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About Prairie Repertory Theatre

History of Prairie Repertory Theatre

From the beginning in 1970 until 2023, Prairie Repertory Theatre has played 12,825 performances of 214 productions to 546,324 patrons (as of 5/19/2023). Since 1970, 1,787 students have participated.

In the summer of 1970, Dr. Larry Stine and Professor C.E. Denton of South Dakota State University produced two plays at the Prairie Village Opera House on the grounds of Prairie Village near Madison, SD. The Opera House had been recently moved from its original site in Oldham, SD. The following year, the first four show repertory company was organized under the direction of Professor Denton. Setting a pattern employed for many years; each production opened in Doner Auditorium on the SDSU campus and then moved to the Opera House where the productions eventually ran in repertory. The facility was exceptionally primitive, with patrons seated on planks and cinder blocks in the first years. There was, initially, no running water or even screens on the windows. The playing space had no fly system, wing space, or support spaces such as dressing rooms. All lighting, sound systems, and equipment were installed by the SDSU group each summer. Over time, plumbing and water systems were added, and minor improvements made to the building.

By 1991, the community of Madison had constructed the Dakota Prairie Playhouse on the grounds of Dakota State University. This became the company’s “touring home.” Productions were still mounted and performed on the SDSU campus prior to moving them to Madison. While the Dakota Prairie Playhouse was an improvement over the Prairie Village Opera House, the facility had a number of major deficiencies, including poor acoustics and audience sight lines, lack of a fly system, and appropriate lighting positions. Declining attendance at the Dakota Prairie Playhouse and the drawbacks of the facility ultimately led to the decision to discontinue performances at that location.

PRT had the opportunity to perform its season at the Brandon Performing Arts Center located in Brandon (SD) High School. Summer PRT productions took place both on the SDSU campus and in Brandon beginning in the summer of 2007 and continuing until 2019. Due to a variety of factors (including funding and institutional priorities), Prairie Repertory Theatre 2020 began performing exclusively in the Oscar Larson Performing Arts Center’s proscenium theatre.

In 2002, the first phase of the Performing Arts Center on the SDSU campus was completed. This meant the scene shop, costume shop, rehearsal spaces, box office and business offices were finally in a single building. Previously, those spaces had been located all over the campus. The immediate result was much greater efficiency in the day-to-day operations of the company, particularly during the process of constructing and rehearsing all of the season’s shows. However, the new facility did not include a replacement for the aging Doner Auditorium. As part of a 48.5 million dollar expansion of the current SDSU Performing Arts Center, construction of a new 875 seat proscenium theatre (with support spaces) commenced and was completed in March 2019. PRT’s first season in the new venue was in the summer of 2019. The capacity of Doner Auditorium had been reduced from 830 seats to 503 seats in 2008 due to the permanent closure of the balcony because of code issues. This had a negative impact on both attendance and revenues for PRT’s Brookings performances. The new facilities in the Oscar Larson Performing Arts Center are magnificent and include new lighting and sound systems. From beginning this theatre company in 1970 with limited resources, the Oscar Larson Theatre brings PRT into the 21st century and paves the way for the future.

Prairie Repertory Theatre opened its doors for the first time with a performance at the Prairie Village Opera House near Madison, SD. In 1970 the Opera House was moved from Oldham, SD, where it was built by the Socialist Party in 1912, to Prairie Village where it became the future home of summer theatre for SDSU. People took bets on whether the building would survive the 25-mile trip. Following the successful move, the Board of Directors of the Prairie Historical Society, Inc., enlisted the aid of Dr. Larry Stine and C.E. Denton to initiate a summer theatre program at Prairie Village. In July of 1970, audiences sat on bare planks and barrels set up on a dirt floor and joyed two plays: Bus Stop and Barefoot in the Park. In 1971, the first official repertory company was organized and C.E. Denton was its first director.

The first summer, 1971, four shows were produced by a 32-member company. The shows were Arsenic and Old Lace, Three Men on a Horse, The Owl and the Pussycat, and Harvey.

1974 brought the first dinner theatre presented by Prairie Rep with a production of Where's Charley? Another first came about that summer as two of the summer shows, Our Town and The Fantasticks, were produced at the Lake Benton Opera House in Lake Benton, MN. The three faculty members in charge of summer theatre and the directors were C.E. Denton, James L. Johnson, and Raymond Peterson.

