Bill Starbuck (Jeff Norris, right) tries to convince H.C. Curry (David Kimes, left) and Lizzie (Rosalia D’Amato) that he can bring rain within 24 hours for $100 in “The Rainmaker” at the Sprague Community Theater in Bandon. World Photos by Amy Moss Strong

BANDON - Outside it's raining and it's been raining every day for three weeks straight.

Inside the Sprague Community Theater, on the set of “The Rainmaker,” there's a drought and not a drop of rain has been seen in months.

On stage, it's 101 degrees at a ranch somewhere in the West in no particular August.

In the house, some people never take their coats off in the always-chilly theater.

As the play progresses, audiences will spend a lot of time waiting for the sound effect of the rain to come in. Several times through the course of the play, you might think you hear it, but no, wait - that's the sound of real rain pounding on the roof of the theater.

Theater asks you to suspend disbelief in a variety of ways, but it's hard getting around the fact that it's Bandon in winter - an odd time and place for “The Rainmaker,” which opens tonight. At least carpeting eliminates the squeaking of wet shoes.

But by dint of their making it this far, the timing is right for the cast and crew, several of whom were involved with two aborted productions of this play (see related story).

At the Curry ranch, thirsty cattle are keeling over and no relief is in sight. But even if it weren't raining outside, it would be hard to believe that the characters are convinced of the severity of their situation. Though the drought threatens to wipe out the family's way of life, the most pressing concern is that Lizzie (Rosalia D'Amato) may leave her 20s without finding a husband.

Considering the level of sexism evident by this hand-wringing, it's hard to care whether these boors will make it or not. But yet the play isn't doomed.

Things don't look good in the beginning, but hope is always around the corner in “The Rainmaker,” directed by Mike Dempsey. The Currys and their associates manage to rise above the play's flawed premise by rallying around its core message: that taking chances and not giving up are among the keys to happiness.

First among the believers is H.C. Curry (David Kimes), the family's aging father; the chief skeptic is Noah (Gareth Williams), his relentlessly practical oldest son, who has taken over running the ranch. Both are eager to hear from Lizzie about what happened during her weeklong visit in Sweetwater, where her uncle Ned lives with his six sons. In the days before the Internet, the all-cousin meat market must have been considered the dating strategy of last resort.

Lizzie was understandably uncomfortable in that environment, but one night toward the end of her stay she got dressed up and tried to come out of her shell. But then came her unforgivable faux pas: She admitted to knowing the location of Madagascar. Her cousins, the sort of folks who don't like their presidential candidates to know the answers to such questions, were decidedly turned off.

“If it's a man you want, you got to get him the way he gets got,” Noah advises.

As Noah and his pop ponder their next move, another issue comes to their attention: The family's youngest, Jimmy (Ian Frank), went on a date with a girl who wears hot pants. For Noah, preventing Jimmy from getting “trapped” by Snookie is almost as important as helping Lizzie to trap a man of her own.

To that end, the Curry men pay a visit to the sheriff (Ray Silvia) and his eligible-bachelor deputy, File (Richard Costa), who hasn't gotten over the fear of abandonment instilled when his first wife left him. They try in vain to convince him to come over for a dinner Lizzie is already preparing.

Instead, an unexpected guest arrives: Bill Starbuck (Jeff Norris), a fast-talking stranger who claims he can bring rain within 24 hours for $100.

To Noah and Lizzie, the only appropriate response would be to slam the door in his face; but Pop and Jimmy insist on indulging the rainmaker, despite their financial woes.

“Write it off as a gamble,” Pop tells Noah. “I've lost more than that in a poker game on a Saturday night.”

Soon Jimmy is thumping Starbuck's bass drum and Pop is painting an arrow to direct lightning away from the house. But Starbuck isn't satisfied with payment and the support of half the family; he wants to make a believer out of Lizzie, and he realizes he'll need to get her to believe in herself first.

The play runs at 7:30 p.m. Fridays and Saturdays and at 2 p.m. Sundays through March 18. Tickets are $10 and $8 for students and seniors.