Rain like Grace

This one-woman, comic remake of Giovanna d’Arco is a hilariously toxic stew of arson, racketeering, crossdressing, and homicidal mania. A companion to Nemirovski.

Twenty-four hours before a performance of Giuseppe Verdi’s masterpiece Giovanna d’Arco, the backstage is racing towards disaster. The sole person in charge and on stage is Grace. Plucky and determined, our never-say-die heroine cobbles together an evening she is certain will end her career, only to find herself hailed as a comic genius: ‘Never has Giovanna D’Arco been so rapturously funny!’ ‘The firefighter was a brilliant touch.’ Even the Met is calling. As the curtain falls, Grace heads for New York City to debut Hannibal Crossing the Alps complete with live elephants.