When: March 13, 14, 20, 21 at 7:00pm; March 15, 22 at 2:00pm
Where: Historic Theater; The Performing Arts Center of Rapid City
Tickets: From $25-$34; Available at the Performing Arts Center Box Office,
by phone at 605-394-1786 or online at www.bhct.org

Some shows live in a single world. City of Angels lives in two.

When Black Hills Community Theatre opens its production this weekend, audiences will step into a musical that constantly shifts between realities. One side of the stage lives in the polished color of 1940s Hollywood. The other exists in stark black-and-white, the hard-boiled world of a detective novel unfolding in real time.

The split between color and black-and-white isn’t just visual, it’s how the story itself is told.

The show follows Stine, a crime novelist trying to adapt his book for the Hollywood studio system. As he negotiates rewrites, egos, and creative compromise, his fictional private investigator, Stone, begins moving through his own shadowy story onstage. The two narratives weave together, blurring the lines between the writer’s life and the pulp detective world he created.

Black Hills Community Theatre continues its 58th season with the jazz-infused musical, with performances March 13, 14, 20, and 21 at 7:00pm and matinees March 15 and 22 at 2:00pm at the Historic Theater inside the Performing Arts Center of Rapid City.

The show’s unusual structure gives the production team plenty to play with visually. Scenes set in Hollywood appear in full color, while Stone’s detective universe unfolds in black and white. The contrast highlights the difference between Hollywood ambition and the morally gray world of noir storytelling.

Dakota Morgan appears as Stine, the writer caught between artistic vision and studio demands, while Tom Powers takes on the role of Stone, the hard-edged detective navigating the darker side of the story. The dual casting continues throughout the show as performers move between both worlds.

Leslie Hopton plays Gabby and Bobbi, Rose Lamoureaux appears as Donna and Oolie, and Dave DeChristopher takes on the roles of Buddy and Irwin. Kaitlin Petrushev plays Carla and Alaura, with Teagan Rosendahl as Avril and Mallory. Jonah Vasquez appears as Pancho and Munoz, while Michael Lytle and Jonathan Bader round out a cast that shifts between characters as the two storylines collide.

The Angel City Four quartet, featuring Garrett Amirehteshami, Tammie McCraw, Lorien Petersen, and Brady Riker, adds a layer of vintage musical flair, supported by a full ensemble drawn from the local theatre community.

Director Kristol McKie leads the production, continuing her work with BHCT following recent productions of Sister Act and Fiddler on the Roof. The show’s jazz-driven score is performed live by a 14-piece orchestra under the direction of Music Director Vonnie Houchin, with Assistant Director Andrea Surovek and Choreographer Katelyn Amirehteshami helping shape the production.

Like the story itself, the production walks the line between two worlds: Hollywood glamour and smoky detective fiction, musical theatre and noir storytelling.

For audiences, it means stepping into a stage where the color can change in an instant, and the line between author and character is never quite stable.

City of Angels runs March 13, 14, 20, and 21 at 7:00pm, with matinee performances March 15 and 22 at 2:00pm at the Historic Theater inside the Performing Arts Center of Rapid City.

Tickets range from $25 to $34 and are available through the Performing Arts Center box office, by phone at 605-394-1786, or online at bhct.org.