Now that the holidays are safely behind us, Detroit area theatres are gearing up for their first plays of the new year. Among the first out of the chute is The Ringwald’s production of the award-winning play, “When the Rain Stops Falling,” which opens this weekend.
Written by Australian playwright Andrew Bovell, it’s the intimate story of a young man struggling against the legacies of his ancestors. The play spans eighty years and moves forward and backward in time to explore the relationships between lovers and friends, husbands and wives, and fathers and sons.
The play opens as a man watches the rain, awaiting the arrival of a grown son whom he abandoned when the boy was young: "I know what he wants. He wants what all young men want from their fathers. He wants to know who he is. Where he comes from. Where he belongs. And for the life of me I don't know what to tell him."
This compelling family saga opens in 2039 and eventually goes as far back as the events of 1959, skipping between generations and their homes in London and Australia. Spanning four generations of heartache, coincidence, mistakes and mysteries, “When the Rain Stops Falling” is epic in its scope yet offers a profoundly personal look at the familial cycle of hurt and hope of healing. It won several dramatic and literary awards when it premiered in Australia in 2008, and the Lincoln Center production in 2010 and was named “Best Play of the Year” by Time Magazine.
You can see it beginning Friday, January 11 and running through January 28, 2013 at the Ringwald Theatre in Ferndale, at 22742 Woodward avenue. This production of “When the Rain Stops Falling” is directed by Jamie Warrow, who was so terrific in The Ringwald’s production of Mamet’s “Speed the Plow.” The non-synchronous plot, complex use of coincidence, and representation of key characters by different actors (as old and young versions of the same person) make this play more challenging than the standard fare. But for serious theater goers and fans of the edgy work that The Ringwald embraces, this promises to be one you won’t want to miss.
Show times are at 8 p.m. on Friday, Saturday and Monday nights with 3 p.m. Sunday matinees. Ticket prices are $20.00 for Friday and Saturday performances, $15 for Sunday shows, and Monday nights are half off the original ticket price at only $10 a ticket. All students can now receive a $5 discount off normal ticket price on Friday, Saturday, and Sunday performances (available at the box office the day of the show with valid student ID). Tickets are currently available at theatre website or can be purchased at the theatre box office, which opens 45 minutes before performances.
The cast for “When the Rain Stops Falling” is Travis Reiff (Gabriel York), Bryan Lark (Henry Law), Annabelle Young (Elizabeth Law – Younger), Connie Cowper (Elizabeth Law – Older), Michael Lopetrone (Gabriel Law), Ashley Shamoon (Gabrielle York – Younger), Cara Trautman (Gabrielle York – Older), Joel Mitchell (Joe Ryan), and Bailey Boudreau (Andrew Price).
Supporting Jamie Warrow is a production crew that includes: Bethany Hedden as the stage manager and assistant director; Alexander Carr, scenic and media design; Barton Bund, sound design; Michelle LeRoy, lighting design; costume design, Miekyle Turner; dialect coaching by Karen Sheridan; and original music and score provided by Travis Reiff.
Comments