Story and Photos by Jaci Conrad Pearson
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live stage experience artfully mixing facts from the past with fiction, Deadwood 1876 Theater’s tales are woven with the golden threads of history that characterized this mining town at the turn of the century. Loosely basing her creations on actual events, owner Marilyn Ardavani’s Deadwood 1876 Theater is in its seventh season and offers an evening of comedy entertainment centered around the characters and themes of Deadwood in its early rowdy days. “I came here seven and one-half years ago on vacation and fell in love with the Hills,” said Ardavani, who hails from Blue Springs, Mo. “I saw a real need for entertainment – the old Deadwood-style entertainment is what I was shooting for.” Everything from the set to the costumes is meant to deliver on that goal. “I like to 8
Destination Deadwood©
buy authentic stuff. I did a year of research on Deadwood and costumes, furniture, buildings, mining before I even got started,” she said. Ardavani found her way to Deadwood via the HBO Deadwood series and the desire to just take a vacation somewhere, anywhere. “When I heard it was a real town, I was, like, ‘No way! I’m there.” Later, with her oldest daughter in tow, the former biology teacher moved to Deadwood and set up shop, first focusing her theater strictly on plays and more recently adding a mystery dinner theater theme. “I write all the plays,” Ardavani said. “I take events that happened in the Black Hills between 1876 and 1890. I use as much history as I can. Everything’s pretty much period and since it’s dinner theater, it’s a little less formal. We have a lot of fun.” Inspired by a murder mystery dinner theater she attended with her daughter, Ardavani changed up the plays she was writing and hosting to include the mystery dinner theater element. “I said, ‘I can do that,’” she recalled. And the likes of Killer Queen, which played over the summer, and Who Killed Nelly? were born. Fall/Winter 2018-2019