Newcity Stage

Theater, Dance, Comedy and Performance in Chicago

“The Man Who Fell With the Rain” Sells an Angel for Parts Trap Door Theatre puts on a simple yet powerful play based on a short story by magical realist master Gabriel García Márquez that makes one wonder if there's anything humans won't exploit.

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by Mary Wisniewski
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Seven actors on stage, some standing and some kneeling, appear engaged in a dramatic scene. One woman with red hair gestures passionately, while others look at her intently. A cross and simple set pieces are in the background.

Cast of “The Man Who Fell with the Rain”/Photo: Chris Popio

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“The Man Who Fell with the Rain,” now playing at Trap Door Theatre, tells a simple story about a simple truth—that people don’t appreciate the gifts they’ve been given and react stupidly to even the greatest marvels.

Based on a short story by the Colombian magical realist master Gabriel García Márquez, the play by Belarusian playwright Andrei Kureichik is about a mysterious old man with enormous wings who falls from the sky into the yard of a farm couple.

The townspeople have no idea what to do with this stranger in their midst. They’re not sure if he’s an angel or a mutant hobo. So they do what humans do—threaten him with a club, lock him in a chicken coop, exploit him, mock him, pluck his feathers, try to marry him and other absurdities.

Directed by Kay Martinovich for its U.S. premiere, the play fits well with Trap Door’s sensibilities—odd, absurdist and dream-like. It’s a tad long and runs thin on momentum toward the end. But it is well-acted and staged, with the clarity and humor of a good folk tale.

The old man, played by veteran Chicago actor Richard Cotovsky, does not speak much, except for a few words in a language that the village priest (Keith Surney) suspects, without evidence, is Norwegian. Instead, he sits in his chicken coop and emotes. It’s wonderful throughout the ninety-minute production to watch Cotovsky’s mobile face register horror, humor, pain and befuddlement, as he wonders what people will do to him next.

An older man with white hair and beard sits on the floor in a dimly lit wooden cage-like structure, wearing loose, light-colored clothing. Blankets are scattered around him.

“The Man Who Fell with the Rain,” with Richard Cotovsky/Photo: Chris Popio

Soon after the “anomalous creature” comes into the yard of Husband and Wife (Dan Cobbler and Laura Nelson, both excellent), their son recovers from a dangerous illness. They also become prosperous, charging hordes of pilgrims for the chance to view the alleged angel. But this doesn’t stop them from treating him poorly, as if he were a demented and embarrassing grandfather.

Others also try to find an angle for the angel. Trap Door Company member Emily Lotspeich, in a highly colored comic performance, plays a neighbor who thinks she knows everything about everything, including the care of angels. She has the complete confidence of a total nut; if she were living in the present day, she’d have a billion-dollar YouTube channel and be appointed to head the health department.

The priest, who always must speak while standing on a box, writes the pope about the angel problem and is thrilled to start getting letters from Rome. Played with nice pomposity by Surney, he is dismissive of the ordinary concerns of his congregation, telling one townsman coming for confession that he should “sin a little more, don’t bother the Lord with trifles.”

Gracie Wallace plays the only two characters who treat the old man with respect—a young woman trying to find a husband and SpiderWoman, star of a traveling circus. Wallace creates a delightful physical contrast in the two parts. The young woman is stiff, scared and obedient to her pushy mother (Carolyn Benjamin), while SpiderWoman is lithe and athletic, crawling up the side of the set. This latter creature admits to the old man that she likes being on display, though he does not.

A woman in a headscarf and dark dress stands beside a bearded man in light clothing, who is sitting on the floor. She looks worried and holds his shoulder. The setting appears to be a dramatic stage scene.

“The Man Who Fell with the Rain,” (L to R) Carolyn Benjamin, Richard Cotovsky/Photo: Chris Popio

Allison Kozik designed the set for the Trap Door’s tiny stage. It’s simple but effective, with the chicken coop as the main furniture. Along the walls are empty frames that could be waiting for pictures of saints and dignitaries that never appear. Lotspeich designed the costumes—the angel wings are fun, so big that Cotovsky has to fuss with them as he moves like a bride with a long train. Oskar Westbridge’s sound design includes a heavy rustling sound whenever the wings move.

As simple as this story is, it made for a thoughtful ride home. What other gifts from heaven are we disdaining, exploiting or treating with contempt? Márquez might not have had climate change in mind when he wrote this story, but the message fits. A temperate Earth is another miracle that we are trying to drive away.

“The Man Who Fell with the Rain” is on stage at Trap Door Theatre, 1655 West Cortland, through September 19.