NO MIRACLE HERE

Moments of brilliance cannot make this
uneven García Márquez adaptation cohere

Carolyn Benjamin and Richard Cotovsky

It has been raining for several days, and in a small house, a husband (Dan Cobbler) and wife (Laura Nelson) are freaking out about the health of their child. He has a fever that will not abate, and the wife believes that it’s because of the smell of the crabs. The crabs she speaks of have been infesting the town in general and the house in particular. The husband scoops them up every day and throws them into the sea, but they’re multiplying too fast for him to have any effect. One morning the husband and wife go out into the yard and there’s a new problem: an Old Man (Rich Cotovsky) is lying there in the mud. An old man who looks like “… a ragman, but with the eyes of an antique dealer.” On his back, matted in the filth and mud of the yard, are two enormous wings, the largest wings that anyone has ever seen.

And the rain has stopped.

Laura Nelson, Dan Cobbler, Emily Lotspeich, and Richard Cotovsky

Thus begins the US premiere of The Man Who Fell with the Rain, the opening play of Trap Door Theatre’s 33rd season. Written by Andrei Kureichik, based on a short story by Gabriel García Márquez, translated by John Freedman, and adapted and directed by resident director Kay Martinovich, this is a surprisingly straightforward production for a company that prides itself on defying theatrical convention, both in terms of narrative and staging.

Gracie Wallace and Richard Cotovsky

After a heated discussion between the husband and wife as to what is to be done with the man — clubbing him to death is suggested and ruled out — they try to communicate with him, but he speaks only a few words, and not in a language they understand. Finally, it’s decided to put the man in an unused, filthy chicken coop for the night. The next morning, they awake to find that the child’s fever has broken, and a crowd of townspeople have gathered around the chicken coop. Word has spread that he’s not a man but an angel. The problem is that the man is not particularly angelic, either in appearance or demeanor. A priest (Keith Surney) is summoned, and the circus begins.

Richard Cotovsky and Keith Surney

Kureichik’s adaptation is scrupulously faithful to García Márquez’s charming short story and can be read as allegory on multiple levels, even as the absurdity of the narrative is played absolutely straight. It’s also a rather unusual entry in the canon of a great writer known for his empathy and humanism. With two exceptions, the characters in this story are universally appalling; greedy, self-centered, and mercenary in their behavior. The exceptions are the “angel” and a secondary character called the Spider Woman (Gracie Wallace), a woman who, as a child, was cursed with the body of a spider as punishment for disobeying her parents — bit harsh, I would say.

Richard Cotovsky

The arrival of the Spider Woman signifies the fickleness and short attention spans of the townspeople, who, bored with paying money to see the “angel,” flock to see the newer, cheaper attraction. It’s a fascinatingly complex story that unfortunately does not transfer well to the stage, at least not in this adaptation. Kureichik’s script is rather repetitive, hitting the same beats over and over again, and he handles the passage of time, always a tricky proposition in a one-act, clumsily. There are moments of brilliance: the one-sided conversation between the Old Man and the Spider Woman is the highlight of the show. It’s absolutely gripping and directed almost like it were a prelude to a horror story; Wallace does some remarkable work here, and her physicality and movement are unsettling in the best possible way. But the success of absurd theatre requires actors whose sensibilities mesh with the material, and given Trap Door’s frankly impressive list of triumphs in this genre, I was a little surprised at how flat most of the performances were. Carolyn Benjamin (in two roles) and Nelson bring their trademark intensity to their parts and, of the broader cast, seem to be the only ones thoroughly committed to the concept. Surney, so good in Dutchman and The Cuttlefish, seems lost, and Cobbler barely registers at all.

Emily Lotspeich

The one magnificent piece of acting comes from Cotovsky as the Old Man. Almost wordless — his few lines are unintelligible to the rest of the characters as well as the audience — he delivers a witty, perceptive performance that elevates the play; his expressive eyes and sly smile convey depths that render dialogue superfluous. A nod to Emily Lotspeich’s clever costume design for the Old Man and the Spider Woman, as well as Oskar Westbridge’s sound design.

The Man Who Fell with the Rain

The Man Who Fell with the Rain isn’t a bad play, but it isn’t a good one either. It’s occasionally funny, occasionally moving, and occasionally insightful. What it isn’t is cohesive or consistent, and except for Cotovsky’s performance, it doesn’t really mine the humor inherent in its conceit. A missed opportunity, this.

Tony-Elias Choufani

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photos by Chris Popio

The Man Who Fell with the Rain
Trap Door Theatre
Trap Door Theatre, 1655 W. Cortland St. in Chicago
Thurs.–Sat. 8
ends on Sept. 19, 2026
for tickets ($25), call 773.384.0494 or visit Trap Door Theatre

for more shows, visit Theatre in Chicago

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