Holiday show draws big laughs on opening weekend

WALLACE — Historic holiday hijinks of nefarious proportions are on full display during the Sixth Street Theater and Melodrama’s December production of "The Mysterious Missing Lawn Ornament -or- Who Stole the Blow Mold Santa?"

The show was written and directed by Norma Douglas, a Sixth Street mainstay who wrote the play over a year ago — it was supposed to be performed in December 2020.

The story is steeped in not-so-historic Wallace lore — the event took place in 2019 — and features a bevy of humorous callbacks to the Silver Valley’s past.

“I think I had the idea a few years ago when we were performing our fall production and one night one of our castmates wasn’t here and it was almost time to start the show,” Douglas remembered.

“There were a couple of younger kids in the audience that we were chatting with and one of them knew who she was and mentioned that she had been out setting up the blow molds throughout Wallace that day. And I asked them if they were talking about the ones that are all over the (North Pacific Railroad Depot Museum) lawn. I then said that I’ve always thought that there were too many in one spot and that it would be impossible to know if one was stolen, and then two days later, some were stolen.”

The theft made front page news at the time. So after realizing the irony of the situation, Douglas decided she needed to write a play inspired by the holiday heist.

The production features a blend of stage veterans, including Drake Duce (who plays a convincing villain), Tiffany Schmidt and Harley Duce. It also features newcomer Tanner Lee, and welcomes back Steve Schmidt, who was a cast member of the theater in 1984. Rhonda Duce, Annika Kessler, Adelynn Kessler, Margot Cotter and Atticus Drews all play a troupe of carolers who are also featured throughout the show.

Douglas decided to set her play in the early 1970s, when blow molds were a groovy new trend in the decoration game and law enforcement practices at the time weren’t nearly as cutting edge as they are now.

Douglas craftily blends names of Wallace’s streets, landmarks, places and even people into this hilarious whodunit to create a piece of Wallace historical fiction that will have every member of your family laughing, singing and cheering — and sometimes booing, too.

After a fun opening weekend, there are only three more opportunities to see "The Mysterious Missing Lawn Ornament -or- Who Stole the Blow Mold Santa?" Shows are at 7 p.m. Dec. 10-11, and at 2 p.m. Sunday Dec. 12.

As part of the Sixth Street Theater’s holiday food drive, anyone who brings three non-perishable food items will receive $5 off their ticket price.

To reserve tickets please call 208-752-8871.