Rain of Gold Returns to The Western Stage

The Western Stage (TWS) continues its 2005 season with its new, re-envisioned adaptation of Victor Villaseñor’s bestselling novel Rain of Gold, adapted for the stage by Michael and Maria Elizabeth Roddy. Originally premiering at TWS in 2003, this sweeping story of two immigrant families and their struggles to build a new life for themselves in America became a celebration of our community’s heritage. Rain of Gold plays on the Main Stage in the Hartnell College Performing Arts Center October 22 through November 5. Performances are Fri and Sat at 8 pm and Sun at 2 pm. Tickets are $25General Admission, $17 Seniors/Juniors/Military. To reserve seats for this community celebration, visit westernstage.com or call The Western Stage box office at 755-6816. (120 Word PSA)

For nearly 20 years, The Western Stage has been committed to bringing great works of American literature to the stage. Not only have the tales of John Steinbeck inhabited TWS’ Main Stage and Studio Theater, but so have the stories of Ray Bradbury, Sandra Cisneros, and, most recently, Victor Villaseñor. In August 2003, the lights on TWS’ little theatre rose on the world premiere of Michael and Maria Elizabeth Malagamba Roddy’s ambitious adaptation of Villaseñor’s sweeping epic Rain of Gold, which recounted the stories he collected from his family about the struggles they endured migrating to America to escape the Mexican Revolution and the hardships they overcame to make a new life for themselves in a country whose promise of hope and opportunity often dissolved into despair and strife. The core of Villaseñor’s story, however, centers on the romance of his mother and father, Lupe and Juan, and the dilemmas Juan faces as he courts Lupe while hiding the fact that he is a bootlegger from her and her family. When the play opened, The Western Stage fully expected that it would receive a warm reception because it dealt with so many themes Monterey County residents are deeply familiar with. However, TWS got more than it anticipated. Not only did thousands of locals come to see this world premiere, but so did Villaseñor fans from as far away as Florida.

Critical reaction to the first run of the play, however, was mixed. It is interesting to note that the majority of Hispanic audience members—audience members who statistically do not frequently go out to the theatre—were un-phased by the play’s nearly four hour running time. As playwright Michael Roddy has noted, they enjoyed seeing a play that addressed their heritage presented on stage, and often assembled in the lobby after the show to share their own or their family’s stories of hardship and success as immigrants to America. Traditional audiences, critics, and many of TWS’ artistic staff, however, found the play not only too long, but also unfocused. All the different characters and plot lines often made the dramatic spine of the play confusing to follow.

The purpose of this new production is to address these problems and develop Rain of Gold into a publishable play that other theatres will want to produce. Since its premiere two years ago, Michael and Maria Roddy have been working in consultation with director Lorenzo Aragon and TWS artistic director Jon Patrick Selover to edit the script down to a two hour running time and to re-focus the play so that it centers on the romance between Juan and Lupe to ground the dramatic arc of the play. (For more on this, see supplemental article.)

Rain of Gold was first produced as part of the Steinbeck Chair of Hartnell College program, which was founded in 2002 by The Western Stage, Hartnell College, the National Steinbeck Center, and Partners for Peace, and Salinas Public Libraries to promote literacy among Salinas’s residents. TWS was honored to have Villaseñor serve as the inaugural Steinbeck Chair and share his love of literature and writing with Salinas’s residents through a series of speeches, public appearances, and writing workshops during his 2003-2004 tenure.

Rain of Gold is directed by Lorenzo Aragon whose previous efforts at TWS include Our Town (2004) and Man of La Mancha (2003).

The Western Stage continues its 2005 season with Anton Chekhov’s The Cherry Orchard in November and Kenneth Grahame’s The Wind in the Willows in December.

Dan Tarker Literary Associate

Adapted by Michael Roddy and Maria Elizabeth Malagamba Roddy

Directed by Lorenzo Aragon

Musical Direction by Jesus “Cuey” Covarrubias

Choreography by Lorenzo Aragon

Fight Choreography by Jeff McGrath

Scenic Design by Theodore Michael Dolas

Lighting Design by Derek Duarte

Sound Design by Jeff Mockus

Costume Design by Kathrine Ogletree and Jenn Marrazzo

Makeup & Hair Design by Donna Federico

Stage Management by Zalissa Ré Crane

Cast

In alphabetical order

Gualberto ”Gualo” Aguayo ……Domingo Villaseñor

Carlos Alfaro ……Jose Villaseñor

Alfredo Ávila ……Julio

Jillian Bagley…….Katherine

Melinna T. Bobadilla Chávez …..Carlota Gómez

Gilbert A. Chayrez Chavarria…..Espíritu, Juan Salvador Villaseñor

Jesus “Chuy” Covarrubias ……Musician

April Diaz …..Luisa Villaseñor

Rosa María Escalante…….Margarita Villaseñor

Cesar E. Flores……Don Carlos, Don Victor Gómez, Duel

Zoraya Amalia Garay……Guadalupe Gómez

Katie Garner……Nellie

Daniel Gutierrez……Ojos Puros, Epitacio

Jaime Avelar Guzman……Bernardo García, Archie

Brandon Haran……Young Juan, Pedro

Peter Kwiek……Foreman, Father Ryan

Victor S. James……Victoriano Gómez

Elias Aurelio de Leon……Musician

Art Martinez……Colonel Manuel Maytorena

Sandra Marie Martínez……Musician, Old Woman

Mary Santos Molina ……Sophia Gómez

Emily Molinar……Young Lupe Gómez

Jillian Oliverria ……Child Lupe Gómez

Krystal Lizette Ortiz…… Manuelita

Lilly M. Ortiz …….. Doña Manza

Lupita Ortiz ……Musician

Ruben R. Ortiz Sr…….Francisco

Rubén Pulido ……Musician

Roxana Sanchez ……Lupe Gómez

Rebekah Lynne Sepulveda........American Woman

Cleveland Smith ……Kenny