Patrons remember Oklahoma! in 1975 as the first full-scale Broadway musical with a cast of 24 square dancers dancing to a 22-piece orchestra. New dressing rooms, an extension of the stage and bathrooms (with running water) brightened 1977. Fiddler on the Roof broke all previous attendance records in 1977 and The Miracle Worker became the first drama presented in its history.

The 1978 season was a defining moment for summer theatre.  Seven successful summers, increasing attendance and student involvement in summer theatre led to a new name and organization. The articles of incorporation of Prairie Repertory Theatre were completed on January 1, 1978, to include a 30-member board of directors. The purpose of the PRT board was to provide input from the Interlake's area on theatre in eastern South Dakota, methods of funding, publicity, and season productions. The mission of PRT was to 1) provide the SDSU students with intensive training in a repertory system, and 2) to provide the best entertainment possible for the people of South Dakota. This tradition continues today in teaching students several aspects of theatre as well as giving audiences several evenings of wonderful entertainment.

The decade came to a close in 1979 with bringing  five shows into production with the largest company in Prairie Rep history (36 members). 

The decade began with humble beginnings in a leaky old social hall. During the early years, there was no running water, no dressing rooms, no wing space, no work study and few scholarships. Theatre patrons came through a steady growth in appreciation for comedies, musicals, farces, and dramas produced by PRT. By the end of the decade audiences had more than doubled to 9,300 patrons who brought about substantial increase in scholarships from theatre friends and alums.

1970
Bus Stop
Barefoot in the Park

1971
Harvey
Three Men on a Horse
The Owl and the Pussycat
Arsenic and Old Lace

1972
My Three Angels
Love Rides the Rails
The Last of the Red Hot Lovers
You're a Good Man Charlie Brown

1973
Plaza Suite
The Seven Year Itch
The Man Who Came to Dinner
Two by Two

1974
Where's Charley?
Butterflies are Free
The Fantasticks
Our Town

1975
Oklahoma!
The Rainmaker
Come Blow Your Horn
Celebration

1976
Paint Your Wagon
The Sunshine Boys
George Washington Slept Here
Ah, Wilderness!

1977
You're a Good Man, Charlie Brown
No Sex Please - We're British
Fiddler on the Roof
The Miracle Worker

1978
The Apple Tree
Never Too Late
L'il Abner
The Diary of Anne Frank

1979
Harvey
Damn Yankees
Send Me No Flowers
I Never Sang for My Father
I Do! I Do!

The PRT Company celebrated their tenth anniversary in 1980 with the musical production of Carousel. From the previous decade of success, 1980 brought a substantial increase in scholarships for the 35-member company. "Professional non-equity" greeted the members of the 1981 company. This allowed PRT to produce plays shortly after they were released from Broadway. The South Dakota premiere of Bedroom Farce in 1981 and Mornings at Seven in 1982 were made possible by this change. The 42 members of the 1982 company performed Grease to standing room only audiences in Madison and Brookings. Kevin Gudahl, a Chicago-based actor, was the guest artist. The 1983 season featured a five-play year including two Broadway musicals, 110 in the Shade and Pippin. Chris Denton and Caroline Ward-Denton were featured in Same Time Next Year. Nancy Wheeler made her debut in directing for PRT with Pippin. The 1983 season also marked the year for establishment of two endowments for PRT. The endowments reached an all-time high of $96,000 in 1999. Hello Dolly was the headlined musical for the 44-member company in 1984. Wendy Short, guest artist from Minneapolis, once again choreographed the musical while Les Pfutzenreuter completed his fifth year as musical director. Lori Hartenhoff returned from the University of Wisconsin to design the costumes, and Desi Roybal joined PRT for his fourth season as technical supervisor. A Funny Thing Happened on the Way to the Forum and Guys and Dolls were the featured musicals in 1985. This season reached another milestone in which the company played to its 100,000th customer.

South Pacific and The Foreigner were the major draws for the 1986 season. JD Ackman joined the company for his sixth season as a director, while Charles McCauley returned as musical director. 987 witnessed the installation of air-conditioning in Doner, which made the performance more exciting for the actors and more enjoyable for the audience. The musical Sound of Music was the major hit of the summer. JD Ackman and Teresa Lyons-Hegdahl joined PRT for their seventh season through the South Dakota Arts Council visiting artist programs.

