The play opened on October 28, 1954, at the Cort Theatre in New York City, and ran for 125 performances.
Set in a drought-ridden rural town in the West in Depression-era America, the play tells the story of a pivotal hot summer day in the life of spinsterish Lizzie Curry.
She has just returned from a trip to visit pseudo-cousins (all male), which was undertaken with the failed expectation that she would find a husband.
As their farm languishes under the devastating drought, Lizzie's family worries about her marriage prospects more than about their dying cattle.
A charming confidence trickster named Starbuck arrives and promises to bring rain in exchange for $100.