BUTTE — The Friends of the World Museum of Mining will tell the story of unsung heroes of Butte’s mining history.
“People are going to get a lot of bang for their buck and learn a lot about some of these folks that were a part of our past,” said Randi Wedlake of Friends of the World Museum of Mining.
The story will be told in a play Wedlake has written called Butte the Bold which features nine vignettes about lesser-known historical figures in Butte’s history. Proceeds from the performances will fund several improvements at Butte’s mining museum.
“So we have all these projects that are very exciting that will benefit the community greatly and we just want to get the word out there and raise some funds while sort of entertaining and educating,” said Wedlake.
One of the unusual characters featured in the play is Crying George Rooney.
“So he would often show up at the cemetery when there was a funeral and sort of carry on mourning for the person being buried that day and expected a tip from the family for his performance,” said Wedlake.
The group is seeking volunteers to audition for the play which will be held at the Mother Lode Theatre sometime in July. It’s a chance to remember some of Butte’s forgotten characters.
“These individuals are no less important and in some ways even larger contributors to Butte’s Labor history and to Butte’s working woman’s movement and just sort of behind the scenes keeping the city running,” said Wedlake.
Auditions will be held on Jan. 26 from 7 PM to 9 PM and Jan. 31 from 4 PM to 6 PM at the World Museum of Mining.
