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| Rainbow Stage - 1954 |
March 14, 2012
March 13, 2012
Rescued concert hall going strong again
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| Virden Auditorium |
By: Bill Redekop 02/27/2012
VIRDEN -- Thirty years ago, Gladys Carefoot asked Randy Rostecki what he thought of the town's old concert hall, the historic Virden Auditorium that was filled with bird droppings, fallen plaster, glass from broken windows and had water damage from the collapsing roof.
Rostecki was visiting on behalf of Manitoba Historical Resources but had earlier compiled an inventory of historic buildings across Western Canada for Parks Canada. Today, he is known for his encyclopedic knowledge of prairie architecture and is author of two books, including Armstrong's Point: A History.
Rostecki told Carefoot it was the finest vintage concert hall between Winnipeg and Calgary.
That stiffened the resolve of a small group of people opposed to the town council's plan to demolish the "Aud," as it's lovingly known in Western Manitoba. Carefoot and her posse started to round up support (and money) from the community to save it. Long story short: They succeeded.
This Wednesday, the Aud takes a bow, takes a curtsey, whatever, for its 100th anniversary. It was exactly a century ago, on Leap Year Day, 1912, it opened. A wonderful painting by Virden artist Terry McLean depicts that wintry day, with cutter sleighs pulling up to the Aud and theatregoers dressed in their finest.
The Aud is the pride of Western Manitoba. "Performers love it," said Carefoot. "They're very surprised when they come here. They often are performing in gymnasiums and town halls around rural Manitoba. Then they see this."
The Aud has always been as much a symbol of people who dream big as a functional theatre. The original champion was newspaper editor John "Jack" MacLachlan of the Virden Empire-Advance. People said the theatre was more than the town of 1,500 people could afford and dubbed it "Jack's Folly."
"The Aud epitomizes what the small towns were at the turn of the century and probably for the first two decades before the decline took place," said Rostecki. "They were vibrant places. They all had big-city ambitions and built accordingly."
The first performance was a local production of a forgettable farce called The Misogynist, about a man engaged to four women. The first touring performance was of Tolstoy's Resurrection on March 7, 1912.
Since then it has hosted operettas, vaudeville acts, concerts, theatre productions, weddings and other services. It became a movie theatre in the 1920s and followed the evolution from silent film to talkies. It started to die after the movie theatre closed in the 1960s and the owners invested in a drive-in theatre instead.
What makes the Aud so special? Exquisite acoustics that give it a "warm" sound; 467 red-upholstered seats set in cast iron with decorative scrollwork; two double-decker loges on each side swaddled in flowing red velvet curtains and valences; the stage's proscenium arch; the orchestra pit; graduated seating with a concave floor sunken in the middle; and marble imitation pillars.
It originally had six canvas scenery curtains that lowered onto the stage with pulley ropes. Only one remains. Its motif is imagination. It looks out from a temple onto a Mediterranean vista, where gondolas equipped with white sails skim over table-smooth water, and Middle East-style architecture in the backdrop.
In 1980, Virden mayor Al Case declared that "the old bird has to go." Jimmy Moffatt, 95, and Carefoot, 90, are the only two people left of the small group that campaigned to save the Aud. Moffatt, a Second World War D-Day vet, oversaw its restoration. A Brandon Sun story recently dubbed them "the Aud couple."
The Aud has been run successfully the last three decades, receiving only a small annual operating grant from the town, said Rick Kristjanson, a Virden Aud board member since 1986.
The Air Command Band from17 Wing in Winnipeg will perform at the anniversary show.
February 27, 2012
A fabulous article written this summer by local blogger Sarah Zaharia!
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.
February 23, 2012
Altar Boyz is saving souls, one screaming fan at a time @ Prairie Theatre Exchange
By, Kayla Gordon
Hey Rainbow gang! I was asked to blog a bit about Altar Boyz and being a former Rainbow performer I’d love to report a bit about the experience with this fresh, fun high octane musical. When I first saw Altar Boyz in New York, I loved the reaction the musical got from the audience. They were sitting there singing along and having so much fun with the interactive part of the show, it was hilarious to watch. You know it's magic when the audience and the performers come together and have that personal connection. I also love the comedic aspects in the musical. The spoof on the boy bands as well as the whole genre and style of music. I also love the mix of the high power dancing and singing. To have 5 guys on stage giving off that kind of energy is electric.