The largest attendance on record happened during the 1988 season with Grease, The Nerds, Bus Stop and The Drunkard. A total of 10,432 attended the plays and marked the final year of performances at Prairie Village. The SDSU Administration, Theatre Staff and PRT Board desired a facility that was larger and more accommodating for the performers and audiences. It was decided to build a new theatre in Madison. The decade ended by having PRT present all of its 1989 Madison performances in the high school auditorium. Melissa Hauschild-Mork joined the company for her second year as choreographer. The Theatre Staff anticipated a drop in attendance with this move, but it actually increased to 11,044. The staff and PRT Company ended the summer looking forward to the next decade with enthusiasm for a new building and new beginning.

1980
Carousel
Second Time Around
The Matchmaker
Two by Two

1981
Brigadoon
Bedroom Farce
Picnic
Cactus Flower

1982
Grease
Charley's Aunt
Mister Roberts
Mornings at Seven

1983
110 in the Shade
A Flea in Her Ear
Pippin
How the Other Half Lives
Same Time Next Year

1984
Hello, Dolly!
Arsenic and Old Lace
You Can't Take It With You
On Golden Pond

1985
Guys and Dolls
Barefoot in the Park
A Bedfull of Foreigners
A Funny Thing Happened on the Way to the Forum

1986
South Pacific
The Secret Affairs of Mildred Wild
The Foreigner
Ten Little Indians

1987
The Sound of Music
See How They Run
Crimes of the Heart
The Dining Room

1988
Grease
The Nerd
Bus Stop
The Drunkard

1989
Godspell
The Odd Couple
Social Security
Cinderella

The start of the third decade of summer theatre brought a major change when all of the season's 26 performances were held in the air-conditioned atmosphere of Doner. PRT opened its 20th anniversary with the farce,Run for Your Wife and followed this with Oklahoma, The Fantasticks, and The Wizard of Oz. Rory Pierce, Paul Houtkooper, and his wife Susan returned as guest artists. Overall, it was felt that not being in Madison failed to hurt attendance, but brought in more patrons from Brookings and more SDSU students. The plays in Doner were attended by more than 11,000 patrons. After three years of waiting, PRT found a new home at the Dakota Prairie Playhouse in Madison to begin the 21st season. The biggest cast and crew of 53 members began the summer with The Music Man. C.E. Denton retired in 1991 wrapping up his 35 years as Professor and Associate Director of Theatre. As one of the founders of Summer Theatre, Denton was also instrumental in its continued growth. The 1992 major hit of the summer was Diamond Studs, the tale of the musical wanderings of Jesse James. One week before the opening of the 1993 offerings at DPP, the Madison community was hit by a devastating flood. Jesus Christ Superstar opened with mixed feelings that few patrons would want to attend the theatre while their homes were ruined. Yet the people came in record numbers to post the largest attendance for any opening weekend. Later, 50 comp tickets were provided for the American Red Cross volunteers to attend Nunsense and 350 complimentary tickets for Lend Me a Tenor for the citizens of Madison who had homes destroyed.

The 200,000th customer was recorded for 1994 season with an attendance for the summer of 14,954. Bye Bye Birdie and Joseph and the Amazing Technicolor Dreamcoat were the major draws for the summer. Charles Cannan returned for his fourth year as musical director. PRT celebrated its silver anniversary by producing two musicals,Fiddler on the Roof and Man of La Mancha, along with two comedies, It Runs in the Family and The Foreigner. For the first time in the history of summer theatre, the scheduled opening of Man of La Mancha did not happen. That afternoon, contractors destroyed an electrical cable while repaving a sidewalk in back of the Administration Building. The building was without power. In previous calamities, PRT had always found a way for the show to go on, but in this case, "there were no lights, no camera, and no action!"

