A Steady Rain
In the fall of 2009, Jennifer landed front row tickets to an incredible play called "A Steady Rain"1
No props. No frills. Just two actors portraying compelling true storyThe play only has two actors with two chairs. That’s it. The rest is their dialogue and performance.
“A Steady Rain is a play by Keith Huff. With a plot similar to a real-life event involving Jeffrey Dahmer, it focuses on two Chicago police officers who inadvertently return a Vietnamese boy to a cannibalistic serial killer who claims to be the child's uncle. When he later becomes the man's latest victim, the lifelong friendship of the two men is threatened when it becomes clear someone must bear responsibility for their egregious failure to assess the situation accurately. The play alternates between two separate monologues and present-moment dialogue scenes.”2
After the show ended and the actors came out for the Curtain Call, Hugh Jackman bowed, looked up at me, and winked. Everyone around me saw it. I know it's because he could tell how moved I was, and how I had been riveted through-out the entire performance.
In “A Steady Rain”, these two characters portrayed the depth of their pain when they encounter Jeffrey Dahmer and one of his victims--during a steady rain. The two characters, police officers, didn’t do anything. The officers believed the thin story the serial killer presents.
The play portrays their pain and remorse. It is palatable. Similarly, that's how I felt when I found out about Kacie Woody's horrific end. If only I could have done something. If only more people or the right people believed me.
My message on this rainy day in Salt Lake City is, please, if you see something not right: Please make a call. You could save a life. If you are a survivor of sexual assault, please know, you can do it. This storm will pass and when it does you'll feel like you are in a totally different place. Metaphorically speaking, a professional therapist will help you get out of the rain.
1https://www.broadway.com/shows/steady-rain/
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