posted by Sarah Zaharia @ www.sarahzaharia.com
My family has been going to Rainbow Stage every year for over 35 years. With few exceptions, we are 3 generations strong at each show and have had up to 25 in our group (my first show I was two weeks old and my mom tells me I was very well behaved). Safeway night, a 50 year tradition has always been the night of choice for my family to see shows in Kildonan Park.
For those of you that don’t know, Safeway night is held on the night of dress rehearsal and is rush seating for the reduced rate of 17$ per ticket which makes it more affordable to go as a family. The familiar sound of Vic Pinchin, the brainchild behind Safeway night, taking us through the pre-show housekeeping is a wonderful reminder that as much as some things change, others stay exactly as they should.It’s worth noting, as Doug Meacham, President- Rainbow Stage Board of Directors did in the Hairspray program, they are more than a production company. Rainbow Stage promotes musicals in high schools, awards scholarships and employs hundreds of local talent in both front and back of the house. It has been a privilege to support them and I look forward to continuing to enjoy their productions for years to come.
This year there were two summer productions, Cats and Hairspray and both were very well done. At both shows, I was struck by the talent of the dancers and the calibre of singing, especially since a lot of the talent is home grown. I thought the sets for Cats were especially well done. I hope to hear that Rainbow has done well again this season, certainly when I was at both shows the house was packed.George Wendt, otherwise known as Norm from Cheers, did an exceptional job as Mama (Edna Turnblad) mostly because he looked like he was sincerely having a great time doing it! There was so much sincerity and joy in all the performers during Hairspray that by the end of the show the crowd was going crazy. I’ve never seen them jump so quick to their collective feet at the end of a performance and there were hoots and hollers coming from all corners of the audience.
Thanks for another great season of summer musicals Rainbow.