The 52-member company performed to 17,154 patrons in 1996. The large increase was due mainly to the popularity of Grease. The 1950's rock and roll musical performed to 7,568 for 10 performances, which is an all-time record for musicals. The British farce Not Now Darling also topped the number of people attending a comedy presented by PRT. Two guest actors highlighted the 1997 season with Jason C. Johnson and Curtis C. Jackson who played roles in Driving Miss Daisy, Big River, and Guys and Dolls. When Steel Magnolias opened, the six actresses in the play dedicated it to Corrie Raasch who died that morning in a fall from a roof. Director James L Johnson noted it was Raasch's hope "that audiences will forget their daily woes and escape to another world with PRT this summer." The company, which included 46 students, broke attendance records by performing to 17,249. The 1999 season included another five-play format with guest artist Dan and Kristy Shamburger from NYC. Annie was the major musical for the summer. The decade came to a close with PRT returning to the classics with My Fair Lady and Peter Pan. Tom Becker joined the company as a guest actor. Jo Edeburn completed her 11th season and joined the faculty as a director while Bob Skylar completed his eighth year as shop foreman. The decade of the 90s classified as one of several changes for PRT with the increased number of students involved with the company, the increase in scholarships, the amount of revenue and gifts at the box office, the size of the audiences, the quality of the plays, and the educational enrichment for the students. One of the members of the 1990's company called it "The Golden Age of PRT Theatre."

1990
Run for Your Wife
Oklahoma!
The Fantasticks!
The Wizard of Oz

1991
The Music Man
Steel Magnolias
Sly Fox
Little Shop of Horrors

1992
Sweet Charity 
The Musical Comedy: Murders of 1940
Rumors
Diamond Studs

1993
Nunsense
No Sex Please - We're British
Lend Me a Tenor
Jesus Christ Superstar

1994
Out of Order
Bye Bye Birdie
The Matchmaker
Joseph and the Technicolor Dreamcoat

1995
Fiddler on the Roof
It Runs in the Family
The Foreigner
Man of La Mancha

1996
Grease
On Golden Pond
Not Now, Darling
Gypsy

1997
Guys and Dolls
Moon Over Buffalo
Steel Magnolias
Big River
Driving Miss Daisy

1998
The Pajama Game
Funny Money
Noises Off
Annie
I Do! I Do!

1999
My Fair Lady
Nunsense II
Brighton Beach Memoirs
Peter Pan

With a company of 63 members, Prairie Repertory Theatre began the new millennium in celebration with The Sound of Music paving the way for its 30th anniversary season. Designer and Technical Supervisor Desi Roybal returned for his 17th and final PRT season prior to accepting a position as Resident Scene Designer at Southwestern University in Georgetown, TX. Along with Neil Simon's Pulitzer Prize-winning Lost in Yonkers and the return of You're A Good Man, Charlie Brown, the 2000 season featured PRT's first and only attempt at Shakespeare -- the popular comedy, A Midsummer's Night Dream.

"Seventy-Six Trombones" heralded in the 2001 PRT season as the largest company to date -- 48 university students, 13 faculty, and 15 children -- sang, danced, and provided technical support for Meredith Willson's The Music Man. With nearly 9,000 patrons attending the Brookings performances alone, the four-show season, which also included the ever-popular Joseph and the Technicolor Dreamcoat, proved to be one for the record books as the company welcomed PRT's 300,000th patron. Rep participants and patrons also looked forward with excitement and great anticipation as construction work began on a new $10.4 million Performing Arts Center on the campus of SDSU. Also, after spending four years as a resident designer at Theatre Memphis in Memphis, TN, Corey Shelsta returned to his alma mater as a full-time staff member in technical theatre and design.

In 2002, after 29 consecutive years as Director of Theatre and 27 years as Administrative Head of PRT, Dr. James L. Johnson took a final bow amidst plans for a Theatre Festival Concept and a new direction for Prairie Repertory Theatre. The 2002 season featured three musicals and two plays that touched the heart -- The Boys Next Door (Johnson's final show), and A Nightingale Sang. Company members posed in front of the yet-to-be-opened Performing Arts Center for their annual company photo prior to opening the season with Rodgers and Hammerstein's South Pacific.

After spending 33 years with rehearsals, offices, and performance and shop spaces scattered throughout the SDSU campus, the 2003 season marked the first time when , apart from Doner Auditorium, all PRT operations were housed within a single building. The Kander and Ebb musical revue, And the World Goes 'Round, became the first PRT show produced within the Fishback Studio Theatre. Also, with the launch of the new theatre festival on everyone's mind, an ensemble of PRT veterans from Minneapolis were invited to perform their original production of Show Choir! at the Performing Arts Center prior to moving the four PRT shows to Madison.

