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From left: Catherine and Reid Harrison, Donna Fletcher and Mariam Bernstein<\/p>\n
So the trio decided to do something about it.<\/p>\n
On May 11, 2001, the fledgling company took the stage at Manitoba Theatre for Young People to mount an on-book production of Sondheim\u2019s A Little Night Music with Fletcher as Desiree Armfeldt, Whyte as Mrs. Segstrom and Harrison conducting a six-piece band. Robb Paterson directed.<\/p>\n
Relying on their network of friends and colleagues, that first show featured mainstays from the city\u2019s 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.<\/p>\n
With the company\u2019s current production of the Tony-winning Kimberly Akimbo, Dry Cold continues its mission to give Manitoba audiences a first look at Broadway\u2019s best. (Since 2006, every show has been off-book.)<\/p>\n
\u201cThe mandate to use Manitoban talent is incredibly important to give this community an opportunity,\u201d says Kimberly Akimbo star Debbie Maslowsky, who has performed in several Dry Cold shows, including Follies (2013) and She Loves Me (2004).<\/p>\n
\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t Reid Harrison<\/p>\n \u201cDry Cold is really good at catching the vibe from every single performer,\u201d says Brady Barrientos, who appeared in last year\u2019s production of Dogfight and stars in Kimberly Akimbo.<\/p>\n \u201cI 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.\u201d<\/p>\n For Harrison, the work with Dry Cold \u2014 originally dubbed Donna Reid Productions in a short-lived nod to the mid-century icon of stage and screen \u2014 was only the latest line on a musical theatre resum\u00e9 that began before he could tie his own shoes.<\/p>\n \u201cI was two years old when Rainbow Stage started, and dad (Glen Harrison) was chorus master and playing Charlie Dalrymple in Brigadoon,\u201d says Harrison, 74, whose mother Margaret<\/a> was Rainbow\u2019s longtime piano player.<\/p>\n As a performer, Reid Harrison made his debut in 1960\u2019s production of Rodgers & Hammerstein\u2019s Carousel as the youngest and the smallest of the Snow children.<\/p>\n \t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t Suppied<\/p>\n Reid Harrison in Carousel at Rainbow Stage<\/p>\n \u201cWhat could have been better than hiring the chorus master or music director\u2019s son? They knew he\u2019d come to rehearsals,\u201d says Harrison, who played the titular role in Oliver in 1967, alongside Grant Cowan\u2019s Artful Dodger.<\/p>\n Like both his parents, Reid Harrison is enshrined on Rainbow Stage\u2019s 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.<\/p>\n \n\t\tWinnipeg Free Press | Newsletter\n\t<\/p>\n \t\t\t\t\t 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.<\/p>\n Since returning from its pandemic-induced pause, Dry Cold has produced local premi\u00e8res of A Gentleman\u2019s Guide to Murder, The Prom, Merrily We Roll Along and Dogfight.<\/p>\n For Kimberly Akimbo, more than 100 performers auditioned for roles in the cast of nine.<\/p>\n \t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t Supplied<\/p>\n Darren Martens (left) and Stephanie Sy star in Dry Cold\u2019s 2016 production of A Little Night Music. The Stephen Sondheim musical was the company\u2019s first show, in 2001.<\/p>\n Directed by Justin Stadnyk, the production \u2014 which runs to Sunday \u2014 features Maslowsky, Barrientos, Jean Blandon, Kris Cahatol, Saraya Clayton, Ben Krawchuk, Sarah Luby, Michele Shuster and Sophie Vermeylen.<\/p>\n winnipegfreepress.com\/benwaldman<\/p>\n \t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t Supplied<\/p>\n Vic Pankratz and Kimberly Rampersad are still on book in 2002\u2019s Into the Woods.<\/p>\n \t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t Supplied<\/p>\n From left: Gord Tanner, James Durham, Wayne Buss!, Marc Devigne, Miriam Smith and Andrew Stelmack in Assassins<\/p>\n \t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t Supplied<\/p>\n Doug McKeag, Nicki LeGrand, Mariam Bernstein, Shaun Castor, Brenda Gorlick, Carson Nattrass, Rob Herriot, Laura Olafson and Arne MacPherson in A Man of No Importance<\/p>\n \t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t Supplied<\/p>\n Paul Essiembre and Paula Potosky in 2017\u2019S \n \t\t\t\t\t\tIf you value coverage of Manitoba\u2019s arts scene, help us do more. \t\t\t\t\t \t\t\t\t\t\t \t\t\t\t Ben Waldman Ben Waldman is a National Newspaper Award-nominated reporter on the Arts & Life desk at the Free Press. Born and raised in Winnipeg, Ben completed three internships with the Free Press while earning his degree at Ryerson University\u2019s (now Toronto Metropolitan University\u2019s) School of Journalism before joining the newsroom full-time in 2019. Read more about Ben<\/a>.<\/p>\n Every piece of reporting Ben produces is reviewed by an editing team before it is posted online or published in print \u2014 part of the Free Press\u2018s tradition, since 1872, of producing reliable independent journalism. Read more about Free Press\u2019s history and mandate<\/a>, and learn how our newsroom operates<\/a>.<\/p>\n
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\nThe Bridges of Madison County<\/p>\n
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