It’s 1933, and more than one drought is ravaging rural Colorado. Lizzie Curry — book-smart, plain and never been kissed, is just about as dried up as the family fields.
No man will have her. And on this otherwise all-male, motherless ranch, where five calves drop each day from thirst, both crises qualify as equal ecological catastrophes.
N. Richard Nash’s “The Rainmaker” has always fit in the same hot literary sauna as William Inge’s steamy romantic contemporary, “Picnic.” But the more you see Nash’s 1954 coming-of-age chestnut — and it comes around these parts most every dry season — the more it argues for being a groundbreaking piece of feminist literature.
That may be too high-falutin’ a term for this tale of aw-shucks ranchers who just want to get their corn to grow and their sister to wed. It sounds antithetical, given that a woman without a man here is a woman without identity or value. Yet this play is lined with the seeds of a fertile feminist argument.
And not just because of Lizzie, the iconic role Geraldine Page created on stage and Katharine Hepburn immortalized on celluloid. It’s a meaty role, to be sure, this woman who just can’t quite dumb herself down enough to make herself wanted. Karen Slack digs into it like a John Deere backhoe in the Aurora Fox’s powerfully portrayed yet problematic new staging.
It’s groundbreaking because Lizzie’s caring father, H.C., takes a clear-cut con man’s offer to bring rain within 24 hours — for the bargain price of $100. But our widower, impeccably portrayed with easy naturalness by the great Tupper Cullum, is not paying (or even praying) for rain. Rather for a few hours of hope in a time of hopelessness — including the hope that his daughter might experience even a few hours of what it feels like to be a wanted woman.
It’s a shocking paternal disposition for many reasons: Because rainmaker Bill Starbuck is a wanted man. Because he’ll be gone with the morning. Because this play was written for 1950s sensibilities.
What makes it wonderful is how Lizzie arcs from a woman who might never be loved to one afforded its greatest reward — a choice. Including the choice of being alone.
Director Bev Newcomb-Madden has put together an estimable, if oddly chosen, cast. Lizzie is written to be 27. Slack’s more the age we might think of a Lizzie today. Then again, would you believe that when Hepburn played her, she was already 49?
In most productions, directors trot out a young, shirt-losing beefcake to play Starbuck, who must be capable of winning over not only Lizzie but every woman in the audience.
Paul Borrillo is a fine, time-tested actor, but he’s not one of those Starbucks. He wins over Lizzie in that safe, Harold Hill kind of a way, when what you hope for is a hint of real menace. This Starbuck would be a contemporary of Lizzie’s father, and that’s just a whole different romantic dynamic, and it doesn’t quite work.
Jake Walker is the capably ambivalent suitor File. But there’s an incongruity to the acting styles between Lizzie’s brothers. Michael Morgan plays a gruff and grumpy Noah for all its emotional truth and heft, while Michael Bouchard plays his girl-crazy brother Jimmy with all the gee-whizness of “The Beverly Hillbillies.”
There are few moments more heartbreaking as when the realist Noah confronts his sister and tells her, from a place of absolute, brutal honestly, that no man will ever want her. The audience doesn’t know whether to giggle or hiss, so they do both.
Rarely is a set design as well-constructed and yet so misguided as this one. Forget the cool blue-yellow color scheme that says anything but 1935 Western ranch. Or the impractical 1-foot drop surrounding the kitchen table. Or that the whole set seems 10 feet farther removed from us than it should be. Most confounding is an everpresent rain forest covering the left side of the stage. Animals are dropping in Biblical proportions, but the Curry farm is somehow overgrowing in fauna. It’s nonsensical.
Still, this is a thoughtful presentation that ends with a moment of staging wonder. If you can’t guess by the title — it’s either what you expect, or it’s a helicopter. And not to give anything away, but it’s not a helicopter.
John Moore: 303-954-1056 or jmoore@denverpost.com
“The Rainmaker” **1/2 (out of four stars)
Family farm drama. Aurora Fox, 9900 E. Colfax Ave., Aurora. Starring Karen Slack and Paul Borrillo. Directed by Bev Newcomb-Madden. Through May 9. 7:30 p.m. Fridays and Saturdays, 2 p.m. Sundays. $24. 303-739-1970 or
More “Rainmaker” photos at the bottom of this page
This weekend’s best bet: Cabaret Terrarium
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“Cabaret Terrarium” Visiting New York fringe performers Harrington & Kauffman present their newest play, described as “an epic comedy of amnesia and redemption.” Watch Belgian cabaret singer Gustave and his silent assistant Nhar travel the world in search of clues about Gustave’s family and his own shadowy past. The duo previously presented “Motel California” at Buntport. 8 p.m. today and Saturday, April 16-17. Buntport Theater, 717 Lipan St., Denver, 720-946-1388 or
This weekend’s other openings
“Ardy Fafirsin” Based on lurid accounts of one of the most sensational murders in English history, Don Nigro’s wild and dark Elizabethan farce tells the twisted and strangely compelling story of Alice Ard. Through April 25. Red Rocks Community College, 13300 W. 6th Ave., Lakewood, 303-914-6458.
“Leading Ladies” What can go wrong when two out-of-work actors decide to pass themselves off as the long-lost nephews of a very old, very sick, and very rich lady? Only one thing — on their arrival, Jack and Leo discover their relatives are nieces. A comedy by Ken Ludwig (“Lend Me a Tenor”). Through May 16. Vintage Theatre, 2119 E. 17th Ave., 303-839-1361 or
“Murder on Pirate Island” Interactive mystery dinner theater about a convention of rogues who have gathered to crown the new Pirate King. A comedy appropriate for all ages.. Through May 1. 2406 Federal Blvd., 303-455-1848 or
“Yo Ho Ho and a Barrel of Fun”The venerable, old-fashioned melodrama dinner theater offers its 50th anniversary production, in which swashbuckling hero Sheffield Silver and his mother strive to rescue a noble lady from the clutches of an evil pirate. Through Sept. 25. 444 Ruxton Ave., Manitou Springs, 719-685-5104.
Complete theater listings
Go to our complete list of in Colorado, including summaries, run dates, addresses, phones and links to every company’s home page. Or check out our listings or
Video bonus: Magic Moments’ 2010 finale, “I’ll Lift My Head”
Watch the final song from Magic Moments’ 2010 annual musical revue, “The Child.” The song is “I’ll Lift My Head,” written by Steve Dieveney and performed by a cast of 230. Video courtesy of Mark Dissette.
The Running Lines blog
Catch up on John Moore’s roundup of theater news and dialogue:
