Rain Spotting Interplayers Ensemble Revives ‘The Rainmaker’
Theater
Here comes the rain again.
The drought is over on Friday night, when the Interplayers Ensemble revives N. Richard Nash’s “The Rainmaker.” Interplayers first performed this romance-comedy-drama during its 1984-85 season, and audiences have put it on their list of favorites ever since.
In fact, it has been an audience-pleaser ever since it premiered in New York in October 1954. It’s about a con man, Bill Starbuck, who rolls into a parched Texas town and promises to bring rain. He not only brings rain, but he brings romance to the plain, outspoken farmer’s daughter, Lizzie Curry.
It was not just a crowd-pleaser; it was also a critic-pleaser. Critic Louis Kronenberger said it had a “bright, brisk air and an engagingly humorous smack.” Howard Taubman of the New York Times said it was “a play that had a touch of magic.” John McClain of the Journal-American called it a “wonderfully wistful and weepy play.”
Darren McGavin played Bill Starbuck; Geraldine Page played Lizzie.
The story was revived nine years later as a musical. Nash collaborated with composers Tom Jones and Harvey Schmidt (“The Fantasticks”) to turn the story into “110 In the Shade,” which had a long Broadway run in 1963.
The Interplayers production is directed by co-founder and artistic director Joan Welch.
Kelly Lloyd, last seen as Eleonora Duse in “The Ladies of the Camellias,” plays Lizzie. Hal Perry plays Bill Starbuck. The cast also includes Scot Charles Anderson, J. Bretton Truett, Michael Weaver, John Farrage and Cary Allison.
The show opens Friday and continues through June 7. Friday and Saturday shows are at 8 p.m.; Tuesday, Wednesday and Thursday shows are at 7:30 p.m. There will be 2 p.m. matinees on May 17, 21 and 24.
Tickets are $15.75 and $13.65 for evening shows and $12.60 for matinees. For reservations, call 455-PLAY.
Interplayers is Spokane’s resident professional theater, operating in a 260-seat theater at 174 S. Howard in downtown Spokane.
‘Barefoot in the Park’
The Lake City Playhouse in Coeur d’Alene opens Neil Simon’s 1963 comedy “Barefoot in the Park” Friday for a three-week run.
This story of two newlyweds was one of Simon’s first big hits. The honeymoon is over and reality (in the form of a dilapidated New York apartment and a mother-in-law) begins to set in. The original Broadway show starred Robert Redford and Elizabeth Ashley as the newlyweds.
The Lake City Playhouse cast features Mike Grabenstein and Cathy Stephens in those roles. Other cast members include Alba Jeanne MacConnell, Keith Knight, Jonah Weston and Tom Hall.
The show runs Friday, Saturday and Sunday, and continues May 23-25 and 29-31. Curtain time is 8 p.m. for all shows except this Sunday’s show, which is at 7 p.m., and the May 25 show at 2 p.m.
Tickets are $12 for adults, $10 for seniors and students, $8 for children 12 and under. Call (208) 667-1323 for reservations and information.
The Lake City Playhouse is Coeur d’Alene’s community theater, located at 14th and Garden.
Student-directed one-acts
The Eastern Washington University Theatre presents four student-directed one-act plays the next two weekends. Two plays will be performed each night at the University Theatre on the Cheney campus.
The four plays and their performance dates are:
“Grandma Duck is Dead,” a comedy by Larry Shue, directed by Doug Dawson of Spokane. May 16, 20, 22, 23.
“The Diary of Adam and Eve,” a musical based on the Mark Twain story, directed by Jessica McLaughlin of Chewelah. May 16, 21, 24.
“The Actor’s Nightmare,” a comedy by Christopher Durang, directed by Matthew Hemmelman of Spokane. May 17, 21, 22, 24.
“Sister Mary Ignatius Explains It All For You,” a comedy by Christopher Durang, directed by Robin Steptoe of Spokane. May 17, 20, 23.
All shows are at 8 p.m. Admission is $5 at the door. Call 359-6400 for information.
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