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A PUBLICATION OF GAYVILLE HALL SPRING 2014 • VOL 7, ISSUE 1 The Home of Old Time Music Tickets & Info: (605) 267-2859 The14th Season OffersGayville the Fabulous Hall Gordy Pratt,Gazette Monthly Jamborees, Country Music, Big-Time Jam, Poker Alice ayville Hall kicks off our 14th Sea- tempt them. York-based theatrical productions, Gson on Saturday, April 5, at 8 p.m. Gordy Pratt, a.k.a. “The Original, and produced and starred in musical with “The Hay Country Jamboree,” Fabulous ONE GUY,” is that rare, shows (one-man and larger) for tour- our monthly musical variety show. fearless performer who has been mak- ists in Deadwood.and for conventions Gayville Hall favorites, including ing a living by doing just that. A gifted and corporate events across the Mid- country music hosts John and Susan and clever songwriter, guitarist, sing- west. McNeill, banjo virtuoso and funnyman er, and comic. Pratt’s shows are both We thank the S. D. Friends of Tra- Dan Kilbride, fiddler extraordinaire “sidesplitting” and “moving.” ditional Music for helping to bring this Owen DeJong, and guitarist and The western Colorado native, who great entertainer to Gayville Hall with singer Nick Schwebach, will lead a now lives in Spearfish, first came to the support of the S.D. Arts Council. fast-paced, two-hour show of old-time South Dakota in the summer of 1965 On May 3, East of Westreville’s great American popular songs, as a 12-year-old member singer and guitarist Boyd Bristow, country, bluegrass, and of the Black Hills Play- who has humor. Come and cel- house (along with his fa- become a ebrate the opening of our ther and stepmother). He familiar fig- 14th season. soon took up the guitar, ure on our The second show of eventually started writing stage dur- 2014, on April 19 at 8 songs, and studied clas- ing the last p.m., is the first one-man sical guitar in New York, year and a show we have brought to San Francisco, and Lon- half, returns our stage, and it shouldn’t don. to “The Hay be missed. One-man Pratt has opened con- C o u n t r y shows require such ex- certs for well-known pop Jamboree” traordinary talent that few acts, traveled the U.S. to co-star in Boyd Bristow performers ever even at- Gordy Pratt and abroad with New continued on page 5 Gordy Pratt: The Original, Hilarious “One Guy” at GH April 19 NOTE FROM DOUG SHARPLES: Judi and n April 19, fans at Gayville Hall are in for a I first became aware of Gordy Pratt in 1965 Ospecial treat when the talented, one-of-a- when we returned west from Iowa for our sec- kind Gordy Pratt takes the stage. ond summer in the Black Hills Playhouse the- Pratt’s one-man show will include: “about atre troupe in Custer State Park. I can see him one-third of classical guitar music, about one- clearly in my mind’s eye, a gangly kid walking third of songs that I love and people love, and through the complex of aging 1930’s C.C.C. about one-third of musical comedy,” he said. buildings that housed the scene shop, prop “I like to make ‘em laugh, make ‘em cry, and and costume shops, rehearsal hall, snack bar, then make ‘em laugh again,” said Pratt. “I am and dormitories that surrounded the playhouse. really looking forward to playing at Gayville Hall.” Gordy didn’t say much, at least to me. He was Pratt, who lives in the Black Hills, has too busy turning this way and that breathing it all been a performer and entertainer for more in -- the pine breezes, the clear blue sky, the sets than four decades. In the 1980s, he started being pounded out, the rehearsals in progress, his own business, which became The Dead- the sewing machines humming in the costume wood Production Company and One Guy LLC. shop, the dancers running through routines. You could see that Since 1990, Gordy has been performing his unique stand-up something wonderful was taking root. Gordy was just 12-years musical comedy show. He now performs about 100 comedy old, but already six-feet tall. His sixteen-year-old mentor, Milt shows per year on the corporate circuit. Lee, the son of playhouse founder Warren M. Lee, was giv- “I am fortunate I’ve been able to do what I love,” said ing him tips on the guitar. It is heartwarming to see how great Pratt. “I work hard, but a lot of times, it doesn’t feel like work Gordy turned out. Read on about this dynamic entertainer. because I”m having so much fun.” continued on page 2 SPRING 2014 • PAGE 2 THE GAYVILLE HALL GAZETTE continued from page 1 It’s