The Rainmaker [Unabridged] [Audio CD]

N. Richard Nash (Author, Editor), Jayne Atkinson (Author, Editor), James Morrison (Author, Editor), David Aaron Baker (Editor), Jayne Atkinson (Author), James Morrison (Author), N. Richard Nash (Author)

Book Description

Publication Date: December 10, 2001

H.C. Currys farm is starved for water and his spinster daughter, Lizzie, is starved for love. Then glib, handsome Bill Starbuck comes into town. Tony-nominee Jayne Atkinson is joined by revival cast members from the Roundabout Theatre production.

A L.A. Theatre Works full-cast performance featuring: Jayne Atkinson, David Aaron Baker, Jerry Hardin, Kevin Kilner, John Bedford Lloyd, Bernie McInerney, James Morrison

Editorial Reviews

From Publishers Weekly

L.A. Theatre Works boasts an impressive library of plays on audiocassette and CD, recorded in a unique way. The plays are performed in front of a live audience, so they also capture applause and laughter. But they are staged specifically to be recorded for audio, so there are no sets or props; just actors performing their lines. This strategy offers the best of both worlds for audio: a perfectly clear, state-of-the-art recording combined with the energy of live performance. This particular production lends itself superbly to audio. The listener can easily envision the dusty, drought-plagued ranch and the disheartened characters whose lives are changed by the arrival of a smooth-talking con man spinning colorful dreams. The actors offer outstanding performances, particularly David Aaron Baker as giggly, enthusiastic teenaged Jim; Jayne Atkinson as Lizzie, who knows she's plain and serious but can't help wishing for romance; Jerry Hardin as the kind, grizzled patriarch of the family; and James Morrison as Starbuck, the friendly pretender whose tall tales, while untruthful, offer their own brand of hope and comfort. For those who can't get to the theater as often as they'd like, this production is an excellent option. Based on the Samuel French paperback.

Copyright 2001 Cahners Business Information, Inc.

--This text refers to the Audio Cassette edition.

From Library Journal

A 1954 hit on Broadway, a 1956 film and a frequent regional theater favorite, Nash's The Rainmaker is a lively romantic comedy. It concerns an elderly Western rancher, his three children, and an itinerant con artist who boasts he can save their drought-parched herd by creating rain. The spinster daughter falls in love with the mercenary stranger, although everyone knows he will depart soon. The Roundabout Theatre Company's Broadway revival cast enacts this simple story with gusto before an audience, which is audible only in discreet laughter. Praise the sound engineer and the excellent actors (Jerry Hardin, James Morrison, Jayne Atkinson, and others). Someone has added words (an occasional damn; often a well; several new lines that enhance clarity) and has altered some sentences of the published script. This tampering is offset by an overall enthusiasm that builds to a joyful conclusion. Highly recommended for general collections appealing to romantically inclined drama fans. Gordon Blackwell, Eastchester, NY
Copyright 2002 Cahners Business Information, Inc. --This text refers to the Audio Cassette edition.

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Product Details

• Audio CD
• Publisher: L.A. Theatre Works; Unabridged edition (December 10, 2001)
• Language: English
• ISBN-10: 1580812201
• ISBN-13: 978-1580812207
• Product Dimensions: 7 x 5.9 x 1 inches
• Shipping Weight: 5.6 ounces (View shipping rates and policies)
• Average Customer Review: 5.0 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (1 customer review)
• Amazon Best Sellers Rank: #2,347,539 in Books (See Top 100 in Books)

Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

5.0 out of 5 stars The Rainmaker, February 21, 2011

By 

Stephanie Gates "pandora_box82" (Sparta, MI USA) - See all my reviews
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This review is from: The Rainmaker (Audio CD)

This is an amazing recording of a heartbreaking play. All the parts are well cast, and listening to them as they go about an extraordinary ordinary day in their lives brought home farm life to me. I did cry as Starbuck taught Lizzie how to be noticed and pretty, and wanted to hurt Noah for hurting Lizzie. That is the power of this play, what it gets you to feel. Led by Jayne Atkinson as Lizzie, the cast steps up to an amazing text and brings it to life so well. I wish that I could go back in time and see this live.