Olean Theatre Workshop Presents “Three Days of Rain”
Olean Theatre Workshop Presents “Three Days of Rain”
Live On Stage Performance Promotes Family Ties During a Period of Grief
In the words of Olean Theatre Workshop Executive Director Steve Ahl, “When we’re younger, it can be hard for us to see our parents as real people and not just stoic ‘Mom and Dad’.” It’s this very idea that “Three Days of Rain,” the Olean Theatre Workshop’s upcoming play, explores as it takes audience members on a journey through time to see how a brother and sister come together in the year following their father’s death to really understand the man who raised them. “Three Days of Rain” runs from May 4-7th at the Washington Street Theater in Olean.
Richard Greenberg’s 1997 drama, “Three Days of Rain” is perhaps most well known as actress Julia Roberts’ Broadway debut. In 2006, Roberts, Paul Rudd, and Bradley Cooper starred in a limited run of the play, which was nominated for a Pulitzer Prize and is considered by many critics as Greenberg’s best play. “It’s a really interesting play,” said Ahl. “It reminds me of the show ‘This is Us’ because the first act and second act are different timelines. The first act is the children in their thirties and the second act is the parents when they’re in their thirties.”
The first act takes place in the 1990s, and the characters - a brother and sister and their friend - have come together approximately a year after their father died. “They’re waiting to hear what they received in his will and they find a journal he wrote,” Ahl explained. “The journal allows them to get to know him better, especially since he seldom spoke while they were growing up.”
Act II goes back in time to April of 1960, to show the father, his business partner, and the mother when they are the same age as their children at the beginning of the play. “We see how their father started the business, how he and the mom became a couple, and eventually how they became a family. It’s a show about self-discovery and how our parents are more than just ‘mom and dad’ but real people. This play is more of an intimate production. There are even moments when actors speak right to the audience; it’s a play about everyday life and self-discovery that I think anyone can relate to.”
Interestingly, the show features just three actors who portray the characters in both acts. Ahl added, “The entire show takes place in the same apartment. You see a transformation of what it looked like 30 years before - it was a great time for our stage designers and costumers.” In addition to the three actors, the show includes the director, assistant director, two stage designers, and three theatre techs working on lights, sound, and stage.
The play will run at 7:30pm from May 4-6th and at 2:30pm on May 7th. Tickets are $10 each and can be purchased at the door or online at www.oleanworkshop.org.
“Three Days of Rain” is the Olean Theatre Workshop’s last production of the regular season. Other shows from this season included “The Mousetrap,” “Miracle on 34th Street,” and “Cheaper by the Dozen.” Completely volunteer-based, the Olean Theatre Workshop has been in existence since 1983 when a group of local directors came together to create a community production of “Annie” in order to raise money for new stage curtains while the Olean High School auditorium was undergoing renovations. The show was so popular with the children involved, as well as their parents, that a permanent program was created to continue giving children and community members opportunities to perform and present a variety of productions.
While the cast and crew of “Three Days of Rain” are all adults, most other productions, such as “Cheaper by the Dozen” and “Yes Virgnia, there is a Santa Claus” have included several children. A key component of the Olean Theatre Workshop are the children’s workshops, which include weekly classes for children in grades PreK-1, grades 2-4, grades 5-7 and grades 8-12. “The high school group always does a musical at the end of their season,” Ahl explained. “This year, it’s ‘Seussical the Musical’ during the second weekend in June.” Soon, the Olean Theatre Workshop will be announcing their selection for their annual Shakespeare in the Park, a free show that takes place in Oak Hill Park during the second weekend in August.
To learn more about the Olean Theatre Workshop, including children's workshops, auditions for Shakespeare in the Park, volunteer opportunities, or to make a donation, visit www.oleanworkshop.org and follow The Olean Theatre Workshop on Facebook.