THE RAINMAKER

Rainmaker Bill Starbuck comes to an unnamed Dust Bowl community that is suffering a record drought. He arrives at the Curry farm to find that the drought isn't nearly as powerful as the family's thirst for something greater in their lives, and he tries to give it to them. James Morrison brings hypnotic energy to the revivalist rhetoric that powers Starbuck's trade. But it is Tony-nominee Jayne Atkinson's performance as Lizzie Curry that defines this production. When Atkinson voices Lizzie's hunger for a man, she simpers, trills, and sobs in despair. She is the focal point of the play's broad humor and heartwarming ending. G.T.B. © AudioFile 2002, Portland, Maine [Published: JUN/JUL 02]