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Jola Dziubinska | all galleries >> AMERICAN SOUTHWEST 2013 >> AMARGOSA OPERA HOUSE - DEATH VALLEY JUNCTION > Amargosa Opera House
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29-MAR-2013 Jola Dziubinska

Amargosa Opera House

Death Valley Junction, California

Marta Becket (born August 9, 1924) was a ballerina in the corps de ballet at Radio City Music Hall and on Broadway. Later, she took her one-woman show across the country, performing in small theaters and school auditoriums.

Married in 1962, Marta Becket and her husband found themselves in California, in the spring of 1967, after months of touring. They decided to spend a week's vacation camping in Death Valley, behind the visitor's center. One morning they awoke to a flat tire on their trailer. A park ranger directed them to Death Valley Junction to have the tire repaired.

While her husband attended to the tire, Marta began to explore the old adobe buildings. Walking down the long colonnade of what was known as the Amargosa Hotel, she was hypnotically drawn to the end, and around the corner where she discovered the largest building in the row. It was a theater! She could not believe her eyes.

At the back of the building, she found a hole in a door, where she could see inside. There she saw a small stage with faded calico curtains hanging from a track. Debris was strewn all over the warped floor boards, and several rows of wooden benches faced the stage. It was obvious the theater had been abandoned for quite some time. It seemed to be the only unused building in Death Valley Junction. "Peering through the tiny hole, I had the distinct feeling that I was looking at the other half of myself. The building seemed to be saying.....Take me.....do something with me...I offer you life"

The next day Marta and her husband located the town manager and agreed to rent the theater for $45.00 a month, and to assume responsibility for repairs. Originally called Corkhill Hall, she renamed the theater the Amargosa Opera House.

Marta gave her first performance in the theater on February 10th, 1968. On that rainy night, she danced for an audience of twelve adults, children and grandchildren. From that day on the doors of the Amargosa Opera House opened without fail at 7:45 pm and the curtain parted promptly at 8:15 pm every Friday, Saturday, and Monday night for many years.

The audiences consisted of locals and curious tourists, and sometimes no one came at all. Working in the Opera House cleaning up after a rainstorm, Marta had a flash of inspiration. She would paint an entire audience on the walls of the theater. It took four years to complete the murals on the walls. Then Marta started work on the ceiling, which took another two years and was completed in 1974.

(from http://www.amargosa-opera-house.com/index.htm)

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MarcViskens07-Apr-2014 19:46
very nice Jola
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