneling - screen doors and wilting vegetation against a blazing sky - conjures up the stifling heat and claustrophobia of the Curry family's lives. And he effectively solves the need for several locales by tucking the tack room and the sheriff's office into the side pockets of the stage apron. Iain Odlin's lighting bathes the stage in the sizzling heat of this brutal summer sun or finds the moonlit ambiance needed for the love scene, while Justin Cote's costumes capture place and period

The Rainmaker, a fine choice for the season opener, effectively highlights the strengths of the Good Theater: remarkably astute casting, pitch perfect direction, talented actors, and a penchant for repertoire with both style and substance.

Photos Courtesy Good Theater, Stephen Underwood, photographer

The Rainmaker runs October 2-25, 2014 at The Good Theater, 76 Congress St., Portland, ME www.goodtheater.com 207-885-5883

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