a steady rain BROADWAY REVIEWS

• NEW YORK TIMES REVIEW OF a steady rain

  

  A Sentimental Journey Over Brutal Terrain

  BEN BRANTLEY

  September 30, 2009: "A Steady Rain,” which opened on Tuesday night at the Gerald Schoenfeld Theater, is probably best regarded as a small, wobbly pedestal on which two gods of the screen may stand in order to be worshiped. Not that Daniel Craig and Hugh Jackman are striking Olympian poses in Keith Huff’s 90-minute, two-character melodrama, directed by John Crowley. On the contrary, playing a couple of all-too-human Chicago cops whose friendship is direly tested, these strapping actors work hard to tamp down associations with their super-heroic franchise film roles, that of James Bond (Mr. Craig) and the X-Man mutant known as Wolverine (Mr. Jackman).

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• VARIETY REVIEW OF a steady rain

  

  We've seen characters like the men in "A Steady Rain" before -- frustrated city patrolmen dreaming about making detective, maybe bending the law a little yet convinced they're doing an honest job. And we've seen variations on their downward spiral and partner conflict in gritty cop shows from "NYPD Blue" through "The Wire" to "Southland." But playwright Keith Huff recharges those familiar elements by approaching events usually outlined in action terms with the probing eye of a forensics investigator and psych profiler combined. Pair that with John Crowley's taut production, not to mention actors with the charisma and command of Daniel Craig and Hugh Jackman, and you get riveting theater.

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• USA TODAY REVIEW OF a steady rain

  

  The events informing A Steady Rain (* * *½ out of four) would make a heck of an action movie. And the cast of Keith Huff's new drama, which opened Tuesday at Broadway's Gerald Schoenfeld Theatre, consists of two superstars who have ample experience in that arena.

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• LA TIMES REVIEW OF a steady rain

  

  That roar swelling over Broadway these days is the sound of fans lined up behind police barricades at the stage door for "A Steady Rain." This is the play — make that event — that opened Tuesday at the Gerald Schoenfeld Theatre, with Hugh Jackman (Wolverine of the “X-Men” franchise) and Daniel Craig (of the James Bond club) joining forces in a marquee match-up of movie stars, whose stage muscles turn out to be every bit as ripped as their adored physiques.

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• BACKSTAGE REVIEW OF a steady rain

  

  Though its plot sounds like one you might hear at a Hollywood pitch meeting, Keith Huff's "A Steady Rain" offers one of the most powerful theatrical experiences in many seasons. This is mainly due to John Crowley's tight direction and the masterful performances of a pair of movie hunks best known for their adventure capers. Daniel Craig and Hugh Jackman prove they are much more than James Bond and Wolverine in this heavyweight smackdown.

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