THEATER REVIEW: ‘Unsung Heroes of Nevada’s Past’
The Rainbow Company has been performing 50-minute musical sketches about our state's history for years, but "Unsung Heroes of Nevada's Past" may well be the best of the lot.
The set-up couldn't be simpler. Five adults on a tiny stage with the barest of scenery (meant for school touring) impersonate, through song and dialogue, a score of characters trying to find a life in the early 1900s in a cowtown called Las Vegas (Population: 30). No fancy hotels for visitors, just tents. Or you can share a bed in eight-hour shifts.
A railroad executive is trying to decide if Vegas might be a good spot to do some building, but the only thing the place seems to have going for it is beauty and water. It's fun to watch how the town slowly attracts residents and businesses, and how these people came to affect our lives today. Interesting, too, how it doesn't take very long for the residents to realize that if the town keeps growing, there's going to be a severe water problem. Some things never change.
Author Karen McKenney bases the characters (with great liberty) on a few real-life pioneers who helped tame the land. The word "unsung" is certainly appropriate in the title because it's doubtful most of us are aware of these people's contributions. You get a good sense of the guts it must have taken to gamble on such a hostile environment.
Director McKenney keeps things moving and clear. J Neal and Tom Dyer provide several songs that alternately deepen and kid the story. There's even a number sung by a group of burros commenting on the details of their daily lives.
Of course, the ensemble makes the evening. Michael Connolly, Sara Fontaine, J.P. Kentros, Neal, and Martha Watson slip in and out of characters with sometimes remarkable ease. Neal in particular is a man of many dangerous faces. His roles as an authoritative doctor, a squirmy accountant, and an ice-veined killer seem to deserve their own plays.
Beneath the entertainment value is the production's core asset: It makes you respect what others chose to go through to give us today's easy life.
What: "Unsung Heroes of Nevada's Past"
When: 7 p.m. Thursday-Friday; 2 p.m. Saturday and Sunday
Where: Reed Whipple Studio Theatre, 821 N Las Vegas Blvd.
Tickets: $3-$7 (229-6553)
Grade: A
