Rain Dance - Acting Edition

A play about the nuclear bomb testing in Los Alamos in the waning days of WWII. The characters are employed by the government, and are having a drink on the night of the testing, as they wait for their ride to the site. The discussion grows more philosophical, discussing life and death, war, and Native American spirituality. The concept of scientific ethics is explored in detail as the scientists debate the uses the government might find for their invention. They are aware that the government wants to use the bomb to end the war, and that Einstein has urged the president not to drop it on any cities (and been ignored); they still try to convince themselves that the government won't actually drop it on any inhabited areas, and that they show more are just going to prove that it won't actually work. Nothing they say on that count sounds convincing, probably because they are not convinced themselves. I have read so many anti-nuke plays recently, I didn't think this one could give me anything new, but the aspect of the Native American angle did give it a different feel; it was a different angle for a discussion that runs the risk of becoming trite in the telling and retelling. show less