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Virginia City Players Are Alive and Well
Author: Nancy Marks, MT43 News reporter

Virginia City Players Are Alive And Well

Nancy Marks

MT43 News reporter

The illustrious Virginia City Players, who perform in the Opera House at Virginia City, Montana, is the oldest continually running summer stock theater company in the Northwest, according to its 2026 program.

The ten actors, directors, set designers, Cremona player, and costume creators all double in playing parts as well as selling concessions during intermission and cleaning the place when the show ends.

The two- hour show is full of fun, silliness, great voices and superb acting. These actors are professionals who have performed all over the United States for many years. Despite their accolades, they give up their summers for small wages to pull together these wonderful shows: “The Bat! A Murder Mystery Melodrama"; "Vaudeville’s Greatest Hits"; and "Xantippe! A Western Melodrama."

According to Adryan Miller-Gorder, the group had 3 weeks to pull together a full set of summer shows after the state of Montana’s Montana Heritage Commission offered them a contract in April. Miller-Gorder is an assistant professor and technical director of University of Montana Western’s Performing Arts Series in Dillon. She commended her partner actors and the success of the season but lamented seeing less tourism in Virginia City. “We need more people to attend our performances so we can convince the state to give us another contract for next year’s season,” she explained.

Well known in our area, when Townsend Rotary used to sponsor group trips to the historic Old West Town of Virginia City, people thought nothing of making the two- hour trip through the Jefferson River valley to buy candy at the famous Cousins Candy Store or enjoy a cone at the ice cream shop, before enjoying the two- hour melodrama of singing, dancing, and storytelling.

The theater company has a long history. Formed in the 1800’s, it had a small, tight-knit group who called themselves the Amateur Dramatic Association. In 1948, two brothers, Jack and Larry Barsness, along with Larry’s wife Dori, happened to meet with the owner of the old brewery, Charles Bovey, who was restoring Virginia City. Together they created a theater in the Bale of Hay Saloon to produce a show which became the Virginia City Players.

Townsend has connections to those innovators: Townsend resident John Barness is the son of Jack; and longtime co-artistic director of the players, Errol Koch, is the grandson of resident Sharmon Corner. Koch was integral to forming both Broadwater Community Theater and MT43News in Townsend.

If you are interested in live theater, please consider a trip to Virginia City to enjoy the sights and the players. Reservations can be made at umwestern.edu/virginia-city-players, or by calling 1-800-829-2969.

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PhotoCredit: Nancy Marks, MT43News photographer
Image 1 Caption: Actors gathered after the show last Saturday for a photo. UM Western Assistant Professor Adryan Miller-Gorder, kneeling in front, put together a three- show program in three weeks after winning a contract from the state of Montana to perform at the Opera House this season. Nancy Marks, MT43 News Photographer