The Rainmaker opens at the Commonweal

The Commonweal will fill out its summer repertory with Richard Nash’s The Rainmaker. The play had its first successful run on Broadway in 1954 with a more recent revival in 1999. It also has seen productions in Film (with Burt Lancaster and Katherine Hepburn), television, and as a musical titled 101 in the Shade. The Rainmaker at the Commonweal begins previews Friday, June 19.

The play takes place on a small ranch in the western U.S. during a drought summer. A father and his three adult children—two sons and a daughter—are trying to survive the drought and discover how much hope is allowed in a seemingly barren world. A major concern, voiced openly by the men, is the diminishing marital prospects for Lizzie who is already into her late 20s. But along with this specific concern, is the larger tension between pragmatism and yearning.

Into the balance (simplistically, two members fall out on the practical side, two on the dreamer side), comes Bill Starbuck, a self proclaimed Rainmaker who promises to bring back the rain and, predictably, disrupts the family’s equilibrium. While all of the men must adjust to the changing barometer, it is Lizzie who bears the brunt of the storm and must ultimately choose whether or not to accept the pragmatic role that she has been preparing herself for or risk the potential foolishness of hope.

The play itself has a lot of potential for a contemporary audience. The seeming conflict between practicality and personal fulfillment has not gone away since the 1950s, nor has the fear of being left alone—a spinster in the nomenclature of the play. Yet much has changed in the intervening 50 years. Most notably, all four family members would have more choices and more opportunities than they had in 1950, and a rainmaker could enter their lives in many ways other ways than walking through the front door. One of the challenges for the Commonweal will be to stay true to the play (which many in the audience are likely to know) without becoming stuck in an historical caricature that is easily dismissed.

The Rainmaker runs in repertory with the Odd Couple through October 24.

Visit the Commonweal for schedules and tickets: Commonweal Theatre