Reviewed Thursday June 4, 2025 Tarragon Theatre
It is not often that I walk out of a new show opening knowing I have witnessed the birth of a hit. Thursday night I did. After the Rain, a new musical by Rose Napoli (book) and Suzy Wilde (music and lyrics) is unlike anything that I have seen before. It’s so much fun, so rock and roll, and so moving that I had shivers up my spine at the end.
After almost three years of development under the aegis of Tarragon Theatre and the Musical Stage Company the show feels pared down to its essentials and yet still has room enough for important detail and goofy comic moments. It feels real and important while also being thoroughly enjoyable. Inspired by a song written by composer Suzy Wilde more than fifteen years earlier (about which someone told her “this story is a show”) After the Rain takes us on an expected, fun, and satisfying journey.
As the lights darken, the audience on two sides of what seems to be primarily a band set up are pulled into the world of Suzie, a young musician singing back up in her parents’ “Canadian famous” band while trying to find her own place in the world. Annika Tupper as Suzie has us in the palm of her hand from the beginning telling us the story yes, but also living it as if for the first time, effortlessly switching from talking to us to being in the scenes—even taking on another character and singing a song in their voice in a comic highlight of the show.
The catalyst for a galvanizing change in direction in Suzie’s life is the arrival of a seemingly innocuous middle aged novice, Donna, who is determined on learning to play piano—and not piano in general but specifically Erik Satie’s also deceptively simple work “Gymnopédie No. 1.” Reluctantly taking over Donna’s first lesson from her dad Suzie finds herself unexpectedly affected by the experience, by Donna’s insistence that she remain her teacher and the tantalizing fragments of a new song that keep teasing her as she rides her bike home. This thread of the show including Donna’s husband ‘Silent Frank’ and their awkward teenage son Julian becomes increasingly important balancing the sometimes fractious story of the family band onstage, in rehearsal, and in the recording studio while Suzie’s dilemmas are interwoven throughout. Enriching the interweaving is the double casting of multi talented actor/musician Deborah Hay as both Donna the piano student and Suzie’s mother and band member Jean Stone opposite the always electric Andrew Penner as Ashley Evans, the leader of the band and Susie’s dad as well as Donna’s husband the very quiet ‘Silent Frank’.
The songs, even those played by the band in performance are never ‘just songs’ but always something more - as Napoli and Wilde write in the program they became focused on creating songs as “if written by the characters” cutting out anything else. This choice which builds its own narrative momentum is key to the final moments of the show when the new song that has been tantalizing Suzy suddenly comes to fruition and the story comes full circle in a way that is immensely satisfying and moving.
Mari Farsi’s deft direction (and dramaturgy) keeps everything seemingly effortless and real without losing the innate theatricality of the material and is ably supported by the work of the design team — David Boechler’s ingenious set, Ming Wong’s costumes that seem just right for each character, Logan Raju Cracknell’s excitingly versatile lighting and sound designer Brian Kenny keeping the lyrics wonderfully clear except in the odd moment of full band concert mode when lyrics would often get lost in performance anyway. Kudos as well to music director Rachel O’Brien and all the musicians onstage. The semi-immersive intimate setting is also the perfect size to give this show maximum impact.
After the Rain continues at Tarragon through June 22. I know I will be going to see it again. I also know I’m not alone in hoping that a cast album is also in the works.
Produced by Tarragon Theatre & The Musical Stage Company
After the Rain continues until June 22. For full show credits and more information please see: https://tarragontheatre.com/plays/current-season/after-the-rain/
After the Rain will also play at the National Arts Centre in Ottawa February 25-March 7, 2026: https://nac-cna.ca/en/event/38312
To get a taste of the show have a look at these links:
‘Hit and Run’
https://www.youtube.com/shorts/TkIRjtcdveQ
‘After the Rain’
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=jhLS1Tz8cWw
Show Trailer
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Khy42Zcl-yg (trailer)
https://www.instagram.com/reel/DJc-9zXt0X2/?utm_source=ig_web_copy_link&igsh=MzRlODBiNWFlZA==
https://www.instagram.com/reel/DJaCqGYCrSD/?utm_source=ig_web_copy_link&igsh=MzRlODBiNWFlZA==
