Thornton Wilder American Classic, Our Town, Up Next at Syracuse Stage, Production Features Syracuse-Based Actor Jim True-Frost from HBO’s The Wire, Boardwalk Empire “The life of a village against the life of the stars” is how Thornton Wilder described his heralded masterpiece Our Town. “It is an attempt,” he wrote, “to find a value above all price for the smallest events in our daily life.” He succeeded with this graceful and poetic play—a heartfelt call to cherish every unimportant moment we’re together and to embrace the true wonder and brevity of being alive.

By Kyle Bass | Directed by Rodney Hudson Set in a small Southern city, circa mid-1950s, Tender Rain introduces us to Milton, a white banker, and Ruthie Mimms, an older Black woman, and their deeply familial and complex relationship which profoundly influences Milton’s life. Approaching late-middle-aged and childless, Milton and his wistful wife Dolores are lost in a marital fog of secrets and emotional withholding. Is there a way forward for them? Can Milton seek aid from Ruthie without destroying their relationship? Will the momentary escape Milton finds in the arms of a younger woman spare him the reckoning he must ultimately face? Tender Rain richly observes a layered emotional landscape as it explores intimacy, race, and the assumptions we all make about one another.

By Kyle Bass | Directed by Rodney Hudson Set in a small Southern city, circa mid-1950s, Tender Rain introduces us to Milton, a white banker, and Ruthie Mimms, an older Black woman, and their deeply familial and complex relationship which profoundly influences Milton’s life. Approaching late-middle-aged and childless, Milton and his wistful wife Dolores are lost in a marital fog of secrets and emotional withholding. Is there a way forward for them? Can Milton seek aid from Ruthie without destroying their relationship? Will the momentary escape Milton finds in the arms of a younger woman spare him the reckoning he must ultimately face? Tender Rain richly observes a layered emotional landscape as it explores intimacy, race, and the assumptions we all make about one another.

By Kyle Bass | Directed by Rodney Hudson Set in a small Southern city, circa mid-1950s, Tender Rain introduces us to Milton, a white banker, and Ruthie Mimms, an older Black woman, and their deeply familial and complex relationship which profoundly influences Milton’s life. Approaching late-middle-aged and childless, Milton and his wistful wife Dolores are lost in a marital fog of secrets and emotional withholding. Is there a way forward for them? Can Milton seek aid from Ruthie without destroying their relationship? Will the momentary escape Milton finds in the arms of a younger woman spare him the reckoning he must ultimately face? Tender Rain richly observes a layered emotional landscape as it explores intimacy, race, and the assumptions we all make about one another.

By Kyle Bass | Directed by Rodney Hudson Set in a small Southern city, circa mid-1950s, Tender Rain introduces us to Milton, a white banker, and Ruthie Mimms, an older Black woman, and their deeply familial and complex relationship which profoundly influences Milton’s life. Approaching late-middle-aged and childless, Milton and his wistful wife Dolores are lost in a marital fog of secrets and emotional withholding. Is there a way forward for them? Can Milton seek aid from Ruthie without destroying their relationship? Will the momentary escape Milton finds in the arms of a younger woman spare him the reckoning he must ultimately face? Tender Rain richly observes a layered emotional landscape as it explores intimacy, race, and the assumptions we all make about one another.

By Kyle Bass | Directed by Rodney Hudson Set in a small Southern city, circa mid-1950s, Tender Rain introduces us to Milton, a white banker, and Ruthie Mimms, an older Black woman, and their deeply familial and complex relationship which profoundly influences Milton’s life. Approaching late-middle-aged and childless, Milton and his wistful wife Dolores are lost in a marital fog of secrets and emotional withholding. Is there a way forward for them? Can Milton seek aid from Ruthie without destroying their relationship? Will the momentary escape Milton finds in the arms of a younger woman spare him the reckoning he must ultimately face? Tender Rain richly observes a layered emotional landscape as it explores intimacy, race, and the assumptions we all make about one another.

By Kyle Bass | Directed by Rodney Hudson Set in a small Southern city, circa mid-1950s, Tender Rain introduces us to Milton, a white banker, and Ruthie Mimms, an older Black woman, and their deeply familial and complex relationship which profoundly influences Milton’s life. Approaching late-middle-aged and childless, Milton and his wistful wife Dolores are lost in a marital fog of secrets and emotional withholding. Is there a way forward for them? Can Milton seek aid from Ruthie without destroying their relationship? Will the momentary escape Milton finds in the arms of a younger woman spare him the reckoning he must ultimately face? Tender Rain richly observes a layered emotional landscape as it explores intimacy, race, and the assumptions we all make about one another.

By Kyle Bass | Directed by Rodney Hudson Set in a small Southern city, circa mid-1950s, Tender Rain introduces us to Milton, a white banker, and Ruthie Mimms, an older Black woman, and their deeply familial and complex relationship which profoundly influences Milton’s life. Approaching late-middle-aged and childless, Milton and his wistful wife Dolores are lost in a marital fog of secrets and emotional withholding. Is there a way forward for them? Can Milton seek aid from Ruthie without destroying their relationship? Will the momentary escape Milton finds in the arms of a younger woman spare him the reckoning he must ultimately face? Tender Rain richly observes a layered emotional landscape as it explores intimacy, race, and the assumptions we all make about one another.

By Kyle Bass | Directed by Rodney Hudson Set in a small Southern city, circa mid-1950s, Tender Rain introduces us to Milton, a white banker, and Ruthie Mimms, an older Black woman, and their deeply familial and complex relationship which profoundly influences Milton’s life. Approaching late-middle-aged and childless, Milton and his wistful wife Dolores are lost in a marital fog of secrets and emotional withholding. Is there a way forward for them? Can Milton seek aid from Ruthie without destroying their relationship? Will the momentary escape Milton finds in the arms of a younger woman spare him the reckoning he must ultimately face? Tender Rain richly observes a layered emotional landscape as it explores intimacy, race, and the assumptions we all make about one another.

By Kyle Bass | Directed by Rodney Hudson Set in a small Southern city, circa mid-1950s, Tender Rain introduces us to Milton, a white banker, and Ruthie Mimms, an older Black woman, and their deeply familial and complex relationship which profoundly influences Milton’s life. Approaching late-middle-aged and childless, Milton and his wistful wife Dolores are lost in a marital fog of secrets and emotional withholding. Is there a way forward for them? Can Milton seek aid from Ruthie without destroying their relationship? Will the momentary escape Milton finds in the arms of a younger woman spare him the reckoning he must ultimately face? Tender Rain richly observes a layered emotional landscape as it explores intimacy, race, and the assumptions we all make about one another.

By Kyle Bass | Directed by Rodney Hudson Set in a small Southern city, circa mid-1950s, Tender Rain introduces us to Milton, a white banker, and Ruthie Mimms, an older Black woman, and their deeply familial and complex relationship which profoundly influences Milton’s life. Approaching late-middle-aged and childless, Milton and his wistful wife Dolores are lost in a marital fog of secrets and emotional withholding. Is there a way forward for them? Can Milton seek aid from Ruthie without destroying their relationship? Will the momentary escape Milton finds in the arms of a younger woman spare him the reckoning he must ultimately face? Tender Rain richly observes a layered emotional landscape as it explores intimacy, race, and the assumptions we all make about one another.