In the News Archives - Matthews Opera House & Arts Center

Twelve days.

That’s how much time Lauren had to step into a role for Murder at Legend Manor, with plenty of lines and little time to prepare.

When Theater on the Run needed someone to jump in, we thought of Lauren, a young performer from our children’s theater program this summer. We called, and she said yes.

She studied her lines, came to rehearsal, listened closely, and gave the role her full heart. And this was not a typical theater experience! Theater on the Run moves through downtown Spearfish, with scenes performed at local businesses and audiences following the story from place to place.

After her final performance, we caught Lauren in the lobby and asked her to draw herself onto our “See Yourself at The Matthews” board. It felt like such a clear picture of what The Matthews is all about.

A place where local talent is noticed. A place where people are invited in. A place where someone can say yes, step into the story, and feel like they belong.

This year’s Theater on the Run honored Charlotte, a longtime Matthews volunteer, board member, and playwright who passed away this year. Charlotte wrote Murder at Legend Manor specifically for this anniversary year, creating a story rooted in this community.

And as we’ve gotten to know Lauren, we’ve learned that she is not only a talented performer, but also hopes to become a playwright. Watching her step into Charlotte’s words felt like more than good timing. It felt a little like fate.

The talent is here. And for 120 years, we’ve given it a stage.

The Black Hills has always been full of talent. Musicians, painters, actors, songwriters, kids waiting for their first cue. What our artists have too often lacked is a place worthy of that talent, and a community that gets to see it. That’s what The Matthews is for.

Today we’re launching The Talent Is Here, our 2026 Annual Fund, and inviting our neighbors to stand with us. Gifts to the Annual Fund keep a full season of theater, music, and visual arts alive in our historic 1906 opera house, put scripts in the hands of more than 100 young people, and carry the arts out past our own doors, into schools, parks, and the whole community.

There are three ways to stand with us. Become a Friend of The Matthews with a monthly gift at whatever level feels right. Partner with us as a business, a collaboration, not an ad buy. Or make a leadership gift that shapes what The Matthews can become for the next generation of Black Hills artists.

To start, we’re looking for 50 Founding Friends by August 31. Learn more at matthewsopera.com/give, or give today. The talent is already here. With you, so is the place to show it.

The Matthews Opera House & Arts Center is a 501(c)(3) nonprofit serving Spearfish and the Black Hills since 1989.

This year’s Rose Hill Cemetery Walk was a powerful reminder of why community theater matters, especially as we look ahead to America’s 250th anniversary.

Over two evenings, nearly 200 people attended this year’s event. Together, they helped raise more than $1,150 to support The Matthews’ mission of making arts and culture accessible to our community.

The success of the Cemetery Walk was the result of a true community effort. More than 35 volunteers contributed their time and talents, including researchers and writers who spent six months uncovering local stories, organizers, parking volunteers, and the audience members whose participation brought the event to life. Thirteen enactors portrayed early Black Hills residents through thoughtful performances at their gravesites. This year’s cast included participants from Spearfish, Deadwood, Belle Fourche, and Sturgis, reflecting the event’s growing regional collaboration.

For some performers, the experience was especially meaningful as they shared the stories of their own ancestors, creating powerful connections between family history and community memory.

As our nation prepares to celebrate America’s 250th anniversary, events like the Cemetery Walk remind us that history is more than what we read in textbooks or see at national landmarks. It lives in local cemeteries, family stories, and communities willing to preserve and share the past. By bringing neighbors together to listen, remember, and reflect, the Cemetery Walk connects Spearfish’s history to the larger American story, one person, one family, and one performance at a time.

Thank you to everyone who researched, wrote, volunteered, performed, attended, and supported this year’s Cemetery Walk. Together, you helped keep our community’s history alive.

The Matthews Opera House & Arts Center was proud to host the Theatre 605 Tour Residency in Spearfish June 8–13 for Space Pirates!, presented through special arrangement with Beat by Beat Press.

Over the course of one week, 53 students immersed themselves in the theater-making process, going from their first rehearsal to two sold-out public performances. Along the way, they gained hands-on experience in collaboration, character development, storytelling, and performance.

More than just preparing for a show, participants learned what it takes to work together as an ensemble, build confidence on stage, stay focused through rehearsals, and support one another as a cast. By performance night, their hard work and growth were on full display, delighting audiences and making for a memorable week of theater.

Programs like Space Pirates! offer much more than stage experience. Theater helps young people develop teamwork, communication, creativity, and resilience, skills that stay with them long after the final curtain call. It also gives families and community members a chance to come together and celebrate the arts.

Bringing opportunities like this to Spearfish is an important part of The Matthews’ mission to provide accessible, welcoming, and meaningful arts experiences for local youth and families. We were thrilled to partner with Theatre 605 to make this residency possible and to watch these young performers grow throughout the week.