PRT underwent an exciting change in 2004 as the company officially launched the first annual South Dakota Theatre Fest.Running from July 27 through August 1, the six-day festival featured school students, informal discussions, workshops, receptions, and productions staged by The Quest Theatre Company, The Brooking Community Theatre, The Bare Bodkins Theatre Group, and The Comfort Theatre Company. In its first year, more than 4,000 visitors attended the nine different play options and festival events.

In her 17th year as a PRT member, Jo Edeburn Nesmith stepped into the role of Administrative Head in 2005. Joshua Westwick became the supervisor of business, promotion, and marketing in his eighth year as a company member. The summer's show highlights included three musicals: The Best Little Whorehouse in Texas, Seussical: The Musical, and Smoke on the Mountain. Featured guest artists included Andy and Teresa Henrickson of Yankton.

The second annual South Dakota Theatre Fest featured, along with a theatre camp, workshops, and social events, five different theatre companies presenting 17 performances over a six-day period.

Preparations for the 2006 PRT season brought with it a mixture of excitement, pain, great loss, and great gain as the theatre staff and Board of Directors pondered over the difficult decision to leave Madison and move operations to Brandon, SD.  Adding an element of sadness to the issue was the loss of C.E. Denton, an innovative and highly respected PRT pioneer and director who passed away in December due to complications with cancer. However, due to demographics and a greater opportunity for growth, after 35 years of performances in Madison, the decision was made to move to the Brandon Valley Performing Arts Center, an 804-seat and audience-friendly facility offering comfort and performance opportunities second to none. Along with hosting the 3rd Annual South Dakota Theatre Fest with Corey Shelsta as Managing Director and conducting an expanded Theatre Workshop, the 2006 company mounted five shows including Diamond Studs, Meshuggah-Nuns!, Social Security, A Bedfull of Foreigners, and Honk! While the season proved to be highly successful artistically, the time, effort, and expense of organizing and producing a five-show PRT playbill plus hosting the South Dakota Theatre Fest resulted in added pressure and exhaustion among staff and student participants alike, and a drop in festival attendance led to a re-evaluation of priorities for the 2007 PRT season.

With careful planning and a year in Brandon behind them, the PRT staff and Board of Directors looked forward to the summer of 2007 with great anticipation.  A return to a traditional four-show playbill and the decision to eliminate the South Dakota Theatre Fest in favor of expanding the Theatre Camp and moving it to Brandon brought about renewed excitement and energy within the Company. In addition to playing Lady Thiang in The King and I, PRT veteran Jacqueline Pierce-Humke returned for her fifth summer and took on a new role as Coordinator of Educational Outreach. Dr. James L. Johnson returned from retirement to direct the popular comedy Social Security, and JD Ackman became Managing Director. The highly positive reception to PRT's first year in Brandon resulted in extending the 2007 Brandon run by a week; thereby, it provided season-book patrons with an opportunity to see all four shows in Brandon.

Sell-out crowds in both Brookings and Brandon for Seven Brides for Seven Brothers highlighted the 2008 PRT season. PRT veteran Andy Henrickson took time away from his duties at Mount Marty College in Yankton to direct the season's opening show: Bingo: the Musical! Billy Wilburn, a newly-hired member of the South Dakota State University Theatre and Dance Faculty, joined the company for the first time as an actor and designer of both sets and costumes. PRT's total attendance reached 400,000 during the Brookings run of Seven Brides for Seven Brothers. With a renewed commitment to Audience Services promising quality entertainment and comfort for patrons, the box office was renamed, and the PRT Company logo became "We Belong to You!"

With Godspell paving the way, a somewhat smaller company mounted a successful four-show season in 2009. PRT veteran Bob Sylskar returned for his 18th season directing Foxfire, while PRT alum and recent Villanova graduate Callie Jacobson Hisek Assumed the directorial duties for The Man Who Came to Dinner. Irving Berlin's ever-popular Annie Get Your Gun closed out the season. Despite economic concerns and a downward trend in theatre attendance on the national scene, PRT held its own with ticket sales rivaling those of previous seasons. The 2009 company greatly missed the services of longtime director and friend, Nancy Wheeler, who officially retired in May, after a three-year battle with cancer. Sadly, Nancy lost her battle in February of 2010. She will be sorely missed by all who knew and loved her throughout her nearly three decades of dedicated service to both State University Theatre and PRT.

