'Big Wind' stirs up relief for hurricane musicians

There's a hurricane headed for Virginia City, with all reports saying it will hit this weekend. The aftermath will leave full stomachs and hopefully a little help for those who survived this fall's big thrust from Mother Nature.

Red Rose Musical Productions is presenting "Big Wind," an original musical, at the Mandarin Garden Chinese Restaurant, 5 No. C St. in Virginia City, on Friday and Saturday nights with an encore performance in honor of Mardi Gras on Fat Tuesday.

"It's a totally original musical designed to tell the story of the hurricane and the aftermath. It follows one main character, Marie LeBeau, her experiences and who she meets after the storm," Sheree Rose said. "There's some political satire and there's some humor, but it's a dark comedy. There's some heartbreaking songs and some that will really liven you up."

Along the way, LeBeau meets several other survivors of Hurricane Katrina and witnesses first-hand the response to the devastating storm, including a FEMA character designed to lighten the mood.

Rose and her husband, Will, are the founding members of the Red Rose Band and Red Rose Musical Productions. Will writes and creates the musicals that are then performed by a group of community players in conjunction with the band. "Big Wind" is the fifth musical written and produced by the company.

"My husband is a storyteller, so he writes in the style of Jimmy Buffet and Willie Nelson," Rose said. "We have a great bunch of community players up here who like what he does and believe in him."

A percentage of the proceeds from the production will be donated to the New Orleans Musicians Hurricane Relief Fund. Rose said that as musicians themselves, it is important to keep the music and celebration of Mardi Gras and New Orleans alive.

"The music is just awesome, we really wanted to make sure the music and the whole spirit of Mardi Gras doesn't die," Rose said.

Will began work on the musical during the second week of January, and just a week later, more than three-fourths of the play was completed. The cast of 22 began rehearsing the choreography created by JoAnna Wagner of Lucky Rabbit Productions. Just over a month after Will first put pen to paper, the 1:45 production is ready to be performed.

"It helps us that we are independent, we build our own set, we make our own costumes and with our shows we always have live music," Rose said.

With their usual performing space, Piper's Opera House, unavailable because of renovations, the Roses' turned to Mandarin Garden and the performance became a dinner theater in the restaurant's lower floor.

"Mandarin Garden has great food and they are such good people," she said. "They had a nightclub downstairs and it was sitting empty so we kind of took it over."

Rose said that while they hope to raise money to help musicians affected by Hurricane Katrina, their first priority is to put on a good show.

"We have a good time. We always make sure we have a good time," Rose said.

-- Contact reporter Jarid Shipley at jshipley@nevadaappeal.com or 881-1217.

If you go

What: "Big Wind," an original musical production written by Will Rose to benefit the New Orleans Musicians Hurricane Relief Fund.

When: 7 p.m. Friday and Saturday nights with a special performance for Mardi Gras at 7 p.m. Tuesday. Due to limited seating, reservations are recommended.

Where: Mandarin

Garden Chinese

Restaurant, 5 N. C St. in Virginia City.

Price: $30 for adults and $28 for children under age 17. Price includes dinner and the show.

Call: 847-7150 for more information or to make reservations.