Three Days of Rain

June 24, 2015

Recently, I went to see a play with my hubby called Three Days of Rain at the Portland Center Stage. Most of the time I avoid seeing plays that I’ve never heard of before, preferring to spend my money on the Shakespeare Festival or on Broadway musicals but in this case the play was featuring two actors who are in the off season of Grimm which is filmed in Portland.

Fun fact: The girl who does my makeup in Portland for my big events has also done makeup on Grimm.

The Actors:

I’m a huge Grimm fan and I especially love these two actors and they didn’t disappoint. Silas Weir Mitchell played Walker Janeway/Ned Janeway and Sasha Roiz played Pip Wexler/Theo Wexler. Just getting to hear these two terrific actors and see them up close and in person was a great experience. They did a fantastic job as did their co-star.

About the Story:

A newly discovered journal recalls Greenwich Village in the early 1960s when two young architects (unaware they’re on the brink of fame) struggle with plans for the iconic Janeway House. The journal is left to their children thirty years later, who must sort out the murky mystery behind their lives—and loves. This Pulitzer Prize-nominated play will star beloved actors from the hit Portland-filmed NBC television series GRIMM: Silas Weir Mitchell (Monroe) and Sasha Roiz (Captain Renard); they are joined by Lisa Datz.

My Review:

The whole idea of exploring the lives of the children and then going back in time to have the actors play the misunderstood parents is genius. This play is a little bit tough to follow. There were a lot of times I looked around at the audience and thought, I hope I’m not the only one who feels unaccomplished and dumb just sitting here and listening to these characters. The characters are so smart that they’re hard for the average person to relate to. It was like someone invited you to a party and once you arrived you just knew you didn’t belong, that you’d never measure up to the level of intelligence you suddenly were surrounded by. That happened to me once in physics class at the university. Way, way, way over my head. I was the only idiot in the room who couldn’t figure out the trajectory of a baseball.

Three Days of Rain is bleak and unhappy in a lot of places but the whole concept of it is cool. Since there are only three actors in the entire show that’s a lot of lines to memorize but these actors were slick professionals. I especially admired the way the characters were completely different. It was like watching a totally new group of actors in the way of costume, carriage, and mannerism.

I’m more of a happily ever after kind of person so the story didn’t give me the comfortable feeling I like when it was over, but it was interesting all the same.

Interesting Quotes:

(Note: These might not be exactly how they were written in the actual play as I was jotting them down in the dark)

“Things are so much better before you actually start.”
“I don’t waste words, I can’t afford to.”
“When you have something that you can reject, then you’re almost halfway there.”
“Everyone in the city is a genius. Those who aren’t are connoisseurs.”
“Being in a good mood is not the same as being an idiot.”
“I eat chocolate and never gain weight, so life is good.”
“I watch your show in the afternoons. You’re shirtlessly…doing things.”
“Despair can be attractive in a young person.”
“He plays someone named Butte who never wears a shirt and is carnally entangled with someone named Savannah-they must have met during an earthquake-“
“You know, the thing is with people who never talk, the thing is you always suppose they’re harbouring some enormous secret. But, just possibly, the secret is, they have absolutely nothing to say.”
“I wanted to pretend I was that sort of person. A person ecstatic over olive oil.”

Cool Phrases:

vagabond prince
statistical exorbitance
divided into genius and taste

Statistical exorbitance. That says it all really, doesn’t it? Also I think I’d relate more to the person who gets excited over olive oil. Have any of you seen/read this play? What did you think about it?

This entry was posted in Shows.

Colleen Houck

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Three Days of Rain

June 24, 2015

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Colleen Houck