Mad River Fest: Of Rain and the Times

 In the previous 21 years of the Mad River Festival, the outdoor show was rained out only twice. But that number was equaled opening weekend with a complete rainout Friday and a move indoors Saturday for Mary Jane: The Musical. Producing director Michael Fields says he makes the decision to cancel by 6:30 p.m. and it gets posted on the Dell’Arte website. If it rains during a performance, he’ll likely end it then--because of all the electrical equipment necessary for this show it can’t be quickly moved inside (as a 2008 performance of Tartuffe was—one which Fields remembers as the best of the run). If the show is cancelled, ticketholders get a raincheck.  Since the climate it's a-changin,' this may happen a bit more frequently.

Fortunately, the show got through opening night Thursday, resulting in an article in the Los Angeles Times, datelined Saturday. (That's the photo from the Times piece--it's from the first few minutes of the show.)  It also meant I could review it for next week's NC Journal, with probably an expanded version here.