Three Days of Rain: A New Look at a Contemporary Hit
On Friday, May 20, SCR First Nighters were treated to a revival of Richard Greenberg’s Three Days of Rain, underwritten by S.L. and Betty Huang/The Huang Family Foundation. (See background and underwriting history below.)*
The Huangs led the praise at the post-production cast party.
“We were entranced by Three Days of Rain,” Betty said. “It’s a compelling story—with such lyrical language.”
“There’s a real intellectual debate at the center of the play, which gives us so much to think about,” S.L. added. And talk about—which First Nighters did, as the play ended and they were joined on the candlelit terrace by director David Emmes, his cast and designers.
After filling their plates with a selection of hors d’oeuvres from Mark’s Catering and chocolates from C. Salt Gourmet, partygoers gathered around cocktail tables that comfortably reflected the play’s theme—fiery orange rose centerpieces and blueprints wrapped around hurricane candle holders—to continue the stimulating conversation.
As they graciously posed for photos, actors Susannah Schulman, Kevin Rahm and Brendan Hines joined in the discussion, talking about their characters (the children of famous architects in the first act and the parents thirty years earlier), the generational mystery at the play’s heart, and their admiration for the playwright.
Even as the party came to a close, First Nighters and artists talked on, reluctant to let the evening—and the season—end. But wonderful memories of SCR’s 2010-11 Season will linger until the next one begins with Pride and Prejudice on Friday, September 16.
*How Three Days of Rain came to be underwritten by S.L. and Betty Huang/The Huang Family Foundation:
“We never had seen the play,” Betty said, “but we had heard so many good things about it. Even fifteen years later, people were still talking about Three Days of Rain, and when SCR decided to revive it, we felt that would be a fabulous underwriting opportunity for us.”
She was even more convinced on the first day of rehearsal, when she and S.L. attended the design presentation and the first “table read-through” (two benefits of being Honorary Producers). “It was so exciting to be there and hear the play read aloud,” Betty said. “That experience helped us see that we had made a great choice!”
Previous great choices of the Huang underwriting team were the comic fable Tom Walker, the swashbuckling adventure Lovers and Executioners, the Shakespearean classic Hamlet and last season’s musical review Putting It Together.
