“Ye Olde Gray Barn” is not gray, but black. It is the “Gray barn” because the functional facility for draft horses was loaned by Dr. Jim and Karen Gray to an ambitious group of citizens, who in 1979 staged Annie Get Your Gun, the first of the often-acclaimed summer musicals in Spring Grove. Horse stalls have become dressing rooms every summer for 41 musicals – believed to be the longest-running annual event in town. However, the 42nd production (Spamalot), like many events in this pandemic year of 2020, has been postponed until 2021.
It all began with eight ladies, who had only an idea – but no money, no costumes, no lighting, no play or playhouse. Originally, there was no intention to perform outdoors. Jim Gray came home one evening to find the ladies pondering the problems and possibilities. One major task was finding a venue. Jim jokingly suggested the family’s horse barn. “I was just kidding,” he said. But the ladies went right down to look at it.
Built into the side of a hill, the upper-level haymow became a ground-level stage; the horse stalls beneath had a walkout entrance in the back.
Originally, the audience sat in the haymow while the actors were on a tiny elevated stage. The next year, Dr. Gray built two balconies overlooking the stage for additional seating. Some patrons began bringing lawn chairs to sit outside on the hillside. Dr. Gray then extended the width of the doorway from 14 feet to 30 feet to allow better viewing under the stars. Soon, all of the audience sat outside the barn, and the entire haymow became a larger stage with offstage wings.
One of the balconies was removed, but the other remained to seat the orchestra, the first of which was a family group led by Richard Ryan. The orchestra has been a prominent feature for decades, but a piano had sufficed for those first four fledgling productions.
Since 1981, meals have been served on the green prior to the performances along with intermission refreshments.
The community theatre in Spring Grove is now known as Ye Olde Opera House (YOOH) and offers other productions at its indoor facility on Main Street. Even though the outdoor musical remains the most-known marquee showpiece, the indoor performances, including summer children’s productions, now provide the most financial support for YOOH, says current mayor, YOOH board member, performer and director Sarah Schroeder.
There are features in a barn and elements out of doors that present special challenges. Choreographers have always had to work dance numbers around the large square wooden pole in the middle of the stage. Six-time director Kay Capps-Cross said the pole has been an extra character in every production.
The humidity, heat and wind can interfere with microphones. In The Wizard of Oz, director Scott Solberg said the microphones for the Cowardly Lion (Bill Fried) and the Tin Woodman (Lane Zaffke) had to be placed inside plastic baggies to keep humidity-induced perspiration from shorting out the circuitry.
Indoors, audience lights go down when the stage lights go up. Actors are almost always looking out at blackness. But outdoors in the summer, daylight remains until the second act, said Solberg. So audience members can see each other as well as the performers, and the performers can see the audience during the first act. The stage cannot be blacked out for scene changes or special lighting effects – until later in the production.
There have been performances temporarily interrupted or canceled due to rain or lightning. A storm knocked out the electrical power during one of the earliest years. The audience went onto the stage, and the show went on – illuminated by intermittent lightning, headlights of Jim Gray’s truck and Karen Gray’s flashlights.
Only the first few cars were able to leave before the grassy parking area became too muddy. Jim Gray and his tractor toiled until 2 a.m. pulling out the rest of the vehicles one by one.
In part 2 of this tale, in next week’s Journal, some performers will reminisce about their time in the spotlight while contributing to this southeast Minnesota success story.
