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A Hatful of Rain by New Village Arts 
There are few tales about drug addiction in the carefree, "happy days" of the 1950s, and there are even fewer tales written with such eloquently realistic dialogue as Michael V. Gazzo's A Hatful of Rain. Penned in 1954, the story centers on Johnny Pope, a returned Korean War POW and war hero whose return to civilian society has been greatly complicated by his internship in a prison camp and a year spent in the hospital recovering. The experience has left him feeling alienated from his family and saddled with an addiction to morphine -- an expensive addiction that has left him deep in debt to a cold, crazed loan shark named Mother. Will Johnny destroy himself and his family by facing his problems alone, or will he admit his embarrassing situation and get the support he needs to beat it?
After a rather slow start that introduces us to the characters and situation, the plot moves somewhat quickly and tensely as we see both the morphine and Mother threatening to destroy the lives of Johnny, his pregnant wife Celia, and his brother Polo. The intriguingly authentic characters (authentic thanks to the way they are written and the way they are acted) compel sympathy and concern for what happens to them. These could easily be people close to us, their problems hidden so well that members of their own family have no clue as to what is going on -- just that something is wrong. Francis Gercke leads the cast as the despairing Johnny who seems to have gotten himself so deeply in trouble that he has lost hope and seems resigned to ending up dead, "sparing" the ones he loves from having to deal with him. Kristianne Kurner is his wife (both in the play and in real life). As the wife "in the play," Kristianne is wavering between desperately trying to save their marriage to giving up and seeking happiness elsewhere. But if she's counting on her coffee-making skills to save her relationship, they're in heap of trouble (there's not much humor in this one, but for Kristianne's brewing difficulties)! Both Francis and Kristianne studied together at the Actors Studio Drama School in New York, and their training has borne impressive fruits, as Kristianne too demonstrates remarkable skill in a role that would be so easy to overplay, but neither of them do. And there wasn't a weak link in this well-constructed cast. Tony Gorodeckas plays Johnny's brother Polo who knows his brother's secret and sincerely tries his best to help him (but who can't help coveting his brother's wife). Jack Missett is outstanding as their father who is just now trying to be a real father for the first time, and is a little awkward in his efforts and short-tempered when he doesn't like how his efforts are being received. The award-winning Robert Dahey as Mother made for a calm, at times chillingly psychotic, mobster flanked by his henchman Apples (Tristan Poje) and Chuch (Tom Reusing) -- one who is torn between his duty to Mother and his concern for Johnny, the other a sadistic creep who is only too eager to do whatever Mother wants. Jessica John gives a short but notable performance as Mother's glazed, drugged-out little groupie tagging along for the ride. Set Designer Justin Hall has us surrounding and looking into the couple's kitchen straight out of the 1950s with its refriger ... er ... icebox, breadbox, and checkerboard-tiled kitchen floor. The hallway out of the kitchen to the front door leads in between the aisles and behind the audience so that we cannot see who is at the door or what they are doing -- we can only hear. Which is usually a little unnerving, as it's usually Mother and his friends. We see only the anxious people still in the kitchen who can't see what's going on at the door either. It works perfectly! Rob Hopper San Diego Playbill ~ Cast ~
Johnny Pope: Francis Gercke Celia Pope: Kristianne Kurner Polo Pope: Tony Gorodeckas Johnny Pope, Sr. (Pop): Jack Missett Mother: Robert Dahey Apples: Tristan Poje Chuch: Tom Reusing Putski: Jessica John Man: William Fredrick Director: Francis Gercke Assistant Director/Stage Manager: Fabiola Francesca Set Designer: Justin Hall Costume Designer: Jennifer Osborne Lighting Designer: Ben Zamora Dramaturg: Mea Hutson Hall |