Sad to Say Goodbye to Great Fans Pratt got his start in entertainment ne of our are our musicians as a youngster when his parents went Omost friendly, for the most part, to the Black Hills Playhouse for the loyal and enthu- From which is one of summer. There, for about ten sum- siastic patrons at the reasons why mers, Pratt learned about the entertain- Gayville Hall was the they are so good. ment industry from behind the scenes. the late Lawrence Practice makes “I wasn’t really on stage,” said "Pete" Petersen of perfect. What Pratt. “But I stood on the side and rural Elk Point, who HOUSE comes with "sea- watched every show. I would watch died of cancer last by Gayville Hall Proprietor Doug Sharples soning" of course the audience and watch the actors and year. Pete was an is not always just I was fascinated by how different it was evangelist for Gayville Hall, persistant- knowledge, common sense, and every night and by the bond between ly bringing friends and neighbors to our mastery of one's art or work. It can the audience and the actors.” shows along with his wife Jan, so that also bring aches and pains, "senior During his summers at the play- they too could enjoy the music and fun moments," sickness, and the ulti- house, Pratt learned to play the guitar as much as he did. Many did and be- mate for us all, death. he’d been given at the age of ten. He came frequent patrons themselves, for We have been fortunate at Gay- found himself in the orchestra pit when which we owe him a debt of gratitude. ville Hall that we, the owners and he wasn’t working on sets, selling con- There is a whole Elk Point crowd operators and musicians who create cessions, or doing other odd jobs that that comes to Gayville Hall quite fre- our shows, have been spared that ul- needed to be done. quently now, and we know that Pete timate fate thus far, although we have As a teenager, Pratt played with had a great deal to do with that. had our share of serious illnesses. various bands, mostly in the rock-n-roll His friendly countenance and smile The same cannot be said for a small genre, but he was also exposed to clas- would have been enough by them- percentage of that much larger num- sic country and other types of music. selves to make Lawrence stand out ber of people who have constituted When he heard classical guitarist Julian from the crowd, which they did, and our audiences. Thousands have at- Bream, he “fell in love.” we were quite aware and conscious tended our shows, and a thousand or Pratt studied classical guitar at of the Petersens from the begining of more are on our mailing list. Every Ithaca College, Ithaca, NY, and at the their patronage here. Pete remained year, though, I have to cull names of Royal College of Music in London, a patron of Gayville Hall nearly right the deceased, and, when I instantly England. He took a year off to make up to the end and as we saw the recognize their name and remember some money so he could continue his physical effects of his fight with can- their face and personality and conver- studies. He received the first of many cer -- the weight loss, the ravages sations we may have had, it is sad, as touring grants from the South Dakota of chemotherapy -- he maintained a it was when we learned from Jan Pe- Arts council and toured the state play- brave and courageous public face. tersen that Lawrence had died. ing classical guitar. We will remember him always. Another good patron of Gayville Pratt spent five years in San Fran- Jan Petersen attended a show or Hall, Ila Hornstra of Yankton, passed cisco, touring with La Corte Musical, a two after Pete's death last season ac- away just recently. John McNeill called Medieval Spanish music group, playing companied by family and friends and us with the news. Ila and her husband the oud. Eventually, tired of trying to told us about a gift in memory of Pete. Fred always sat over on the west side of make it as a musician, Pratt and his wife Jan and her family wanted to honor the stage near the dance floor, so they moved to New York City, where Pratt got Pete with a generous gift to Gayville could get up and dance, which they did involved in theatre again. He and wife Hall, which they did. We have used often. We will miss their dancing, but Janet did a tour of “Pirates of Penzance” part of that gift to buy and install several we hope to see Fred in the future, per- with Jim Belushi and Peter Noone.

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