Actor, singer and dancer Job Christenson, a native of Grand Forks, will be back this summer playing a lead at the Medora (N.D.) Musical, an award-winning show that will open June 3 and run nightly through Sept. 6.
"The Greatest Show in the West" will run nightly at 8:30 (MDT), Randy Hatzenbuhler, president of the Theodore Roosevelt Medora Foundation, announced in a news release.
Rehearsals for the 45th edition of Medora Musical started last week in Minneapolis. Curt Wollan, producer of the musical, said it would have a great cast with new and returning talent including the crowd favorite and nationally recognized Christenson.
"Job is one of the finest singers and dancers North Dakota has ever produced," he said. "He has an incredible soaring tenor voice." Of the rest of the cast, Wollan said: "These are the best singers we've ever had. They're all such strong performers."
This year's theme honors the spirit of accomplishment and uses some famous North Dakotans as inspiration, Wollan said. The message is that everyone can accomplish big things if they try.
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Dale Given will return for his fourth season as Buffalo Dale, host of the Medora Musical. Originally from Sidney, Ohio, Given has performed in shows throughout the U.S.
The Burning Hills Singers and Medora Coal Diggers come from across the U.S. to perform in the musical. This year's Burning Hills Singers are Alexis Wollan, St. Anthony, Minn.; Brittany Everitt, Shorewood, Minn.; Candice Lively, Strawberry Plains, Tenn.; Alicia Reynolds, Palm Beach, Fla.; Jessica Kaufman, Cheshire, Conn.; Ken Quiricone, Stratford, Conn; Chet Wollan, St. Anthony, Minn.; Joey Ford, Custer, S.D.; Justin Droegemueller, Morris, Minn.; Natalie Carroll, Jordan, Minn.; and Johnny Estling, Fridley, Minn.
The Medora Coal Diggers will be DJ Phillips, Beaver Creek, Ohio; Andy Carroll, Park Rapids, Minn.; Mark Baczinski, Nashville, Tenn.; Marcus Bohn, St. Paul; Roger Rettig, London; and Chas Willow, Minneapolis.
Jim France of Asheville, N.C., will play Theodore Roosevelt. Fred Smith, the original producer of the Medora Musical, has been involved in the production since 1965 and continues to serve as a consultant to Wollan.
This season's variety acts will be The Peking Acrobats, June 3 to July 5; Project Dynamite, July 6 to July 23; Patrick Hanifin, July 24 to Aug. 2; and The Peking Acrobats, Aug. 3 to Sept. 6.
The recently added Medora Musical Welcome Center hosts an interpretive center that tells the history of the Medora Musical and the outdoor venue, a gift shop and box office.
Visitors can add the Behind the Scenes Tour to their theater experience, a guided tour that goes backstage, notes what it takes to produce a professional show and explains the history of more than 50 years of shows, said Kinley Slauter, manager of the Burning Hills Amphitheatre.
Throughout the summer, Tuesdays and Wednesdays will offer special savings on tickets for the Medora Musical
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Each Tuesday will be Seniors Day with everyone 55 and older receiving 15 percent off their ticket. They also will receive 15 percent off the Pitchfork Fondue ticket and lodging at the Badlands Motel, The Bunkhouse and the Rough Riders Hotel.
Wednesdays will be Kids Day. Children entering grades 2 through 12 can see the Medora Musical for free when accompanied by their parent or grandparent.
A new special, the Family Fun-Day Sunday special, will be available from June 7 through Aug. 30. Families can enjoy the Medora Musical for $69 (limit of five people/two adults).
For info or online reservations, go to www.medora.com . For the Pitchfork Fondue, tee times at Bully Pulpit and lodging, call (800) 633-6721.
