Black Hills Playhouse Announces 77th Season Performances
“The Lifespan of a Fact” runs June 10-30. This 2018 critically acclaimed Broadway play, by Jeremy Kareken, David Murrell and Gordon Farrell, is based on a true story. Facts become blurry when they're twisted into fiction in the high-stakes world of publishing.
South Dakota News Watch is the title sponsor of the show and is hosting a panel discussion on ethics in journalism after the June 25 performance, titled “When is a Fact a Fact?”
Panelists include Martha Nelson, former global editor-in-chief of Yahoo and Time, Inc.; Jack Marsh, former executive with Gannett and the Freedom Forum; Marci Christensen-Burdick, former South Dakota broadcast journalist and corporate executive; and Bart Pfankuch, News Watch content director and investigative reporter.
“Silent Sky” runs June 9-July 2. “Silent Sky,” written by Lauren Gunderson, is a soaring, music-rich, female-led science drama about Henrietta Swan Leavitt and the forgotten women's faces of science working at the dawn of modern astronomy to classify the stars. This luminously beautiful play explores a woman's place as defined by men in society during a time of immense scientific discoveries. With music and math bursting forth onstage, Henrietta and her female peers change the way we understand both the heavens and Earth.
“The Drowsy Chaperone” runs July 9-23. “The Drowsy Chaperone” – music and lyrics by Lisa Lambert and Greg Morrison and based on the book by Bob Martin and Don McKellar – is a masterful meta-musical that pokes fun at all the tropes that characterize the musical theatre genre. When a die-hard theatre fan plays his favorite cast album, the characters come to life in this hilarious musical farce featuring Black Hills Playhouse fan-favorite, Jeff Kingsbury. This loving send-up of the Jazz Age musical features one show-stopping song and dance number after another. Mix in two lovers on the eve of their wedding, a bumbling best man, a desperate theatre producer, a not-so-bright hostess, two gangsters posing as pastry chefs, a misguided Don Juan, and an intoxicated chaperone, and you have the ingredients for an evening of madcap delight.
The USD Alumni Association is hosting USD Night at the Black Hills Playhouse on July 15. USD graduates can attend the evening’s performance of “The Drowsy Chaperone” with dinner included for $25. Reservations can be made by calling the box office at 605-255-4141.
“9 to 5 The Musical” runs July 30-Aug. 12. “9 to 5 The Musical” – featuring the music of Dolly Parton and based on the 1980 film – is upbeat, funny and entertaining. Three secretaries band together after a series of injustices – and an accidental act of retribution – to take down their sexist boss, Franklin Hart Jr. While he is indisposed, the trio run the company with working conditions that, in 2022, still remain a fantasy for most women: job flexibility, free health care, free daycare, and equal pay. Music and lyrics by Dolly Parton.
Black Hills Playhouse performances take place Wednesday-Saturday at 7:30 p.m. MST and Tuesday, Wednesday, and Sunday at 2 p.m. MST. Custer State Park passes are required.
The Black Hills Playhouse, a division of the University of South Dakota College of Fine Arts, is a regional theatre located in Custer State Park. The playhouse produces innovative theatre programs throughout the region and is dedicated to engaging diverse people and strengthening South Dakota communities.
Learn more about the Black Hills Playhouse at www.blackhillsplayhouse.com/.
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