REVIEW: New Richmond Hill “Rainmaker” is Plainly Beautiful, Touching
It was fitting that Richmond Hill Players staged the romantic comedy-drama “The Rainmaker” by N. Richard Nash this past Sunday afternoon, when it poured on my way east on I-80 to see the matinee of this eminently satisfying show.
At the Barn Theatre in Geneseo, directed by Joe DePauw, it’s unpretentious, funny, and by turns tragic and touching. In the story (which premiered in 1953 as a live TV play, and became the basis of the 1963 musical “110 in the Shade,” for which Nash wrote the book), during a paralyzing drought in the American West, a lonely young woman’s father and two brothers are as worried about her becoming an old maid as they are about their dying cattle. For, in truth, she is plain. The men try every possible scheme to marry her off, but without success, nor is there any sign of relief from the dry heat (which soars over 100 degrees), according to a synopsis.
Suddenly, from out of the blue, a picaresque character arrives, with a mellifluous tongue and the most grandiose notions a man could imagine. He is a rainmaker, and he promises to bring rain for $100. It’s a wacky idea, but the rainmaker is so refreshing and ingratiating that the family finally consent. He’s a con man in every sense – since Bill Starbuck (appropriately, B.S.) shows outsize confidence in his own abilities and big personality.
Perin Royalty (left) as File and Alex Claus as Sheriff Thomas.
He gets one brother to relentlessly bang on a big bass drum to rattle the sky, the father to paint a big white arrow, to direct the cloudburst, while the rainmaker tries to turn his magic on the girl, persuading her that she has a very real beauty of her own. And she comes to believes it, just as her father believes the fellow can actually bring rain. But will the rain come, and will love?
The true ensemble of the Richmond Hill cast reflects persuasive talent across the board. Most affecting to me is Sally Hamer as the potential “old maid,” Lizzie Curry, who’s actually making her RHP debut here, after growing up in Geneseo seeing family and friends perform in the round on the Barn Theatre stage, sparking a love of theater.
Sally Hamer as Lizzie Curry and Gary Talsky as her father, H.C., in “The Rainmaker.”
Hamer was in several productions at Circa ’21, Music Guild and Playcrafters during her adolescence and recently returned to her hometown, where she works at Hammond Henry Hospital. As Lizzie, she is the sympathetic, natural, relatable sun around which the other characters all seem to orbit.
Sally Hamer as Lizzie Curry and Gary Talsky as her father, H.C., in “The Rainmaker.”
She nails the frustration, anguish, honesty and heartbreak of her role and we agree with her assessment of the larger-than-life theatricality of Jacob Lund as Starbuck, when Lizzie calls him a liar and con man. In the second act, the drama takes a turn, when an unlikely romance appears to be blossom between the two determined, opposite characters.
Greg O’Neill as Noah in “The Rainmaker,” which runs through June 14 in Geneseo.
Lund is excellent and entertaining as the swaggering, big talker. The mostly male cast is filled out with dependable solidity by Gary Talsky as the devoted, supportive father; Greg O’Neill (great facial expressions) and Ethan Sundeen (a recent high school grad also making his RHP debut) as the often bickering Curry brothers; Perin Royalty as the tortured, awkward File, and Alex Claus as his boss, Sheriff Thomas.
Jacob Lund and Sally Hamer in “The Rainmaker” at Richmond Hill.
“The Rainmaker” is philosophical and profound in its lessons about beauty, faith, belief in yourself and others, and the value of family. The Richmond Hill continues its performances this Thursday through Saturday at 7:30 p.m., and Sunday at 3 p.m. Reservations are recommended and can be made by calling the Richmond Hill box office at 309-944-2244 or by visiting the website at rhplayers.com.
Late seating is not permitted; no one will be admitted to the theater after the show has started. Admission to all performances is $12. Richmond Hill also offers Assistive Listening Devices (ALDs), which can be requested at the time that reservations are made.
Jacob Lund and Sally Hamer in “The Rainmaker” at Richmond Hill, Geneseo.
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