Hugh Jackman and Daniel Craig make the compelling story of "A Steady Rain" come alive. (Joan Marcus)
Told with little more than a couple of chairs and a rather sparse set, the story becomes both vibrant and viscerally alive in the able hands of the performers, as well as those of director John Crowley.
The play details the almost symbiotic relationship between two Chicago cops. Denny (Jackman), a family man with a hair trigger temper, makes extra money by shaking down prostitutes. Joey (Craig) has a severe drinking problem.
The two have been close since kindergarten with Denny beating up Joey quite often when they were kids. However, Joey never complained. As Joey explained, "If I did, I was afraid Denny would stop being my best friend."
In an effort to keep Joey off the bottle, Denny is continually trying to marry him off, figuring the stability of a wife, home, and children is just what Joey needs. However, Joey soon reveals to the audience that none of the women he's ever met have come anywhere close to having the qualities of Denny's wife Connie.
One day Denny invites Joey home for dinner and introduces him to another female prospect, a woman named Rhonda, who turns out to be a hooker (something Denny knew in advance). The dinner is a disaster, ending with Rhonda running from the house in tears. But when Denny takes her home, he discovers there is more to this woman than meets the eye, and he finds himself growing closer to her than he ever thought possible.
However, in doing so, he comes between Rhonda and her pimp, setting in motion a series of events that leads to someone firing a bullet through the window of his home. This in turn sends Denny off on a fateful mission of vengeance.
While the show's plot feels somewhat akin to a made-for-television movie, it becomes much more, thanks to the very descriptive text made powerfully realistic by Jackman and Craig's performances.
In both monologues and overlapping dialogue, the two men make the audience feel right there with them in the story—such as when Denny is trapped in a dark alley with a man pointing a gun at him; when Joey and Denny are responding to a disturbance and meet a terrified potential victim; or even in the calm of Joey contentedly walking his dogs.
We feel the claustrophobia of being in a police cruiser for hours on end, the continual wetness of the rain-soaked streets on hot summer nights, and most of all, the specter of doom hovering over the two men, one that threatens to ultimately consume them.
Jackman does a great job as Denny, a man who loves his family dearly and tries to do everything in his power to protect them, legal or not. Denny's point of view is that a man is supposed to take care of his loved ones, and he takes this mindset to the extreme.
Denny’s attitude, as well as a strong lack of political correctness, has gotten him into trouble with his bosses more than once. He continually ignores departmental protocol as he tries to find out who took a shot at his family. This causes him and Joey to make a tragic mistake. (This last sequence is based on an actual incident related to the Jeffrey Dahmer case.)
Craig has the less showy and more introspective role, but one that is just as effective. The quieter of the two men, Joey has his own set of morals and passions, ones that bind him to Denny and which ultimately, threaten to tear the two apart.
As the play progresses, the pair slowly switch roles. Joey climbs up from a pit of loneliness and despair, while Denny falls into one. Craig also powerfully brings out Joey's qualities of loyalty and dependability, which in the end, makes him a man who is able to lead rather than one who simply follows.
John Crowley's direction is flawless, keeping the action moving nicely, continually building up the tension, and giving both actors room to bring forth the emotions and images contained in the script. Scott Pask's costumes work quite well, and his set nicely creates a feeling of place without overshadowing the action on stage. Hugh Vanstone's lighting is fine. Special mention goes to Mark Bennett's fine work on original music and sound design.
"A Steady Rain" is quite simply a winner on all counts.
A Steady Rain
Gerald Schoenfeld Theatre
236 West 45th Street
Tickets: 212-239-6200 or www.telecharge.com
Running Time: Approximately 1 hour 30 minutes
Closes: Dec. 6
Judd Hollander is the New York correspondent for the London publication, The Stage.
