by Jacob Grippen
"What did you do this summer?"
This question is often asked at the beginning of September, a question that generally gets answered with “I worked at so and sos',” “I went to such and such a place,” “I sat at the beach.”
One answer whose frequency you will find only in a location in southeastern Minnesota is, “I spent hours working and acting in a horse barn.” It may not be unusual to “work” in a horse barn, or even act, because--let's face it--sometimes taking care of horses can get lonely.
However, the summer activity I refer to is the annual summer musical at the Ye Olde Gray Barn just east of Spring Grove, MN on Highway 44.
Why not start a community theater in the first Norwegian settlement in Minnesota? Why not take Dr. Jim and Karen Gray's horse barn and turn it into a theater every July?
Ye Olde Opera House Community Theater has been operating itself on volunteer blood, sweat, and tears since the decision was made to collectively come together back in 1979. People from all around the Coulee Region of southeastern Minnesota, west central Wisconsin, and northeast Iowa come to audition and perform in Ye Olde Opera House's stage productions.
If you had bumped into me on Sunday, June 28th, you might have asked why my shirt was covered in paint that would suggest a roulette may have exploded on it? You may have asked why there was sawdust in my hair, and on my legs. Why the lights at the barn were on until midnight the night before?
I would have answered that it's probably because I'm a little bit crazy, but all theater types are, aren't they?
Why exactly did my shirt look like the innards of a roulette wheel? Our 31st Season kicks off on July 15-19, 2009 with the musical “Lucky Stiff.”
Harry Witherspoon, a lowly shoe salesman in England, receives
word that a dead uncle, Tony Hendon, a person he didn't know existed,
has left him 6 million dollars-but there's a catch. He must takes his
uncle's mounted body to Monte Carlo for one last jaunt. If he decides
not to accept the terms of the will, the Universal Dog Home of Brooklyn
will receive all of the 6 million. Harry and his dead uncle head to
Monte Carlo, and they are followed by Annabel Glick, representative of
the Dog Home, as well as Rita LaPorta and her brother Dr. Vincent
(Vinnie) DiRuzzio, an optometrist. Rita La Porta was Tony's lover,
and she needs the 6 million back, because it belongs to her husband
Nicky, a casino owner in Atlantic City. Rita has blamed the missing 6
mil on Vinnie so, he must travel with Rita to help clear his name.
Adventure ensues as Harry discovers Annabel is following him, and so
are Rita and Vinnie. Rita, who is armed with poor sight and a gun,
insists on never wearing her glasses. That may or may not be the
reason this whole started in the first place. The opening chorus
piece really explains it all, “Something Funny's Going On.”
The show isn't the only spectacle; the whole run of shows is an event.
Whether it's your first time out at the barn, or your 31st, you will not be disappointed in getting some atmosphere. An outside naturally descending grass pasture forms a natural amphitheater, and the horse barn maintains its place as the stage.
Add at least 340 plastic lawn chairs, a popcorn wagon, a catered food tent and you've got yourself a real summer event. Some might call it controlled chaos but, everyone calls it a good time. Bring your lawn chair if you don't want to reserve a seat ahead of time, and be sure to have a Spring Grove Soda Pop. So many people have done so many things throughout the years at the barn and at the building, and so many more have enjoyed watching how everything comes together.
This February Ye Old Opera House's board organized and presented “Loving YOOH: A Celebration Honoring 30 Years of the Ye Olde Opera House.” It was a chance to look back on the first 30 years, celebrate, and then start the next 30 years. They start on July 15th, come and share in the suspension of disbelief and come to believe as well.
Both in the barn and in the Ye Olde Opera House building which holds the rest of the theater's season which, beyond the summer musical, sometimes includes a children's show, a fall show, and a winter show (along with whatever else we can dream up).
For 30 full seasons the Ye Olde Opera House has operated on a shared love for theater, a shared love for acting, and shared love for expanding the culture of a community and a region. There aren't as many horses as there used to be, and the barn is more or less used only for our shows each summer but it's an event to be seen.
You can reserve tickets for “Lucky Stiff” starting Wednesday, July 1, 2009 by calling 507-498-JULY (5859). You will also be able to reserve tickets using an online form. Check the website out http://www.yeoldeoperahouse.org
A resident of La Crescent, MN, Jacob Grippen is a YOOH Board Member. He will soon be working for Americorps. His political diaries about Southern Minnesota poltiics can be read at the Minnesota Progressive Project.
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