WEST YELLOWSTONE, Mont. — The Playmill Theatre is not officially affiliated with The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints, but patrons call all the time and ask, "Can I get tickets to the 6 o'clock session?"
Roger Merrill, who owns and operates the family-oriented theater with his wife, Heidi, says that their core audience runs about 75 percent LDS, according to a survey.
"We don't depend on the tourist trade as most theaters do," Merrill said.
However, one tourist couple from Holland became hooked on the Playmill six years ago and has returned every year since. Previously, the couple had toured a different place in the U.S. every year.
Merrill asked them, "Why did you change your vacation schedule? Why do you come to West Yellowstone? You have seen theater all over the world in New York and Los Angeles. And they replied, 'We love coming to the Playmill. It just feels different here. We feel like you are our family.'"
Last year, Heidi Merrill told the couple they wanted to give them a Book of Mormon in Dutch. She contacted the missionaries, who did their best to find one.
But on the day the couple was to go back to Holland, the Merrills still hadn't come up with it. The missionaries were on their cell phones in the middle of the street exclaiming that they would drive to pick one up, but there was very little time remaining. A man walked by, heard the conversation and asked what was going on.
When told they were looking for a Dutch Book of Mormon he said, "Wait just a minute." He went over to his car and produced one. It turns out he had served a mission in Holland and had carried the book with him for years.
Heidi Merrill presented the couple with the book.
"We just told them that we loved them and this book meant a lot to us. This couple has been reading it. And without anyone helping them — any missionaries, any members of the church — they have been investigating the church. They have looked up pictures of chapels. He found (what he called) Joseph Smith's 13 rules. He said, 'I count the 13 rules and I think they are wonderful.' He has given up coffee drinking. We can't wait to see them this year." Another couple visits regularly from closer to home. The Holts, from Syracuse, Utah, own a cabin five miles from The Playmill and see all three plays multiple times every year. Heidi Merrill said, "Twice each summer she bakes … I don't know, 20 dozen cookies and treats and brings them to the cast. She treats the cast like they are her children."
The Holts have never missed a show since the inception of the theater in 1964. "Every, single, year," Heidi Merrill said, "and they don't just see every show once, they see every show, six times, eight times and they get the same seats every time they come. … They are so special because every year they adopt all these Playmill kids and know them by name … They just love them."
Nancy Holt said, "It keeps us young. My homemade Oreos and sugar cookies, they couldn't do without."
The Merrills met while acting at the theater in the mid-1980s and married in 1987. Roger Merrill teaches theater at BYU–Idaho in Rexburg, and both he and his wife have been involved there ever since. They purchased the Playmill six years ago and set up their mission statement: "Welcome to a house of laughter, a house of families, a house of happy children, a house of music, light, of color. It is our joy to bring you professional theatre at its finest, theatre that embraces actors and audiences of all ages. Thank you for being a part of our wonderful life and beautiful memories."
The Merrills say another patron is Stephen Covey, who lives about 10 miles away and takes his children and grandchildren to the Playmill every year.
The Merrills require that actors — 99 percent of whom are LDS — sign a contract that includes "honor code"-like wording. The majority of cast members at the Playmill come from BYU–Idaho, but some are from Utah State, Weber State and BYU in Provo.
Meredith Bellows worked at the Playmill in 2006, then served a mission to Peru. Now she looks forward to her second year at the Playmill. She attends BYU–Idaho and is originally from Oklahoma.
She said, "Working at the Playmill helped me significantly on my mission. It taught me to work hard and it taught me to work as a team."
Another cast member, Ann Alyse Gibbons, of Bountiful, Utah, is majoring in education at BYU–Idaho. Although a junior in school, this will be her first experience at the Playmill.
"I fell in love with the idea of having a family-oriented theater," Gibbons said. "I want to do theater, but I don't want to do it the world's way. I want to do it the Lord's way. I wanted to find a way to share my testimony with people. I am only 19 and can't go on a mission yet."
Heidi Merrill said that she and her husband insist that everyone there works hard and performs for the audience — not to become a star— so the audience knows that "we did it for them."
"We approach the Playmill different than any other theater. We are so blessed to do what we do."
e-mail: wjewkes@desnews.com
Summer at the Playmill
Three plays are scheduled for the Playmill Theatre through Labor Day:
"Beauty and the Beast"
The "Foreigner"
"Seven Brides for Seven Brothers"
For more information, specific play dates and to buy tickets, visit www.playmill.com.