With the return of Neil Simon's Plaza Suite, a comedy on PRT's third playbill back in 1973, and a revival of Jesus Christ Superstar, last produced in 1993, Prairie Repertory Theatre now proudly celebrated forty years of providing quality entertainment for the people of Brookings and all of eastern South Dakota and beyond.

2000
The Sound of Music
Lost in Yonkers
A Midsummer's Night Dream
You're a Good Man, Charlie Brown

2001
The Music Man
Over the River and Through the Woods
Don't Dress for Dinner
Joseph and the Amazing Technicolor Dreamcoat

2002
South Pacific
The Boys Next Door
A . . . My Name is Alice
And a Nightingale Sang
Footloose

2003
Damn Yankees
The Foreigner
Caught in the Net
And the World Goes 'Round

2004
Grease
You Can't Take It With You
Sylvia
Sleeping Beauty
Oklahoma!

2005
The Best Little Whorehouse in Texas
Smoke on the Mountain
Alone Together
Perfect Wedding
Seussical the Musical

2006
Diamond Studs
Meshuggah-Nuns
Social Security
A Bedfull of Foreigners
Honk!

2007
Dames at Sea
Escanaba in Da Moonlight
Come Back to the 5 and Dime, Jimmy Dean, Jimmy Dean
The King and I

2008
Bingo: the Musical!
Escanaba in Love
Move Over, Mrs. Markham
Seven Brides for Seven Brothers

2009
Godspell
The Man Who Came to Dinner
Foxfire
Annie Get Your Gun

The fifth decade brought another round of change with the opening of the Oscar Larson Performing Arts Center. The $48 million expansion opened in 2019 that allowed for all productions to run out of one single facility, so it marked the final year for traveling to the Brandon Valley Performing Arts Center. Although 2020 shut down PRT, along with all live theatrical productions, it revitalized itself in the 2021 season.

2010
Jesus Christ Superstar
Leaving Iowa
Plaza Suite
Thoroughly Modern Millie

2011
Church Basement Ladies
Arsenic and Old Lace
Almost, Maine
Crazy for You

2012
Disney's Beauty and the Beast
Steel Magnolias
Leading Ladies
A Funny Thing Happened on the Way to the Forum

2013
State Fair
The Foreigner
Love, Sex, and the I.R.S
A Second Helping: The Church Basement Ladies Sequel

2014
The 25th Annual Putnam County Spelling Bee
Making God Laugh
The Lone Star Love Potion
Shrek: the Musical

2015
The Marvelous Wonderettes
Boeing Boeing
Dial "M" for Murder
The Sound of Music

2016
Don't Hug Me
Smokey Joe's Cafe
The Murder Room
Hairspray

2017
Sister Act
I Love, You're Perfect, No Change
Over the River and Through the Woods
The Fully Monty

2018
Bye Bye Birdie
The Fox on the Fairway
Tuesdays with Morrie
Disney's Little Mermaid

2019
Father of the Bride
Beehive
Insane with Power
The Wizard of Oz

The 2020 season was the first time in history no productions were completed due to a world-wide pandemic of COVID-19. The pandemic shut down all theatres across the world. However, PRT revitalized itself in the 2021 season. The 2022 season brought forth another era of change as we said goodbye to JD Ackman in his retirement after 36 years of participating in Prairie Repertory Theatre, with 14 years as the Artistic Director. Billy Wilburn was appointed PRT Artistic Director, after participating in PRT since 2008 and SDSU Theatre Faculty since 2007. He has worked as company manager, costume designer, set designer, and costume shop manager within his time in PRT. The legacy of PRT continues with the 2023 season."

2021
The Complete Works of William Shakespeare Abridged
Quilters
Gin Game
Little Shop of Horrors

2022
The Play That Goes Wrong
Peter and the Starcatcher
The Cemetery Club
Footloose

2023
Godspell
See How They Run
Rumors
Oklahoma!

2024
Nunsense
And Then There Were None
2 Across
Rodgers and Hammerstein’s Cinderella