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The struggles between good and evil, duty and desire, have rarely been captured with greater clarity on the local stage than in Dan Furst's portrayal of the Rev. Davidson in The Actors Group's current production of "Rain." ‘Rain’ a potent play
By John Berger
jberger@starbulletin.comFurst and first-time director David Starr create a chilling, unforgettable portrait of a man who has pledged his life to an ideal of holy Christian righteousness so strict and sure of its infallibility that it allows no room for compromise, doubt, mercy or love.
Furst's remarkable performance brings Davidson into focus as a man absolutely sincere in his beliefs, and not one of those hypocrites who preach against the sins of flesh while secretly pursuing some variation of them. In another era, he'd have been one who'd have insisted on baptizing witches and heretics in order to save their souls, before burning them alive for their earthly transgressions.
So it is that we cringe and then dismiss Mrs. Davidson (Frankie Enos) when she speaks contemptuously of the native people, and says that she and her husband "save them in spite of themselves." Some missionaries performed similar evils in Hawaii in the course of "doing good" and when such characters appear in modern fiction, they are dismissed as bigots. The subtleties Furst brings to his performance takes the audience -- and the story -- in other directions.
The play, by John Colton and Clemence Randolph, is based on "Miss Thompson," a short story by W. Somerset Maugham about the misadventures of an American prostitute in Samoa. Sadie Thompson flees Honolulu one step ahead of the authorities, only to end up stranded in Pago Pago when a sailor comes down with cholera. It's the rainy season, and the only accommodations to be had are a few sparsely furnished rooms in a general store.
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Thompson, the missionary couple, and a doctor and his wife must make do with those accommodations while waiting for the next boat. Coexistence proves impossible.Thompson starts on the wrong foot by inviting the ship's quartermaster and three marines into her room, and then cranks up the victrola -- on the Sabbath, yet! Things go to Hell in a hurry after that. The marines toss Davidson out on his ear when he tries to turn off the music; Mrs. Davidson and the doctor's wife shun the "common" woman; and Davidson skulks off to the powers that be and insists that the harlot be deported on the first available boat. From the comments of the store/hotel owner, we learn that missionaries like Davidson have great power in Samoa and are feared.
Melinda Maltby stars as the careless but cunning prostitute, whose presence is anathema to the Davidsons and the doctor's wife (Victoria Gail-White). Dr. MacPhail (Richard McWilliams), who puts his faith in facts rather than in theories of sinfulness and salvation, has a live-and-let-live attitude.
McWilliams gives an excellent supporting performance opposite Furst in the scenes in which the pragmatic doctor challenges the missionary's single-minded obsession with "saving" Sadie and then ensuring her punishment. Davidson is unyielding in his decision that she must be sent to California -- and three years in prison -- and not deportation to Australia, where, Sadie says, a "straight" job may await her.
Furst appears to swell physically and tap reservoirs of fanatic energy during the confrontations. McWilliams appears to shrink in comparison as a quiet voice of reason, suggesting the impossibility of opposing religious faith with logic.
Presented by The Actors Group 'Rain'
Where: Yellow Brick Studio, 625 Keawe St.
When: 7:30 p.m. Fridays and Saturdays, and 4 p.m. Sundays, through June 2; late-comers will not be admitted
Tickets: $10
Call: 591-7999
Enos, a relative newcomer to the local stage, gives a beautifully shaded performance as the snobby and racist missionary wife. Her performance in a key scene is wonderful work; to say more would spoil the story for anyone experiencing it for the first time.
TAG's "Rain" also benefits from Starr's discovery of Bernice Poaha Balderama, who makes her stage debut in the role of the Samoan store owner.
Roger Wilko plays Tim O'Hara, a young marine who falls under Sadie's spell for no apparent reason beyond the requirements of the plot; Sam Olecki (Jack Griggs) and Ricky Fernandez (Bill Hodgson) are the other marines; and Jay Hebrack makes one of the year's best exits as Quartermaster Bates, who bids farewell to the group with a bit of soft shoe and some a capella doggerel.
Starr's cast, Maltby in particular, had no problem navigating the torrents of early-1930s slang.
Although it would be tempting to draw parallels between the recent clergy scandals, that would be simplistic and unfair to a fine show. Furst's brilliant performance and Starr's deft direction leaves no question that the tragedies suggested by the playwrights are of a different type entirely.
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