Along with Cold Comfort Farm there is a Stone Soup aspect - Thalia reads her father's book, for the first time, in which he advises you to "align yourself with your time and place" and "ask the universe". Thalia jokes about this, do i stand over here? do i point this way? can i have a glass of water, please, universe?
At the end of Act One, after she has followed Nolan to the top of the hill and become enchanted by the view, she returns to the city with Winston, but looking behind longingly as they drive away. Nolan has given her a copy of her father's book, which she has never read, only made fun of. Intermission.
In the beginning of Act Two, she is reading her father's book and feels she has to return to Rainbow Springs. Winston cannot talk her out of it. She moves into the rundown home, alone, bringing clothes, blankets, cookware etc ... gets a phone installed so she can chat with mercedes. the place needs repairs but she knows how to do nothing. she asks nolan for help and he shows her how to do this and that (minor carpentry, electrical work). she gets into the spirit of doing things. next up is the fishing tank - but it needs plumbing and masonry work. turns out Ricardo can do that and would love to help her do and learn about that. She thinks about reopening the place for fishing but of course knows nothing - but the old cat lady does, and so on. people come out of the woodwork - with ideas to sell baked goods, for example, or set up a little art workshop on the premises, and have concerts and puppet shows and so on, turning the place into a space (not unlike what Jane is doing with Sullivan's)
What Rainbow Springs was lacking was a center, and a vitality at the heart. Nikos had provided this but those days were long ago (he died quite awhile before - more than a decade at least) and Thalia comes to fill that role. So there has to have been some emptiness in her as well, or some aimlessness - what was she doing in the city? nothing fulfilling, at least.
in Act One the city life is depicted as having everything one needs (coffee shops, cellphones, etc ... even its anonymity is celebrated) and the rural life looks shabby and empty by comparison. in Act Two you have the flip side, with do-it-yourself aspect and community and the basics of life in contrast with mere luxuries.
(Mercedes on the phone, loudly. Can I talk now? Sure, I'm in a little old church. There's some kind of ritual going on. Right now there all looking this way and holding up their fingers to their mouths. Don't you just love these quaint customs!)
(Mercedes on the phone, loudly. Can I talk now? Sure, I'm just waiting in the doctor's office. Having a little trouble - down there, you know.)
(Mercedes on the phone, loudly, Can I talk now? Sure. I'm here in the supermarket. Some fat lady in front of me in line is buying you wouldn't believe how much ice cream!)
act one
1. the batch of letters and the will (lawyer, then talk with winston, phone with mercedes)
2. the trip to rainbow springs (drive and on the phone with mercedes)
3. the discovery of the ruined home/resort
4. the cat lady (no phone) (Henrietta)
5. the wild-eyed musician (Ricardo) (friend of the father)
6. kindly retired carpenter/sculptor (Nolan) (yes, phone, finally, mercedes again)
7. up to the hill - trapped by the view
act two
8. at home with hubby - plan to return, alone
9. living along in the rundown home, reading the harharhar, getting a phone installed!
10. decision to rebuild - help from Nolan with the house, first
11. the rebuilding - help comes from all sides / stone soup / taran wanderer
plumber/mason
fisherman/woman
baked goods/cafe
musical events
puppetry
art studio
12. to the grand opening
13. the finale
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