Drama in Early Deadwood, 1876-1879

Abstract

THE GOLD RUSH of I876 in the Black Hills of South Dakota added an interesting chapter to the history of the American frontier theater, and one which has been but briefly chronicled. Of the many mining camps which sprang up after General Custer's I874 expedition strengthened rumors of the presence of gold in the Hills, Deadwood was the most important,' and it has remained the most famous. The romantic legends of the Deadwood Dick series, the association with Deadwood of two of the best known Western characters, Wild Bill Hickok and Calamity Jane, attest its fame. Deadwood had to wait only three months after its organization in April, I876, for its first performance of legitimate drama. The producer was Jack Langrishe, an actor-manager noted in mining communities throughout the West, and the dominant figure of the early Deadwood theater. Through the rest of its pioneer period the town in Deadwood Gulch was never without dramatic entertainment. At times there were only the variety performances which flourished in the saloons or in those theaters in which the bar was the chief feature, but the repertory companies which offered respectable entertainment gave Deadwood a claim to theatrical distinction. Historians of the Hills have given some attention to the early Deadwood theater. The story of the first legitimate performance is included in the reminiscences of Mrs. Annie D. Tallent, first woman pioneer of the Hills.2 A colorful chapter in Estelline Bennett's Old Deadwood Days, based in part on pioneer recollections, surveys the