Advice of task force ignored by the state

It’s becoming quite clear in all this Black Hills Playhouse drama that someone wants the facility moved from where it has been for over 60 years. A governor-appointed task force in 2007 came up with the draft recommendation that the Playhouse should remain in its present location. Apparently this wasn’t the recommendation someone in the administration was looking for. One way to force the issue was to refuse to renew the institution’s 10-year lease on the property. When the Playhouse board filed a lawsuit against the state last fall claiming it did have a lease and that it was automatically renewed, something else had to be done.

That something else was the Jan. 12 Custer State Park Hazard ID Survey conducted by no less than nine state employees representing five different agencies. Two were from the Office of Risk Management, one from the Office of State Engineer, two from the Fire Marshall’s office, one each from the Electrical and Plumbing commissions, and two from the Game, Fish and Parks, including park superintendent Richard Miller. The inspections were fair, as far as we can tell, but they leave a big question of where to find the hundreds of thousands of dollars to make the necessary repairs.

The lease matter is now in the court system so it doesn’t make sense to tackle any improvement projects on the buildings in the park at this time. Why spend money improving buildings you may not be allowed to occupy? The survey recommended that no occupancy of the buildings be allowed until they can be inspected by a structural engineer. Time is of the essence for this Playhouse season and it doesn’t appear possible that performances will be held at the existing facilities this summer.

At a press conference in Pierre last Thursday, Gov. Mike Rounds didn’t have anything encouraging to say about the Playhouse situation. He called the facilities a “dilapidated mess” and said the reality is that they are worn out and need to be upgraded. He further said improvements have been made throughout Custer State Park, but the Playhouse has not kept up. Problems have to be fixed that have been growing for decades, he said. Rounds also dismissed the idea of a year’s moratorium on the matter saying he did not want to pass this issue on to the next governor. Since the task force recommendations came out, he said the Playhouse has had 2008 and 2009 to address the needed repairs and upgrades to the facilities.

Lost in all this is the educational value and professional atmosphere the Playhouse offers to aspiring actors and actresses who would otherwise have to take their talents to Los Angeles or New York to try to get a foothold in the entertainment industry. Over the years we have seen nearby performers such as Jennie Mae Donnell from Hot Springs and Jared Emick from Oral go on to bigger and better things in their profession. These two and many others can trace their humble beginnings back to the Black Hills Playhouse in Custer State Park.

Also lost is the entertainment and economic value the Playhouse offers for residents and visitors alike during the summer months. We are confident the show will go on somehow, someplace in the Black Hills. Whether it is a traveling venue or located in a permanent site this summer, the show will go on. If at all possible, we hope its home base will be here in Custer, as close to the park as possible. We have over 700 seats in the Custer High School theater to accommodate the performances, which is about double the Playhouse theater capacity. This would seem to be an ideal place for the performances this summer.

It’s a real shame all this had to happen to one of the premier entertainment venues in the Southern Black Hills of South Dakota. It deserves much better than this after being successful for so many years.