Archbishop's web site Denver Catholic Register Parishes Catholic Pastoral Center
June 13, 2001
Musical benefits seniors in nursing homes
Play echoes nonprofit group's intergenerational work
In 1994 "The Intergenerational Musical" enjoyed a sold-out, three-week run at the Denver Center for Performing Arts. Directed by Marcus Waterman the play is back for a four-weekend run at the Lakewood Cultural Center Theatre.
Performances are June 15 through July 8, Friday and Saturday evenings at 7:30 p.m., Sunday matinees at 2:30 p.m. Opening night gala is Thursday, June 14, 5:30 p.m. silent auction and catered buffet supper with performance at 7:30 p.m.
Written by Sharron Brandrup, Linda Holloway and Kim Fanelli, the theme revolves around a group of children who become friends with residents in a nursing home. It shows how mutually rewarding the relationships are. The play is heartwarming, inspiring family entertainment.
One of the principal actors is 11-year-old Mary Katherine Tynan Spierings, a sixth-grader at St. Thomas More School.
The play is an example of art imitating life. The shows benefit Rainbow Bridge, a nonprofit agency dedicated to enhancing the lives of nursing home residents through intergenerational experiences with youth.
The idea for Rainbow Bridge arose out of co-founder Linda Holloway's prayer, as she sought guidance for a solution to the poor conditions at the nursing home where her grandmother resided.
"My grandmother was going through abusive treatment at her Texas nursing home," Holloway said, adding that she would make trips from Colorado to visit her. "I was just getting angrier and angrier."
Not knowing what to do, she offered her dilemma up to God in prayer.
"In my prayer, I kept hearing `bring them together, the young and the old,'" she said. Clueless as to what the phrase might mean, she confided to her friend Sharron Brandrup, who suggested taking children to visit the lonely residents.
Brandrup did, and "magic happened," Holloway said.
After that, the two took groups "sporadically," always with the same inspiring results. Out of that, Rainbow Bridge was founded.
"I feel like Rainbow Bridge is really God-ordained," Holloway said. "I never would have just dreamed it up."
Founded seven years ago, the nonprofit organization currently has volunteers in 90 nursing homes and assisted living communities in the metro area, Colorado Springs and Santa Fe, N.M. Since its inception, Rainbow Bridge has worked with an estimated 12,000 youth, including children from Most Precious Blood School and a youth group from Church of the Risen Christ.
Holloway calls the Catholic youth "models" of what the program is meant to do, build ongoing, mutually enriching relationships between the young and old.
Youth actor Spierings plays the character "Cassie" in the play that was written by the project co-founders and benefits its work.
"I like the idea of what the play is about and I thought it was a good thing to do," Spierings said, adding that she also loves the theater. "I think (the play) is part of a great cause."
Spierings said she believes in the message the play promotes.
"Older people and kids should be around each other, sometimes they both have a lot in common," she said. "A lot of it is about how some kids think older people are strange and don't want to be around them, older people think the same thing about kids. At the end of the play, it shows that they're both happier together."
Organizers are offering a Father's Day special: The first 10 dads to enter the theater on June 15 and 16 will receive two free Colorado Rockies baseball tickets. The first 30 dads on June 17 also will receive two free tickets. All tickets are for the June 21 Rockies game.
Call the box office for performance tickets, 303-987-7845. Adults $20; seniors 65+ and children 12 and under $17; group rates $15 for 15 or more. Opening night tickets $100.
The Lakewood Cultural Center Theater is at 470 S. Allison Parkway.
Geritones to play June 21
The Villas at Sunny Acres will host the Geritones, on Thursday, June 21, 2 p.m. in the Villa Recreation Room. The six gentlemen who make up this band play nostalgic songs from the big band and swing era. Their music spans the decades from the `20's to the `50's. Admission is free. Refreshments will be served. To sign up, call 303-255-4151.
The Villas at Sunny Acres is a continuing care retirement community located on 64 acres, offering independent living apartments and cottages, home health care, assisted living, skilled nursing and a Centura Senior Health Center staffed with geriatric physicians.
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