Musical mastermind

A lifelong contributor to Winnipeg’s musical theatre world is taking a step back from his leadership role with Dry Cold Productions as the company marks its 25th anniversary.

In 2001, Reid Harrison, whose retirement from the role as co-artistic director was announced in December, was sitting at the Charterhouse restaurant with Donna Fletcher and Melanie Whyte commiserating over the city’s seeming reluctance to program work by American musical theatre legend Stephen Sondheim.

“We were just sort of whining,” recalls Harrison, who’s also the general manager of the annual Agassiz Chamber Music Festival.

So the trio decided to do something about it.

On May 11, 2001, the fledgling company took the stage at Manitoba Theatre for Young People to mount an on-book production of Sondheim’s A Little Night Music with Fletcher as Desiree Armfeldt, Whyte as Mrs. Segstrom and Harrison conducting a six-piece band. Robb Paterson directed.

Relying on their network of friends and colleagues, that first show featured mainstays from the city’s orchestral and operatic scenes, with contributions by designers including Craig Sandells, Brian Perchaluk and Scott Henderson. Based on the reception from audiences and creatives, it was clear that they had tapped into an underserved market eager to see more musical theatre on local stages.

With the company’s current production of the Tony-winning Kimberly Akimbo, Dry Cold continues its mission to give Manitoba audiences a first look at Broadway’s best. (Since 2006, every show has been off-book.)

“The mandate to use Manitoban talent is incredibly important to give this community an opportunity,” says Kimberly Akimbo star Debbie Maslowsky, who has performed in several Dry Cold shows, including Follies (2013) and She Loves Me (2004).

“Dry Cold is really good at catching the vibe from every single performer,” says Brady Barrientos, who appeared in last year’s production of Dogfight and stars in Kimberly Akimbo.

“I really like how they put together so many walks of life and experiences (in their casts and crews). Everyone gets together and connects on the same level.”

For Harrison, the work with Dry Cold — originally dubbed Donna Reid Productions in a short-lived nod to the mid-century icon of stage and screen — was only the latest line on a musical theatre resumé that began before he could tie his own shoes.

“I was two years old when Rainbow Stage started, and dad (Glen Harrison) was chorus master and playing Charlie Dalrymple in Brigadoon,” says Harrison, 74, whose mother Margaret was Rainbow’s longtime piano player.

As a performer, Reid Harrison made his debut in 1960’s production of Rodgers & Hammerstein’s Carousel as the youngest and the smallest of the Snow children.

“What could have been better than hiring the chorus master or music director’s son? They knew he’d come to rehearsals,” says Harrison, who played the titular role in Oliver in 1967, alongside Grant Cowan’s Artful Dodger.

Like both his parents, Reid Harrison is enshrined on Rainbow Stage’s Wall of Fame. Glen Harrison, who died in 2017, was a member of the inaugural class alongside other luminaries, such as performers Cliff Gardner and Evelyne Anderson, costume designer Ted Korol and musical director Bob McMullin.

As an English teacher at Grant Park and Kelvin high schools, Harrison directed nearly 30 musical productions between 1978 and 2006. Along with his parents, he was instrumental in the founding of the Gilbert and Sullivan Society in the early 1990s.

Since returning from its pandemic-induced pause, Dry Cold has produced local premières of A Gentleman’s Guide to Murder, The Prom, Merrily We Roll Along and Dogfight.

For Kimberly Akimbo, more than 100 performers auditioned for roles in the cast of nine.

Directed by Justin Stadnyk, the production — which runs to Sunday — features Maslowsky, Barrientos, Jean Blandon, Kris Cahatol, Saraya Clayton, Ben Krawchuk, Sarah Luby, Michele Shuster and Sophie Vermeylen.

winnipegfreepress.com/benwaldman

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