Playmill Theater big attraction for West Yellowstone

It’s a tiny theater that’s making a big impact.

The Playmill Theater in West Yellowstone brings a big financial boost to the city. The theater brings in close to 40,000 people every year to enjoy the Broadway musicals it puts on.

The summer just wouldn’t be complete without a trip to the Playmill Theater in West Yellowstone. If you spent the day in the park seeing the wildlife, its time to spend the evening in the theater watching life go wild.

The nearly 40-member cast keeps up a grueling schedule, learning three different shows in a little over a month. At peak season, they perform thirteen shows per week and on Saturdays, three shows per day.

But theater owner Roger Merrill wouldn’t have it any other way.

“I have friends in New York and national tours and they complain about their eight show a week schedule and I’m like, ‘Okay, let me tell you what we do at the Playmill. Its pretty intense,'” Merrill said.

This theater means the world to Roger and his wife Heidi, they performed here in 1986 and were married the very next year. They have been involved here ever since and took over as owners in 2005.

Why do they do it?

“We ask ourselves the same question all the time,” Merrill explained. “The reason we keep doing it is because we feel very strongly that this can be a place that you can bring your family and have an enjoyable evening of great theater.”

the Playmill is known for its for its track record of consistently hiring amazing actors and then taking them to the next level.

“Legitimately some of the most talented people in the country we have the privilege of workig with here at the Playmill,” Merrill said. “Many of them go on to do professional Broadway national tours in the big leagues so it’s exciting.”

One of those success stories is well-known performer David Walker. He got his start at the Playmill just out of college and then went on to perform several shows on Broadway.

“No matter where I go I have been in Broadway shows in Providence, Rhode Island and had a lady come up and say not that she loved the Broadway show I was in but would I be back at the Playmill this summer?” Walker said.

She got her wish – Walker is now back to the Playmill as a director and performer, passing along his knowledge to the next generation.

“It’s a real joy to be able to try to instruct them, help them, teach them, show them, inspire them, get them to be something they never really thought they could be,” Walker described.

Every time the cast steps on the stage at the Playmill, you can see the joy on both the actors and audience faces.

This year, shows the Playmill is putting on include, Disney’s “Newsies,” “The Little Mermaid,” and “Annie Get Your Gun.”

For show times, dates, and ticket information, visit the Playmill’s website.