Dramatic move: Rainbow Company Youth Theatre packs up more than 30 years of history

It's the final curtain call at the Reed Whipple Cultural Center.

After a 30-plus-year run, the Rainbow Company Youth Theatre is moving permanently to the Charleston Heights Arts Center, 800 S. Brush St.

The move is dramatic for members of the company, who are feverishly packing boxes full of props to make the move by June 30.

The packing is being done between classes, practices and performances.

After all, the show must go on.

The movers have to sift through the scenery and costumes because there isn't enough room to keep it all at the new place. Some of the items are expected to go to auction. Some of the arts and crafts items will be donated to at-risk schools. Other props will be trashed.

Two sheds behind the Reed Whipple property at 821 Las Vegas Blvd. North were being unloaded by the company at the beginning of the month. Company offices were overflowing with boxes. There were disco balls, bicycles, buckets, a pick ax, sledge hammers and other odds and ends. Children grunted, and comments such as "This is heavy!" echoed throughout.

"Should we keep it or throw it away?" one boy asked.

Karen McKenney, artistic director, said the new space is smaller, with its one theater seating 365 people. At Reed Whipple, there are two theaters, an intimate 80-person theater and a main theater that can seat between 275 and 350 people.

"It's a new chapter in Rainbow Company's life," McKenney said. "I'm kind of sentimental about it. … We're up and running and trying to make (the move) as seamless as possible. It's a huge undertaking to move all of this stuff. We're having an adventure."

Michaela Geldmacher, 18, has been with the company for four years. This is her final year.

"It's the biggest challenge we've had to go through as a company," Geldmacher said. "It depends on the students if we'll be as good there as we are here, but I think that's possible.

"It is a little bit smaller, but it's also a little bit newer. This place (Reed Whipple) isn't necessarily up to fire code, and it's getting older. Everything has its time. Charleston Heights is definitely smaller, and we'll have to find creative ways, but it's like Tetris. We'll find a way to fit it all in there."

In March, Las Vegas city officials recommended closing Reed Whipple to help deal with a $70 million budget shortfall. The closure was included in $31 million worth of budget cuts to help the city stay afloat during the economic downturn.

It is unknown who would take over the building when it's empty next month, city officials said.

One group that has expressed interest in acquiring the property is the Las Vegas Shakespeare Company.

The Rainbow Company performance schedule will change somewhat. There will be four plays -- three performed at Charleston Heights -- and the tour show is expected to be put on at the Historic Fifth Street School, 401 S. Fourth St.

The company currently does eight performances of each show, but that number also could decrease.

"We're not complaining," McKenney said. "It's a beautiful theater. There's not a bad seat in the house."

As for the fate of the Rainbow Company program -- being a city-sponsored group in an economy where every penny counts -- McKenney said she isn't worried about the possibility of being cut.

"I am optimistic," she said. "I don't have any concerns at this moment. There were major concerns before, but why would they move us? We're a really popular program, and I think that moving to Charleston Heights is a positive sign."

For 13-year-old Myah Phillips, who is in her third year with the company, the move will be difficult.

"It will make us stronger, but it doesn't make it any less hard," Phillips said. "It will be a difficult process because there's going to be difficult decisions. We're going to have to let go of memories in this place. But we're starting to realize that it's not necessarily the memories that matter, it's the people, and the people are still here."

Contact Downtown and North Las Vegas View reporter Kristi Jourdan at kjourdan@viewnews.com or 383-0492.