Tag: The Rainmaker by n. Richard Nash
THE RAINMAKER OPENS AT GLOUCESTER STAGE COMPANY!
N. Richard Nash’s The Rainmaker Opens at
Gloucester Stage
Captivating Classic Set for Limited Run in Gloucester
Gloucester Stage Company continues its 38th season of professional theater on Cape Ann with N. Richard Nash’s moving American classic The Rainmaker from July 14 through August 5 at 267 East Main Street, Gloucester, MA. Set in the time of a paralyzing drought in Depression-era America, The Rainmaker tells the story of a pivotal hot summer day in the life of spinsterish Lizzie Curry, whose father and two brothers are worried as much about her marriage prospects as they are about their dying cattle. Enter Starbuck, the consummate con man, who promises to solve all their problems, for a fee. Directed by Gloucester Stage Artistic Director Robert Walsh, The Rainmaker cast features Brian Homer as Starbuck; Jessica Bates as Lizzie Curry; David DeBeck as H.C. Curry, the patriarch of the Curry family; Joe Short and Sean McCoy as the Curry brothers; Dave Rich as File and longtime Gordon College Professor of Theater Arts Norm Jones as Sheriff Thomas. N. Richard Nash’s most celebrated play, The Rainmaker, appeared in all three mediums; on Broadway in 1954, as a motion picture starring Katharine Hepburn in 1956, and as a television production in 1982. A musical version of The Rainmaker, entitled 110 Degrees in the Shade, debuted on Broadway in 1963.
N. Richard Nash studied philosophy and literature at the University of Pennsylvania and earned his bachelor’s degree in 1934. While in school he directed plays at Bryn Mawr, a nearby women’s college, and received great reviews for a play he wrote featuring only female characters. Nash received the Maxwell Anderson Verse Drama award in 1940 for Parting at Imsdorf. His plays include Second Best Bed (1946), The Young and Fair (1948), See the Jaguar (1952), Girls of Summer (1956), Handful of Fire (1958), and the musical WILDCAT(1960). During the 1950s Mr. Nash was one of six writers selected by producer Fred Coe to create serious drama for television. His screenplay credits include Nora Prentiss (1946), Dear Wife (1950), and Top of the World (1955). Adapting the works of others, he wrote the script for The Sainted Sisters (1948) and Porgy and Bess (1959). Later in his career, Mr. Nash focused on writing novels. “East Wind, Rain” (1977), inspired by his time serving with the Office of War Information during World War II, took seven years to research. Other novels include Cry Macho (1975) and Radiance (1983). Mr. Nash also lectured on drama and philosophy at colleges and universities throughout the United States. He died on Dec. 11, 2000, in New York City at the age of eighty-seven.
A native Bostonian who now lives & works as an actor in NYC, Brian Homer has performed in numerous Off-Broadway productions, including Theater for a New Audience’s repertory production of Richard II/Richard III, Seattle Repertory Theater’s premiere of Rebecca Gilman’s Spinning Into Butter, and the New Repertory Theater’s world premiere of Stephen Belber’s Drifting Elegant. An actor as well as a theater arts educator, Mr. Homer holds an MFA in Acting from Brandies University where he studied with Robert Walsh.
All photos Gary Ng
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GLOUCESTER STAGE NEW PLAY READING SERIES KICKS OFF MONDAY
GLOUCESTER STAGE NEW PLAY READING SERIES KICKS OFF WITH THE RAINMAKER
Iconic Play with Local Connection
The Rainmaker by N. Richard Nash
Monday, July 29, 8 PM
This play reading celebrates the 100th anniversary of distinguished American writer N. Richard Nash’s birth. The iconic play, The Rainmaker was written about the drought leading into the dust bowl. The evening includes a casual reception and conversation with Gloucester resident Amanda Nash, daughter of the playwright, following the reading.
The Rainmaker cast includes many Gloucester Stage favorites:
The reading is directed by Barlow Adamson who shared the GSC stage with Richard Snee and Steven Barkhimer in the Alan Ayckbourn’s Norman Conquests Trilogy from 2010 through 2012. Johnny Lee Davenport starred in 2012’s Master Harold… and the Boys and returns later in the GSC’s 2013 season to star in Driving Miss Daisy with Lindsay Crouse. The Rainmaker takes place during the time of a paralyzing drought in the West. A plain girl whose father and two brothers are worried as much about her potential future as an old maid as they are about the drought and their dying cattle. The brothers try every possible scheme to marry her off, but without success and there any sign of relief from the dry heat. Suddenly from out of nowhere appears a picaresque, sweet-talking man with quite the sales pitch. Claiming to be a “rainmaker,” the man promises to bring rain, for $100. It’s a silly idea, but the rainmaker is so refreshing and persistent that the family finally consents, banging on big brass drums to rattle the sky. Meanwhile the rainmaker also turns his magic on the girl, and persuades her that she has a very real beauty of her own. She believes it, just as her father believes the fellow can actually bring rain. Rain does come, and so does love.
All readings are at 8 PM.
Suggested Donation for Each Reading is $20. Seating is general admission.
Readings held at Gloucester Stage Company, 267 East Main Street, Gloucester, MA
For reservations and further information,
contact Gloucester Stage Box Office at 978-281-4433
or visit www.gloucesterstage.org
Good Morning Gloucester 