The opportunity to do a show for a second time, thanks to Prairie Theatre Exchange is such a treat. Winnipeg Studio Theatre mounted the show at the Winnipeg Fringe in 2009 and I was thrilled when Bob Metcalf said he wanted to put it into their 2011-12 season. So what’s different.....this production will have a lot more of the 'bells and whistles'. Better lighting, a set that doesn't take 5 minutes to put up and tear down after each performance, a 4-piece band on stage, as well as other embellishments that weren’t possible at the fringe. We have also had more time to delve into the characters and their journey as they travel on the road to save the souls of the audience.
Altar Boyz won the Outer Critics Circle Award for best off Broadway musical which is an award given by writers. It has also been one of the longest running off Broadway musicals ever with over 2000 performances in New York. People just love it. It's light entertainment and we all like to have fun, have a good laugh and yet you feel something for these guys as well as you get to know them. PTE audiences will also get a kick out of the audience members who get involved in the show. It's good, clean interactive theatre in an intimate setting with just the right amount of spice.
February 16, 2012
Locals sing, dance, neigh on far-flung stages
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| Mairi Babb is playing part of the titular equine in War Horse, a role that's mostly puppeteer. |
By: Kevin Prokosh
Mairi Babb is a leading lady of the Winnipeg stage, having starred in recent years in a dozen plays including as Belle in Beauty and the Beast, Janet in The Rocky Horror Show and the title character in Educating Rita.
These days she is appearing in the highly anticipated Canadian première of War Horse, currently in previews ahead of a Feb. 28 opening at Toronto's Princess of Wales Theatre. Although Babb is often seen in costume dramas, frequently singing, in this case she is playing a young horse, whose only vocal requirement is the odd snort.
"I don't speak at all," says Babb, during a telephone interview. "It's all movement and puppetry.
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| Monica Simoes photo Jaz Sealy (second from left, with his arm around choreographer Lisa Shriver) is Broadway bound with Stratford's production of Jesus Christ Superstar. |
"I also play mud. Really. We're in this burlap netting and attach to the horses's leg to slow them down."
Babb is one of several Winnipeg stage products who are making dramatic moves in their careers. Grant Park High School graduate Jaz Sealey is going to Broadway with the Stratford Festival cast of Jesus Christ Superstar, which also includes local Broadway veteran Jeremy Kushnier. Local composer and fringe festival favourite Joseph Aragon is getting his first professional production when a new high-profile Toronto theatre company debuts next October with his musical Bloodless: The Trial of Burke and Hare.
War Horse, like the Steven Spielberg Oscar-nominated film adaptation, tells the story of the First World War through the eyes of a horse, Joey, who is sold to a cavalry division and shipped off to France. The horses are portrayed with life-size puppets animated by three actors, one as the head and the others as the heart and hind.
"It's incredibly challenging," says Babb, herself an accomplished equestrian. "We have been like a foal. We couldn't walk at first but we are gamboling all over the place now.
"I told my director that when I go onstage in Pride and Prejudice (RMTC, 2008) I have over 400 lines. That's my comfort zone, and now I'm doing things I've never done before and have to use my skills in an entirely different manner."
The Mirvish Productions presentation of War Horse is an open-ended run in which the 35-member cast is contracted to the end of the year. It's Babb's first blockbuster but she's not sure what her involvement will do for her career.
"It's definitely a highlight but I don't expect anyone to watch the show and go, 'Boy, can that girl do good mud. We should use her somewhere.'"
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Sealey is already in New York City in rehearsals for Jesus Christ Superstar, which begins previews at the Neil Simon Theatre March 1 and officially opens on March 22.
"I can't believe that is all happening, Broadway-bound!" says Sealey.
Tony Award winner Des McAnuff directed JCS, which last year was a sellout hit starring Paul Nolan as Jesus Christ. In December it transferred to the La Jolla Playhouse, where Kushnier (Footloose, Jersey Boys) joined the cast as Pontius Pilate. In New York he will play James the Lesser while Sealey continues as Thomas, as well as understudying the part of Peter.
"It was a huge shock to be added to the cast in Stratford, and then getting the news about the show going to La Jolla and Broadway... wow," says Sealey, who has appeared in five Rainbow Stage productions. "I feel like I'm just that kid from Grant Park High School, but now on an amazing adventure."
