Review of American Blues Theater's The Rainmaker

Once upon a time I went to a show and it was called The Rainmaker. It was by N. Richard Nash and it was directed by Edward Blatchford. It was about this girl named Lizzie (Linsey Page Morton) who lived in this small town. She had come back home after going to visit her cousins where she was supposed to find a husband. When she comes home she meets her crush File (Howie Johnson), who is the assistant to the Sheriff (Robert Breuler) of the town. Her family is her dad H.C. (Danny Goldring), her younger brother Jim (Matt Pratt), and her older brother Noah (Vincent Teninty) and they want her to get married. But then a con man named Bill Starbuck (Steve Key) comes to town and tells them he can make rain come during the drought. It is about love, beauty, and confidence. I really liked this show; I felt like it was very interesting. I felt like the ideas that it expressed about beauty and finding a good person for you were very intriguing, and I felt like they were also very true. People do tell you that you are not beautiful, even when you are. And the good person for you has to be a person that will tell you to stay with them and won't just let you go without them and will protect you.

Three of my favorite characters were Jim, H.C., and Noah. I felt they were all really sympathetic and funny characters. I did feel like Noah was kind of a jerk sometimes; like to say that Lizzie was plain was super mean and I feel like she wasn't plain. I feel like she was a pretty girl and no one should say stuff like that to anyone because it just is mean and unhealthy and makes their self-esteem lower so it is hard for them to be happy for the rest of their life. But you still have sympathy for him because you feel like he is sad and troubled and he doesn't really exactly know what he is saying. But I think it is still hurtful. Jim was the youngest and he had a girlfriend who wore a little red hat and he was kind of obsessed with her. And that made you like him better because everyone said "You can't date this girl! She's terrible!" But it turns out that they might be meant for each other. I really thought it was funny when Jim got on the phone with his girlfriend and his voice just went deep and more intimate and that was just hilarious. H.C. was just amazing. He also had some problems, but overall he was a good father and he wanted what was best for his kids. And everyone in that family I felt like was pretty lovable, but all of them had some faults.

I feel like Starbuck was a con man, but not exactly, because he came there to con them but he actually gave them something the family actually needed: confidence. He gave them confidence and made them believe in themselves. It seemed like he was actually a good person but he had taken up this line of work that wasn't actually the best. Like you could meet a very nice robber, but they have just chosen the wrong line of work. File is the opposite of a con man, because he is a police officer. File does the talking all wrong, but Starbuck does the talking all right and charms Lizzie with his charms. Starbuck is better at talking to her at the time she needs it most. I don't think she should be with Starbuck, but Starbuck is helpful to her like a psychiatrist.

I thought the set (by Sarah Ross) was really beautiful and it kind of reminded me of a dollhouse because it was compact and the sides opened and closed like a dollhouse. I though that was cool because you didn't have to completely reverse the set to have scenes in different places. I also thought the working kitchen was pretty cool. I also thought that in the Sheriff's office how they had a wanted poster with Starbuck's actual face on it was cool.

People who would like this show are people who like dollhouse sets, stories about confidence, and little red hats. I think that people should go see this show. I felt like it was entertaining and heartwarming and I really enjoyed it.

Photos: Johnny Knight