Open from Memorial Day to Labor Day, the Playmill Theatre exemplifies the saying “the show must go on.”
Playmill Theatre is located in West Yellowstone, Mont., and is home to plays, musicals and comedies that cater to families and is run by BYU-Idaho theater professor Roger Merrill.
This year, the musicals “Bye, Bye, Birdie” and “The Secret Garden” will be performed. The “Secret Garden” is opening in three weeks. The comedy, “The Foreigner,” opened Friday night.
“We provide opportunities to students in auditioning and a clean environment for the audience,” Merrill said.
Auditions for the Playmill plays are held in February in Rexburg, Idaho, and Provo, Utah. The auditions are open to the public.
Playmill was formed in 1964 by Ricks College professors. Merrill is the third professor to own the theatre. Merrill has been with the theatre for 20 years.
“I have estimated that about 40,000 people see the shows each year,” Merrill said.
Merrill and other crew members start out with a list of plays they are interested in, look at the cost of royalties and size of casts involved in each play. Merrill and his crew then make a decision of what plays to perform.
“We try to use all the cast members for each play. We don’t want to have cast members sit out during a show,” Merrill said.
Performers are active with the audience. They sell concessions during the intermission, and they seat the audience and line up after the show to say their good-byes.
“What makes Playmill stand out is that the cast is really interactive with the audience and it is just a real personal experience for everyone that comes,” ShaLyse Walker, a cast member from Idaho Falls, said.
There are 16 cast members from all across North America including students from BYU-Idaho and BYU.
“I have seen some of the best plays performed here in comparison to what I have seen on Broadway,” Jenny Richards, a cast member from Salt Lake City, said.
“Bye, Bye Birdie” is a 1960s era musical about the last days of freedom for Conrad Birdie, a rock star, before he has to report to Army basic training during the Vietnam War.
In order to pay off debts incurred while promoting Birdie’s agent, Albert plans one last publicity stunt before Birdie leaves. The stunt: picking one girl from Birdie’s fan club to give Birdie a kiss on national TV. The choice: a 15-year-old girl from Sweet Apple, Ohio. Her boyfriend, Hugo becomes very upset to find his girl is going to kiss another man on TV.
While organizing the publicity stunt, Albert also has to find a way to keep his secretary and girlriend, Rosie from leaving him. The ensuing hilarity is sure to be a crowd pleaser, according to the Playmill’s Web site.
“The Secret Garden” is based on the book by Frances Hodgson Burnett and tells the story of a girl sent to live with her uncle after her parents die in India.
The girl’s uncle turned bitter after his wife died. Her cousin is crippled. The girl brings happiness into their lives when she discovers a secret garden that belonged to her dead aunt and nurses it back to life. This musical won Tony Award while on Broadway, according to the Playmill’s Web Site.
“The Foreigner,” according to www.playmill.com, tells the story of “Froggy” who brings an increditably shy friend, Charlie, to a fishing lodge. Froggy tells the guests that Charlie is a foreigner and cannot understand or speak English so Charlie will not have to speak.
The plays air twice a night rotating shows from Monday through Saturday night. Tickets can be purchased at the box office or online at www.playmill.com for $12.50 each.
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