-- -- --
Aragon is well-known in Winnipeg for his many fringe festival musicals -- Lucrezia Borgia, Illuminati and Hersteria -- but no one has produced one professionally, even in his hometown. So to have a Toronto company choose to debut with Bloodless after chats with 100 Toronto composers is a feather in Aragon's hat.
"It's my big break, I guess," he says. "It's my professional debut, actually. So I'm a little overwhelmed and a little scared."
The musical, first staged here at the 2009 fringe festival, is about the 1829 West Port murders in Edinburgh, Scotland, perpetrated by William Burke and William Hare, who sold the 17 corpses to medical anatomy schools. The subject matter and body have drawn comparisons with Stephen Sondheim's 1979 thriller Sweeney Todd: The Demon Barber of Fleet Street.
Theatre 20 is the new, artist-driven company that will bow for the first time with Bloodless. Adam Brazier (who played opposite Babb in The Rocky Horror Show) is the artistic director and among the founding artists is Colm Wilkinson, who originated the role of Jean Valjean in Les Miserables, and will direct Bloodless at the Panasonic Theatre from Oct. 16 to Nov. 4.
Last week the for-profit company Mirvish Production unveiled its 2012-13 season, which includes the smash hit Book of Mormon and Sister Act, while also announcing that it was offering its subscribers first dibs on tickets to Bloodless. At the launch, before 1,800 people, Wilkinson introduced the Bloodless tune The Bugger's Best Off Dead.
"People seemed to like it," says Mirvish's John Karastamatis. "There were bravos being yelled. We hope this bodes well for Theatre 20 and Bloodless."
Bloodless is also to be revived in Winnipeg to run almost simultaneously with the Toronto run.
Republished from the Winnipeg Free Press print edition February 16, 2012 D3
February 14, 2012
February 13, 2012
Guess Who... Kildonan Park... the memories still have me... Laughing
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| Winnipeg author and historian Allan Levine fondly remembers simpler times at Kildonan Park |
By: Allan Levine
If my memory serves me correctly, it was September 1969 and I had started a new school year, Grade 8, at Edmund Partridge Collegiate. A good friend, Jack Pollick, who died far too young, was attending Jefferson Junior High. He had invited me to join him to hear the quintessential Winnipeg band, the Guess Who, play a free concert at Rainbow Stage, the open air theatre at Kildonan Park. Somehow, Jack had acquired two tickets. Though it was a weekday night, my parents had no objections to me attending and Jack and I walked from my home on Royal Crescent to the park.
Things were buzzing by the time we found our seats and for the next two hours, we were treated to the best Burton Cummings, Randy Bachman and the boys had to offer. I recall Cummings at his most melodic when he sang These Eyes, and introduced a new song, Laughing, which was also a big hit with the delirious audience.
The evening air was warm and the band was hot; within less than a year, the Guess Who would release American Woman and nothing would be the same for them again. It was the perfect night, one of many occasions in my life when music, culture, friendship and fun came together amid the tall trees and green space of Kildonan Park.
Nestled along the Red River in the north part of the city, Kildonan Park was established in 1910. In those early days, it was beyond the city limits and you needed a car to visit it. With its rolling hills and winding roadway, it was and remains a great place for a leisurely drive.
In the 1970s, when I spent many evenings in the large space located behind the park's Chief Peguis Pavilion -- the chief landmark then was a large oak tree with two limbs easy to climb on -- it was "cool" to park your car on the side of the road next to the golf course and blast your car radio as loud as possible.
The park holds many great memories for me: It was the place we snuck away to in high school when we skipped a science or English class on a Friday afternoon; the spot when I first eyed my wife, Angie (she was a grade ahead of me and therefore technically off limits, but I might have said hello to her once), it's where I played football and learned to golf. Mostly, though, I remember laughing with good friends and enjoying the lazy spring and summer days when life was a lot less complicated.
Allan Levine is a Winnipeg historian and writer. His most recent book is William Lyon Mackenzie King: A Life Guided By The Hand Of Destiny. His three Sam Klein historical mysteries are now available as print-on-demand books at McNally-Robinson, Grant Park.
Republished from the Winnipeg Free Press print edition February 12, 2012 A8
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