N. Richard Nash's Rainmaker is just shy of 60 years old, but is it dated? Not a bit. It's the story of a young woman who sees herself as plain, a gruff deputy who wishes he could hold her attention, and a charismatic stranger who promises rain and revival. Director Casi Wilkerson hangs her production on a marvelous lead performance by Tanya Barber. The trope of a woman who lets her hair down and becomes beautiful is as haggard as they come, but Barber literally transforms before our eyes as Lizzie Curry. She brings out the best in Bruce Story as Starbuck, the grifter, as well.

Read Christian Carvajal's full review of The Rainmaker in Northwest Military's Music & Culture section.

LAKEWOOD PLAYHOUSE, THE RAINMAKER, THROUGH MAY 12, 8 P.M. FRIDAY-SATURDAY, 2 P.M. SUNDAY, $18-$24, 5729 LAKEWOOD TOWNE CENTER BLVD., LAKEWOOD, 253.588.0042