Every summer, Rainbow Stage in Kildonan Park puts on two different plays. This year, the performances are Cash: Ring of Fire and Shrek.
I had the pleasure of attending Cash: Ring of Fire, which ran from June 23 to July 15. This show was quite different from previous shows in a few ways. There was no one character playing the lead role of Johnny Cash, but rather eight talented actors each representing him at different stages of his life. This included four women and four men.
Also, because Cash was a musician, the actors hired to portray him all had to have an extensive background in music. Throughout the performance, each actor played some sort of instrument, ranging from the banjo, the upright bass, the guitar, the harmonica, the fiddle, the piano, and even spoons. The ensemble’s collective talent was phenomenal, particularly when they sang various Cash tunes.
One of the eight, Gilles Fournier, had never been on a theatre stage before. Fournier is a musician by profession who plays many genres, including folk, blues, Latin, and jazz.
“This was way out of my comfort zone,” Fournier says. “I could play the music, but for me, it was something else to try to memorize words. I did not look forward to embarrassing myself in front of these people who came in and knew half their stuff already, but I’ve grown to appreciate what everybody’s brought to the table. They’ve been a great cast to work with.”
Another actor in the cast, Tom Keenan, doubles as a singer/songwriter. “I wouldn’t have nearly as much acting work if I didn’t play music,” Keenan says. “I went to university here [in Manitoba] and also took a year of schooling in Paris.”
Although Keenan has made his living acting all over Canada, this was his first time at Rainbow Stage. For his role, Keenan played the guitar, banjo, harmonica, and trumpet, all while singing.
Music Director Carson Nattrass put in a lot of work shaping and rewriting the original script so it could best represent who Johnny Cash really was.
“Usually the play is ready to go and we do three and a half weeks of rehearsal,” Keenan adds. “But this play, we had to arrange all of the songs.” That’s not the normal way plays are prepared at Rainbow Stage.
The show was well received by audiences, with standing ovations to end every night.
“When we do our June/July show, we fence off an area for 998 seats,” says Executive Director Julie Eccles. At full capacity, the venue holds 2,300 people, just a bit less than the Centennial Concert Hall.
The August show this year, Shrek, will run from August 11–31. “We were the first regional theatre to get Shrek,” says Eccles. “Part of our mandate is musical theatre for families. In order to do that, we need to have the appeal from ages five to 95. That is our August show.”
Rainbow Stage has been entertaining families since its first musical comedy in 1955. It’s also a non-profit theatre managed by seven full-time staff.
“In the last four years we’ve really concentrated on our education,” says Eccles, who’s been with Rainbow Stage for six years. “We’ve always educated the actors and musicians, but we’ve expanded that. In May, we had a musical theatre conference for students. They were from Grades 8 to 12. They had eight different courses they could look at here. We had script writing, song writing, business admin, lighting, set design, and performing and choreography. They had a one-hour chance to see what happens in theatre. It went over extremely well. This year, first time ever, we have six weeks of day camp, for nine- to 13-year-olds.”
