Current Issue Articles

Theater Under The Stars

By Sherrie Petersen

"The men worked from dawn to dark, seven days a week, eager to finish before the first scheduled play."

The 1974 Rjesegilde (roof-raising celebration) of Solvang Theaterfest.
Photo courtesy of Elverhoj Museum

We've all seen how rising gas prices affect our driving habits. Well, here’s a little known fact about how the price of gas directly affected the city of Solvang back in the early 70s: If it wasn’t for the oil crisis thirty years ago, Solvang might not have its beloved Solvang Theaterfest building.
  The story actually begins back in 1964, when Donovan Marley started a professional theater company in an old airplane hanger in Santa Maria. As word spread, people came from all over the Central Coast, including Solvang.
  Roger Nielsen had watched the theater company grow and thought a play would be a welcome addition to the Danish Days celebration. As chairman of the weekend event in 1971, he convinced Marley to bring his actors down to perform Hamlet (which is set in Denmark) on a makeshift stage in Hans Christian Andersen Park. The performance drew a standing-room-only crowd and the idea for a permanent theater was sparked.
   Over the next few years a committee was formed and people started fund raising and looking at possible buildings. But it wasn’t until local architect Earl Petersen heard Los Angeles newscasters talking about how the gas crunch was going to spell the end of small tourist towns like Solvang, that theater plans hit the fast track.

  In January of 1974 Petersen invited Judge Royce Lewellen and Vince Evans to dine with him and Donovan Marley, the director of what was now known as the Pacific Conservatory of the Performing Arts. Petersen convinced the men that they could build a theater in Solvang, and make it match the stage of the relatively new Marian Theater at Allan Hancock College in Santa Maria, where PCPA was performing.
  “We needed this theater to fight the perception that Solvang was a dying town,” says Petersen. “We needed to have hope.”
  Solvang pharmacist Leonard Parsons sold a lot in the center of town to the Theater Committee and Petersen drafted plans for the outdoor theater. Contractors like Erling Pohls and Johannes Jeager rallied support from other tradesmen in the community, drumming up donations of money, material and building expertise.

“If you walked down Copenhagen, most of the men that had businesses there were involved,” recalls Susie Pohls. “Donovan would come down from Santa Maria and they’d meet in a bakery somewhere, have some coffee, and Earl would sketch out the drawings for what would get done that day.”
The men worked from dawn to dark, seven days a week, eager to finish before the first scheduled play. “I’d never want to try to do it again,” laughs Erling Pohls. “We were dumping material in the middle of the street and no one complained. We had so much community support. Everything worked out.”

Theater production at sunset in the Solvang Theaterfest
A Solvang Theaterfest scene, just after a summer sunset.

Photo by David Bazemore

  “That was back when you didn’t have to wait for every bureaucrat to approve a set of plans,” adds Susie. “Incredible amounts of money were raised in a short amount of time in this little town. It just goes to show that a small community, once it gets focused, can accomplish a lot.”
  In a feat that would be impossible today, the group broke ground in June and opened the facility for it’s first performance, Once Upon a Mattress, on August 7, 1974.
“We were sitting on folding chairs, but it was the most exciting thing,” recalls Petersen. “I sat there with my family around me and tears running down my face. It was a community enterprise, I tell you.”
  The theater has had a lasting impact on Solvang. In addition to PCPA’s summer schedule, Solvang’s Festival Theater has hosted dance shows, community talent shows, an annual nativity pageant and benefit concerts with artists like David Crosby, Melissa Etheridge and Randy Travis.
  Artistic Director Mark Booher has been involved with PCPA for more than ten years. Although presenting a play on an outdoor stage creates additional challenges, he has also found numerous benefits, especially when the conservatory performs an epic like this season’s Les Misérables.
  “Being outdoors can really change the feel of the play,” he says. “With Les Miserables, so much of the story is set outside, so when you have a character like Javert singing Stars, it’s magnificent to be out there under the sky.”
  Solvang’s Festival Theater went from sketches on the backs of placemats to becoming a vital part of the community, inviting visitors and locals alike to enjoy big city entertainment with a starry, hometown flavor.

Editor’s Note: Sherrie Petersen is no relation to Earl Petersen, but she has spent many nights enjoying plays and concerts in Solvang’s Festival Theater.

