‘Rainbow Bar & Grille’ to Open

Tomorrow night, director Mike Macready once again returns to the Pierson Playhouse with a production that promises to kick off the new Theatre Palisades season on an unpredictable note. Produced by Cindy Dellinger, ‘Early One Evening at the Rainbow Bar and Grille,’ by playwright Bruce Graham, is a black comedy set in a bar in rural Pennsylvania on what may be the last day of life on earth as we know it, until a mysterious visitor arrives on the scene and offers new hope to some of the townsfolk. The cast includes Quinn Gonzales, Lewis Hauser, Palisadian George Lissandrello, Mary Dryden, Kimshelley Garner and Macready, all of whom have appeared in previous Theatre Palisades’ productions. Stephen Knight will make his Theatre Palisades debut. Dellinger has produced plays at Theatre Palisades since 1999, and ‘Early’ will mark the 10th show she has produced or co-produced with Macready, who lives in Santa Monica Canyon.   ’Our first collaboration together was ‘Bus Stop,” Macready recalls. ‘That came off very well. She is somebody who is a detail person and helps support me. We work in concert together nicely. We’re at the point where we have to say very little. It’s worked out very well.’ Macready last directed ‘Fatal Attraction’ for Theatre Palisades two years ago, and he has also helmed productions of ‘The Dining Room’ and Steve Martin’s ‘Picasso at the Lapin Agile’ over the last two decades. ‘I love working with this theater because I love how intimate it’s set up,’ says Macready, who has also directed productions at the Long Beach Playhouse and Burbank’s Little Theatre. ‘Rainbow Bar and Grille’ was selected from about 30 plays considered for this year’s five productions, with musicals usually slotted for summer and heavier fare for fall and winter. ‘We have a play-reading committee of 8 to 10 people,’ Macready says. ”Rainbow’ looked like a fresh piece of material, with a nice earthy appeal. It’s a difficult show to do because the author doesn’t tell you that it’s a comedy. I call it a black comedy. There’s a message in there about our lovely planet and what we’re doing to it.’ The deadpan nature of ‘Rainbow Bar and Grille’ produced some challenges for its director. ‘There are a couple of very long scenes,’ Macready explains. ‘The traps of the play are making it too serious. If you can couch the message in humor, the characters are very, very rich and funny, and you make it more palatable for the audience.’ Beyond the above-the-line talent, ‘Rainbow Bar’ intends to deliver a quality production. Sherman Wayne, a recent multiple-winner of the Theatre Palisades Awards (he was director and set designer of ‘Noises Off’), has designed the set. Other credits include costume designs by Sherry Coon, lighting design by Andy Frew, sound design by Bill Prachar, props by Dennis Owens and graphic design by Joanne Reich. The show will be stage managed by Karin Huebner. ‘Rainbow Bar and Grille’ debuted at the Harold Prince Theatre at the University of Pennsylvania under the auspices of the Philadelphia Festival Theater on December 2, 1986. Originally directed by Gloria Muzio, the production subsequently opened about a year later at the WPA Theatre in New York. The play has not been mounted often since. Having never seen a staging of it, Macready is working blind with his interpretation of the material, which the director sees as a big plus: ‘What’s interesting is it’s not done much, so you can make it your own.’ ‘Early One Evening at the Rainbow Bar and Grille’ shows at the Pierson Playhouse (corner of Haverford Avenue and Temescal Canyon Road) on Fridays and Saturdays at 8 p.m. and Sundays at 2 p.m., through October 12. Tickets: call (310) 454-1970 or visit www.theatrepalisades.com.