Craig Daily Press / History repeated

New Year’s Eve theater performances, past and present

The Craig Dramatic Club presented a three-act drama “Borderland” New Year’s Eve 1897 and at the conclusion of the play had a dance to complete the evening. Play proceeds were used to pay for the new theater, build on the site of the City Hall building that burned down two years before. Enlarge photo Photo courtesy of the Museum of Northwest Colorado

By Bridget Manley

January 1, 2008

Craig — On Jan 1, 1898, Craig residents celebrated a new year and a new beginning.

A performance by the Craig Dramatic Club on New Year’s Eve commemorated the dedication of a new theater constructed on the site of a devastating fire.

Not only did the club put on a performance, it also started a tradition.

The City Hall building initially housed Craig’s theatrical performances in the 1890s.

A devastating fire tore through Yampa Avenue in 1896, destroying City Hall and displaced the new town’s theatrical club.

Craig residents rebuilt from the ashes — literally.

In 1897, a theater was built where the City Hall building had stood.

On the eve of the new building’s dedication, the Craig Dramatic Club performed “that excellent three-act drama ‘Border Land,’” The Craig Courier reported Dec. 11, 1897.

The cast performed to a full house and collected $96 in admittance fees — a sum that paid for the theater’s construction costs.

“The play was rendered in an excellent manner, the participants, without exception acquitting themselves creditably,” The Craig Courier reported New Year’s Day in 1898.

“Border Land” wasn’t finished in Craig. History repeated itself March 7, 1913 when a new local theater group chose the drama for its opening piece.

“A good play never dies, and perhaps that is one reason why the new dramatic club in Craig have, all unknown to themselves, selected for their first attempt to please the public a comedy-drama that was first given in Craig 15 years ago,” according to the Moffat County Courier on Feb. 20, 1913.

This year, history repeated itself again.

Like their predecessors 110 years ago, Craig’s current theater group, Black Mountain Theatre, presented another theatrical performance on New Year’s Eve.

Theatre members performed the interactive mystery, “Cheezey’s Speakeasy” during a costume ball Monday night.

The performance ushered in Craig’s 100th year as an incorporated city, said Beth Gilchrist, Craig Centennial Committee member and Black Mountain Theatre performer.

The decision to present a play New Year’s Eve wasn’t inspired by the 1897 performance, Gilchrist said.

Yet, like that early production, the murder mystery relied on local talent, ages “grade school to much older,” she said.

Unlike “Border Land,” the interactive performance was unscripted and cast-created.

“It’s very much ad lib and off-the-cuff,” Gilchrist said. “We had a lot of fun writing it.”

Bridget Manley can be reached at 824-7031, ext. 207 or bmanley@craigdailypress.com