Current Issue Articles
*By Sherrie Petersen* "The men worked from dawn to dark, seven days a week, eager to finish before the first scheduled play."	The 1974 Rjesegilde (roof-raising celebration) of Solvang Theaterfest. Photo courtesy of Elverhoj Museum
We've all seen how rising gas prices affect our driving habits. Well, here’s a little known fact about how the price of gas directly affected the city of Solvang back in the early 70s: If it wasn’t for the oil crisis thirty years ago, Solvang might not have its beloved Solvang Theaterfest building. The story actually begins back in 1964, when Donovan Marley started a professional theater company in an old airplane hanger in Santa Maria. As word spread, people came from all over the Central Coast, including Solvang. Roger Nielsen had watched the theater company grow and thought a play would be a welcome addition to the Danish Days celebration. As chairman of the weekend event in 1971, he convinced Marley to bring his actors down to perform Hamlet (which is set in Denmark) on a makeshift stage in Hans Christian Andersen Park. The performance drew a standing-room-only crowd and the idea for a permanent theater was sparked. Over the next few years a committee was formed and people started fund raising and looking at possible buildings. But it wasn’t until local architect Earl Petersen heard Los Angeles newscasters talking about how the gas crunch was going to spell the end of small tourist towns like Solvang, that theater plans hit the fast track.
In January of 1974 Petersen invited Judge Royce Lewellen and Vince Evans to dine with him and Donovan Marley, the director of what was now known as the Pacific Conservatory of the Performing Arts. Petersen convinced the men that they could build a theater in Solvang, and make it match the stage of the relatively new Marian Theater at Allan Hancock College in Santa Maria, where PCPA was performing. “We needed this theater to fight the perception that Solvang was a dying town,” says Petersen. “We needed to have hope.” Solvang pharmacist Leonard Parsons sold a lot in the center of town to the Theater Committee and Petersen drafted plans for the outdoor theater. Contractors like Erling Pohls and Johannes Jeager rallied support from other tradesmen in the community, drumming up donations of money, material and building expertise.
“If you walked down Copenhagen, most of the men that had businesses there were involved,” recalls Susie Pohls. “Donovan would come down from Santa Maria and they’d meet in a bakery somewhere, have some coffee, and Earl would sketch out the drawings for what would get done that day.” The men worked from dawn to dark, seven days a week, eager to finish before the first scheduled play. “I’d never want to try to do it again,” laughs Erling Pohls. “We were dumping material in the middle of the street and no one complained. We had so much community support. Everything worked out.”	A Solvang Theaterfest scene, just after a summer sunset. Photo by David Bazemore
“That was back when you didn’t have to wait for every bureaucrat to approve a set of plans,” adds Susie. “Incredible amounts of money were raised in a short amount of time in this little town. It just goes to show that a small community, once it gets focused, can accomplish a lot.” In a feat that would be impossible today, the group broke ground in June and opened the facility for it’s first performance, Once Upon a Mattress, on August 7, 1974. “We were sitting on folding chairs, but it was the most exciting thing,” recalls Petersen. “I sat there with my family around me and tears running down my face. It was a community enterprise, I tell you.” The theater has had a lasting impact on Solvang. In addition to PCPA’s summer schedule, Solvang’s Festival Theater has hosted dance shows, community talent shows, an annual nativity pageant and benefit concerts with artists like David Crosby, Melissa Etheridge and Randy Travis. Artistic Director Mark Booher has been involved with PCPA for more than ten years. Although presenting a play on an outdoor stage creates additional challenges, he has also found numerous benefits, especially when the conservatory performs an epic like this season’s Les Misérables. “Being outdoors can really change the feel of the play,” he says. “With Les Miserables, so much of the story is set outside, so when you have a character like Javert singing Stars, it’s magnificent to be out there under the sky.” Solvang’s Festival Theater went from sketches on the backs of placemats to becoming a vital part of the community, inviting visitors and locals alike to enjoy big city entertainment with a starry, hometown flavor. Editor’s Note: Sherrie Petersen is no relation to Earl Petersen, but she has spent many nights enjoying plays and concerts in Solvang’s Festival Theater.
Copyright © 2003-2009 All right reserved Contact us at Santa Ynez Valley Guest Magazine