Sometimes, with enough wishing and hoping, our dreams actually do come true. Such is the stuff of cherished poetry, novels and plays, including BoHo’s enchanting production of N. Richard Nash’s romantic classic "The Rainmaker." In his poetic 1954 play (later a film starring Katherine Hepburn and Burt Lancaster), Nash sharply paints a portrait of man’s agonizing need and longing to be loved. Set during a Depression Era drought in the rural West, a dying ranch’s suffocating need for rain becomes a metaphor for a young woman’s need to have joy in her otherwise empty life.
In this modern-day Cinderella story, Lizzie Curry is the housekeeper for her father and two brothers. Her dreams of marrying and having her own family have burned out amid the heat and testosterone of her male-dominated world. Then, shortly after Lizzie returns from a disappointing family visit, a flim-flam man named Starbuck arrives at the Curry ranch full of dreams, stories and the promise of rain in exchange for a $100 fee. His appearance sets off a string of events that ultimately persuades Lizzie to believe in herself instead of listening to her pessimistic brother, Noah. Through Starbuck, everyone begins to realize their true potential. By the end of this irresistible production, so will the audience.
Anna Hammonds is perfection as Lizzie, the young woman convinced by her family that she’s plain and destined to be alone. Hammond’s trembling voice and expressive eyes, full of anguish and longing (and easily seen in BoHo’s intimate setting) reveals the true beauty of a heroine audiences will long remember. Everyone from Matthew Keffer’s spellbinding Starbuck, Robert Frankel’s sensitive patriarch H.C., Nate Santana’s wonderfully realized Jimmy, Daniel Gilbert’s hard-ass Noah and Thad Anzur’s shy Deputy File make this a must-see production.
Reviewed by Centerstage!