Thank you to the students who dedicated themselves to the production, the families who supported them, and the community members who filled the theater and cheered them on. We are also grateful to Theatre 605 for bringing this residency to Spearfish and helping create such a rewarding experience for everyone involved.

A special thank you goes to Leones’ Creamery for supporting children’s theater programming at The Matthews. Community partnerships like this help make opportunities such as the Theatre 605 Tour Residency possible and ensure that local youth have access to meaningful arts experiences.

We look forward to welcoming you back to The Matthews for more performances, programs, and community events in the months ahead.

To learn more about upcoming events, visit matthewsopera.com and follow The Matthews Opera House & Arts Center on social media

Space Pirates! on stage at the Matthews Opera House

This January, The Matthews Opera House hosted something we’ll be talking about for a long time.

Over three nights — January 9th, 23rd, and 31st — we packed the house with live music and an incredible community spirit. When the dust settled, JAMuary 2026 raised over $12,000 directed to five organizations doing meaningful work right here in Spearfish.

That’s what this is all about.

The Artists Who Made It Happen

None of it works without the musicians. These artists gave their time, their talent, and their energy to make three unforgettable nights at The Matthews:

Black Asters
My Second Rodeo
Taylor Scott Band
Magoo

Thank you for showing up for this community the way you did. You made something real happen.

Organizations Who Benefited

The funds raised through JAMuary went directly to support these five organizations:

The Matthews Opera House & Arts Center
Spread the Tunes
G.A.S.
Trail Co-op
Artemis House

To every person, volunteer, and supporter connected to these organizations — this community sees you, and it shows up for you.

Thank You to Our Sponsors

JAMuary would not have been possible without the generous businesses and individuals who invested in this event and in our community:

Title Sponsor

Brandon Harvey — Great Peaks Realty

Event Sponsors

Spearfish Public House
Platinum Car Brokers
Brad Scott — Thrivent Financial
Chris Mitchell — Edward Jones
Kevin Moore — Roughlock Auto

Supporting Sponsors

Katie Peterson — CMG Financial
Sawyer Brewing
Munro Earthmoving
Queen City Songwriters

Your investment made the music possible — and the music made the impact possible. Thank you.

To Everyone Who Came Out

Whether you were there for one show or all three, your presence at The Matthews is what turns an event into a community moment. You bought tickets, brought friends, stayed late, and filled this old building with exactly the kind of energy it was built for.

This is what The Matthews is here to do — bring people together around something meaningful.

We’re already looking forward to what’s next.

— The Matthews Team

I’m not going to bury the lead. The Matthews is closing its gallery space on Main Street. Our lease ends April 30, and we’re not renewing it.

This isn’t something we wanted. It’s something we had to do.

Over the past several years, costs to maintain a space on main street have continued to rise. At a certain point, you have to ask whether that money is better spent on the artists and programs that make the space matter in the first place.

For us, the answer is clear.

What’s not changing

Our commitment to visual arts isn’t going anywhere. Neither is Tia. Neither is the work.

We’re not cutting programs. We’re not cutting staff. We’re cutting overhead that was quietly draining resources away from the people and experiences that actually make this place what it is.

The visual arts program at The Matthews has always been about four things:

Giving artists credible ways to show and sell their work
Creating real encounters between our community and visual art
Generating revenue and relationships that sustain the mission
Strengthening our identity as an arts hub in the Black Hills

None of those require a single address with a monthly rent check.

What’s coming instead

We’re building something different. Instead of one gallery on one block, we’re turning Spearfish into our canvas. We will be working to support artists, not only by finding space for them, but also by encouraging their growth and the continuation of their creative practices.

That means curated exhibits rotating through partner venues. Art in the theater lobby, pop-up markets, workshops hosted in flexible spaces around town, and an online presence where artists can show and sell year-round.

It means the Matthews Artists Collective keeps growing. It means our Summer Art Series and Community Art Show still happens. It means you’ll run into Matthews-curated art in places you didn’t expect, not just behind one door on Main Street.

We’re trading a fixed gallery for a distributed visual arts program. Less overhead, more reach, and more of our budget going directly to artists and community experiences.

Why I’m telling you this directly

This gallery has been a meaningful part of what makes The Matthews the Matthews. Over 20 years, hundreds of artists have shown work on those walls. Thousands of people have walked through that door and encountered something that made them think or feel or stop for a minute. That matters. And we don’t take it lightly.

But holding onto a space we can’t sustain doesn’t honor that legacy. Reinvesting in the people and programs that built it does.

What you can do

Bear with us. We’re working through the details of what the new model looks like, and we’ll share more as it takes shape. If you’re an artist, a partner, a business owner, or someone who just gives a damn about visual art in Spearfish, we want to hear from you.

This isn’t the end of visual arts at The Matthews. It’s a pivot. And if we do it right, it’ll be better than what we’re leaving behind.

– Heath