‘Our hearts are very full’

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This article was published 14/09/2020 (1867 days ago), so information in it may no longer be current.

Even as COVID-19 caused the curtains to close, the show went on at Rainbow Stage.

“We’re just so grateful to be here, our hearts are very full,” said Paula Potosky, one of nine performers taking the stage Sunday night.

“Even though the context is different, we’re back and singing on Rainbow Stage. Looking out on those yellow seats fills the soul.”

Sunday evening marked the end of a strange season for actors and attendees alike, as the sold-out Pot of Gold benefit concert featured popular past performances, highlighted songs from shows that were meant to be on stage this summer and looked to the future of the theatre.

Two large productions had been in the works for Rainbow Stage’s summer season, but both were cancelled at the end of April. Three campaigns are currently in the works to keep people connected to the stage — the online Share Your Rainbow project meant to share memories over the theatre’s long history, Rainbow Connection, which focuses on getting people back into the socially-distant space, and Sunday night’s benefit concert.

Even as the the 2020 season was cancelled, the theatre hasn’t stopped hosting events — grads have taken place on its grounds, several celebrations of life, dance recitals, even a socially-distanced vocal showcase in August. The theatre had to “pivot hard,” Rainbow Stage artistic director Carson Nattrass said, but it never stopped.

“The heartbeat has been through the building, and this is sort of the ultimate end to the summer,” he said.

Along with the show, a picnic and concert bundle was offered, which allowed people to pick up a pre-prepared dinner from Prairie’s Edge, the restaurant in Kildonan Park’s pavilion. Well before the 6:30 p.m. showtime, people were scattered around the park with recognizable boxes of chicken, salad and charcuterie.

Daryl Rothwell and Sandy Cant were set up in the grass with their picnic Sunday afternoon, and both said they were glad they chose the dinner add-on, and were excited to “at least salvage some part of the Rainbow Stage season.”

“We find that every performance out of there is awesome,” Rothwell said.

The couple, who have been going to musicals together for nearly 20 years and have been filling up the front rows at Rainbow Stage with friends for a decade, said they’re both huge fans of Rainbow Stage and its members, joking they will recognize performers in commercials.

“We’ve always enjoyed it for what it was, and more. We’ve never been disappointed, never,” Cant added.

The iconic not-for-profit outdoor theatre was born out of strife – after a bandstand in the north Winnipeg park was damaged in the Red River flood in 1950, the idea of replacing it with an open theatre space was born. Three years later, the Rainbow Stage came to be.

“The way that I think of it, we were born out of the 1950s flood, and we were built to weather storms, and this one is no different,” Nattrass said.

“And in fact, what we know about the world right now, Rainbow might be the first place back — because it’s open air, we have so many seats, we can distance people. The size of our venue is our strength.”

Linda and Gary Borodenko, who had come with friends Ken and Cheryl Miller, had a generations-long connection to Rainbow Stage – both their children and grandchildren had gone to shows with them over the years.

“They’ve all had some part of Rainbow Stage,” Gary said. “The sets are always gorgeous, the music is wonderful, so we really enjoy it.”

All four agreed that going to Rainbow Stage productions is part of what makes summers so special, and this summer, despite its setbacks, is no different.

“It’s the Winnipeg summer,” Linda said.

“It’s Rainbow Stage, it’s the Fringe, it’s Folk Festival, it’s the Goldeyes, it’s the whole package. And our summers are so precious … you can just enjoy that part of the whole Manitoba vibe.”

Sunday’s Pot of Gold show ended with Somewhere Over the Rainbow, perhaps the defining song of popular musical The Wizard of Oz, and a defining song for Rainbow Stage. Potosky, holding back tears, notes the opening lyrics reflect Rainbow Stage’s current situation – magic happens at Rainbow Stage, she said, and the theatre and its fans will “find (their) way back.”

“We are Rainbow Stage, Wizard of Oz is the most produced show in our history, and it is our song,” Nattrass said.

“There is no other song that we will ever close out a night like this with.”

 

malak.abas@freepress.mb.ca

Twitter: malakabas_