“Rainmaker” brings breath of fresh air
by Cheri Lucas, Daily Journal, Correspondant

Plagued by severe draught, the people of a small Midwestern town have no time for dreams. In the rural landscape of N. Richard Nash’s “The Rainmaker,” prosperity is tied to one’s land, and when rain refuses to fall onto the town of patriarch H.C. Curry and his family, the threat of poverty looms.

In the fourth show of its Storytelling season, the Hillbarn Theatre presents a fairly solid showcase of acting. Nash’s script, while slow at times, builds action well and is maintained by doses of humor and compassion to attract the young and the old.

The Curry house, the primary setting of the Hillbarn set, sits on a ranch managed by Noah, the orderly, the orderly, pessimistic older brother, played by Taylor J. Smith. Frustrated from the drying grasslands and dying cattle, Noah’s Spartan business attitude spills over into the family realm.

The only daughter, Lizzie (Alex Alexander), is of ripe marrying ages, but her “plainness” hinders her from sagging a bachelor and leaves her to “old maid” destiny. Her father, H.C. (Rudolph Vest), and her younger brother, Jimmy (Dan Vekhter), have high hopes for her to pair off with a mate. The men journey into tow one scorching day to invite one of the town’s eligible males, Deputy File (Earle Carlson), to supper at the Curry house.

The time of “The Rainmaker” marks when marriage was the main – if only – objective of womanhood and when family modeled the boundaries of one’s life. These notions of American identity in the mid-1900’s are manifested in Ann Kuchins’ production, and the cast depicts well the restrictions and hopes of a woman and her family in a time of desperation and disbelief.

After File passes on supper that evening, Lizzie seems more distraught over her inability to attract suitors. Jimmy and Noah find themselves growing apart in their outlook on life, with Noah calling his brother “dumb” and foolish for becoming smitten over Smookie McGuire, the town flirt.

Veckhter’s lanky frame and silliness add energy and humor to the piece, particularly for the younger members of the audience.
Smith is a strong presence, but in a subtle way, and his character is interesting because his inner conflict – between what is right and what is good – unfolds in a natural way as the family is forced to make decisions that may endanger them.

The story’s breath of fresh air comes from Starbuck, the self-proclaimed rainmaker and fleeing con artist, played by John Byrd, who barges in on the Currys during dinner. All but H.C. are suspicious of this stranger who brings nothing but a rain stick, a large drum, and a bucket of white paint with him.

Starbuck bets $100 that with some simple (and strange) tactics, he can bring rain to their ailing town. H.C., symbolizing an unconditional belief in hope and good things to come, gives him the money after just a moment’s thought. Noah, of course, is opposed to the deal, and the contrast between him and the seemingly disorderly Starbuck character mirrors the play’s broader themes of reality versus dreams.

Over the course of the night, Starbuck – whose freer, worldly speech and appearance contrast the firmness of Noah and the social awkwardness or Lizzie – jolts the lives of the Curry family. Byrd’s romantic exterior balances out Lizzie and the rest of the cast, signifying the missing elements of inspiration and dreams on the family’s life.

Starbuck’s belief in the beauty of Lizzie provokes her to believe in herself, and her returned belief in Starbuck as a man and a lover of dreams and idealism aids his departure at the end of the story.
While all performances hold their own, the physical features of Rudolph Vest and Earle Carlson, interestingly, give their characters an extra boost. Vest’s bushy eyebrows enhance the seriousness in his eyes, while his face, full of expression, effortlessly emits tenderness in his poignant moments.

Carlson, who wears a police uniform well, is very funny and clumsy – both intentionally and not – and also provides some of the production’s humor.

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