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Regional Reviews: Las Vegas Three Days of Rain
Greenberg's drama centers on the adult children of famous 1960s architects Ned and Theo, who were professional partners until Theo was struck down by cancer. When Ned dies, the children reunite–awkwardly–for the first time in many years. As Ned's children Walker and Nan sift through their childhood memories, they try to make sense of the trajectory of Ned and Theo's careers, the provisions of Ned's will, and some cryptic entries in his newly discovered diary. When they finally put the pieces together, they feel ready to close the book on their family's troubled past. "But wait!" as the television commercials say, "There's more!" Like James Lapine and Stephen Sondheim in Into the Woods, Greenberg has something else up his sleeve. Act Two transports us back in time to the beginning of Ned and Theo's partnership, and we find out what really happened. The talented cast of Andrew Calvert, Betsy Norton, and Jake Staley all play double roles, appearing first as the children brought together by Ned's death and later as Ned, Theo, and the vivacious Lina some thirty years earlier, before the children were born. The actors carry off these dual roles seamlessly. Even though both sets of characters are depicted in their 30s, and some of the parents' traits have clearly been passed on to the children, the parents are distinctly different from their offspring. Portraying this parent/child dichotomy can't have been easy, and co-directors Ann-Marie Pereth and Joseph D. Kucan deserve high marks for helping their actors pull it off. Eric A. Koger's set design reflects the change in time and perspective. All of the action takes place in the tiny apartment Ned and Theo shared in their salad days, and which Ned never gave up, despite moving into grander digs as he found success and raised his family. We see it first in 1995, crumbling after years of neglect. But in Act Two it springs to life, revealing all of its 1960s horizontal-blond-wood glory, mirroring the energy and bright-eyed promise of the young people housed within. A subtle change in the angle of the set matches our shifting perspective on the story. If you crave a well-crafted drama mixed with a bit of mystery and fueled by human psychology, Three Days of Rain delivers. This is a satisfying, polished production. A Public Fit Theatre Company's Three Days of Rain runs through November 7, 2022, at Super Summer Theatre Studios, 4340 S. Valley View Blvd., Suite 210, Las Vegas NV. Performances are Mondays, Fridays, and Saturdays at 7 p.m.; Sundays at 2 p.m. Tickets are $25-$40. For tickets and information, please visit apublicfit.org. Cast:
Walker/Ned: Andrew Calvert Additional Creative: |
