Saturday was one for the books for Covelli Centre, Victorian Players

If they ever start something called the Arena Olympics, Covelli Centre would be a gold-medal contender.

The Covelli staff turned in a championship-caliber performance to pull off Saturday’s Wiz Khalifa concert.

The hip-hop show was to be in the parking lot behind the downtown arena, the third and final outdoor concert of the week there.

But by early afternoon, it became clear that a storm was going to hit town. The only question was when.

Eric Ryan, director of Covelli, and Brandon Bucar, director of facilities, had been keeping a nervous eye on the weather all day. At 4 p.m., Ryan called a meeting in the Covelli war room. The latest weather intelligence was on the table. If the show was to be moved indoors, work would have to start immediately.

The room fell silent. All eyes were on Ryan. He took a deep breath, slowly stood up and said, “We’re moving it indoors.”

What happened next was remarkable. The 12 employees at the arena at the time, with the help of 10 stagehands who were called in, sprung into action. They dismantled the stage, the lighting and the speakers, moved them inside the arena, and reassembled them.

The parking lot also had to be cleared so cars could park in it. A front-end loader from the Youngstown Waste Treatment Plant was brought in and concrete barricades and concession stands were moved and tents were broken down. Myriad other details also had to be smoothed over.

“It took just two-and-a-half hours to dismantle and reinstall the stage and clear the parking lot,” said Bucar. “It was the best choreographed event ... one for the books. Secretaries and janitors were pitching in. I never saw teamwork like I saw Saturday.”

The decision turned out to be the right one. A drenching rainstorm hit Youngstown about 6:30 p.m. and lasted several hours. But the 7 p.m. show started on time.

The Wiz Khalifa concert was a resounding success, selling 3,500 tickets. Four-hundred tickets were sold at the box office on the day of the show, and a healthy walk-up crowd swelled the numbers even further after the doors opened.

Khalifa’s appearance came at a fortuitous time, as the Pittsburgh rapper is on a red-hot rise.

His show sold more tickets than the other two outdoor concerts put together. Saving Abel/American Bang sold 1,000 tickets and Rick Springfield sold 1,200 (although Springfield tickets were considerably more expensive).

VICTORIAN PLAYERS TAKES A BOW AFTER ITS BIG NIGHT

Saturday was also memorable for the Victorian Players, where an infusion of new blood is making a big difference.

The theater has opened itself up to directors who have never worked there before. As a result, it wound up with an armful of Marquee Awards Saturday night.

Typically, the Victorian is an also-ran at the annual community theater awards. But this year, the small theater walked away with 16 awards — more than any other house. That was a first.

“The Elephant Man” alone, co-directed by Chris Fidram and John Cox, won half of the Victorian’s total.

And “Death Takes a Holiday,” directed by Shawn Lockaton, won two.

Marilyn Higgins, executive director of the Victorian, was still justifiably elated Monday over her theater’s unprecedented success at the Marquees. “I was so thrilled that the people who worked so very hard at the plays at our place were honored and recognized,” she said.

The theater’s decision to open up to newcomers was born out of necessity.

“In the past we were known for being a closed house,” she said. “When our founder [Jean McClure Kelty] first opened it, she pretty much kept it to people she knew. But after she passed away [in 2003], we realized that if we didn’t open it up to the fine actors in the area, we were not going to make it. That is what really helped us to grow.”

The Vic now gets calls from actors and directors who want to be involved there — something that until recently just didn’t happen. “It’s the highest compliment,” said Higgins.

Other productions at the theater that brought home awards at Saturday’s ceremony were “Block 5” (J.E. Ballantyne Jr., director) and “Sherlock Holmes” (Sam Luptak Jr.).

The use of fresh faces will continue in the upcoming season, with Brandon Martin directing “Egad, the Woman in White”; Terri Wilkes directing “Agnes of God”; and Lockaton returning to helm “The Madwoman of Chaillot.”