East Lynne Theater Company's THE RAINMAKER Enters Final Weeks

Currently playing at East Lynne Theater Company is N. Richard Nash's beautiful comedy-drama-Western "The Rainmaker," running Wednesdays through Saturdays at 8:00 PM through August 31, at The First Presbyterian Church of Cape May, 500 Hughes Street, where the company has been in residence since 1999.

It's 1930, during a drought. Enter Starbuck, a stranger, who tells the Curry family that he can make it rain for $100. Although H.C., his son Noah and daughter Lizzie believe Starbuck is a fraud, H.C. gives him the money. Meanwhile, H.C. Noah, and Jim, the youngest Curry, would like to see Lizzie married, Jim wants to spend more time with his girlfriend, and Noah tries to keep the family and the ranch running smoothly. One hundred dollars then is about $1,500 today. Is H.C. throwing money away?

Audiences are delighted with the play and the ensemble acting. Director Gayle Stahlhuth auditions more than 300 actors yearly in New York and Cape May to cast shows every season, and she couldn't be happier with those currently on the ELTC stage.

New to ELTC is Jon Logan Kovach who plays Starbuck. He's received awards as an actor, musician, director, writer, and producer. In NYC, he's performed at Red Bull, Fault Line, The Tank, 54 Below, Theatre Row, and Boomerang.

The Curry family are John Cameron Weber (H.C.), Mark Edward Lang (Noah), Jeffrey Smith (Jim), and Veronique Hurley (Lizzie). Weber, Lang, and Hurley have each performed in several ELTC shows, and all three worked together in ELTC's "Biography." Weber has appeared in commercials and soaps, various regional theaters and national tours. Theater and corporate training events have taken Lang to 35 states and around the world. Smith, who recently earned a BA in Theatre and Performance Studies from the University of California, Berkeley, is making his professional theater debut. Hurley's Off-Broadway credits include "The Tempest," "As You Like It," "Twelfth Night," and "Hunting and Gathering."

Taking on the roles of local law enforcement are Jeff Sharkey, who plays the Sheriff, and Mat Labotka, playing File, his Deputy. Sharkey is returning to ELTC to reprise his role of Officer Klein in "Arsenic and Old Lace." New to ELTC is Labotka, an alum of Chicago's Second City Conservatory. New York credits include Henry in "The King's Face" and Albert in "Relativity of Love."

Tickets are $35 for general admission, $30 for seniors and those with disabilities and their support companions, $20 for full-time students and military (active/retired/veteran), and, as always, anyone age 12 and under is free. For information and reservations, call 609-884-5898 or visit eastlynnetheater.org.

"The Rainmaker" is about faith, hope, family and home. This year, as Stahlhuth, and her husband, technical director, Lee O'Connor, build a new home in West Cape May on the site where their cottage caught fire on April 4, 2018, the play has a special poignancy.

Photo credit: Gayle Stahlhuth