RAPID CITY - "Buffalo Gals," an original play with an all-girl cast, will be performed in The Journey Museum's Wells Fargo Theatre today through Sunday, Oct. 24-26.

Playwright and director Kristi Thielen wrote "Buffalo Gals" from research on the lives of pioneer women in the 1890s, as the era of the open range was fading. The iconic characters include a rancher, farmer, missionary, mail-order bride, cook, boarding-house proprietor, cowgirl, merchant, schoolmarm, actress, doctor, outlaw, prospector, immigrant and women's temperance leader.

The "Buffalo Gals" cast is made up of local students in grades from elementary through high school.

"I wanted to create a vehicle that would tell people about pioneer women," Thielen said.

"The girls have been intrigued to learn what they never knew. I don't think some of them knew women didn't have the vote."

Thielen and the cast have discovered what parts of pioneer life were like for women.

"I read 10 books to research this. I could write another entire play based on what I researched," Thielen said.

Two of her observations center on cooking and laundry.

"Primitive cooking conditions didn't bother women too much," she said. Many of them took pride in surmounting the associated problems and became good improvisational cooks. "They enjoyed the creativity."

But the laundry was another story. "Every woman's journal talked about dreading doing the laundry. It was a constant burden," she said.

Tying the characters' stories together is Nellie Bly, the famous 19th-century investigative reporter. In "Buffalo Gals," Bly visits western South Dakota to write a story about pioneer women. Thielen said using Bly in the play constitutes an instance of artistic license and gives the characters an outsider to tell their stories to.

"Nellie Bly traveled around the world, but there's no evidence that she ever came out West," Thielen said. "Yet she was such an interesting character in her own right, and she was a great believer in women's rights. The idea of her coming here to interview South Dakotans for a story on pioneer women really captivated me.

"She's one of my favorite historical figures," Thielen said. "More girls and people in general need to know about her."

The production will be performed in conjunction with the exhibit currently featured in the museum's Adelstein Gallery, "Fencing the West: From Buffalo to Barbed Wire." Theatergoers who come to see the play will be encouraged to visit the exhibit, and the play will be the feature in the exhibit's Storyteller Series at 2 p.m. Sunday, Oct. 26.

"Buffalo Gals" is about 50 minutes long and is suitable for families, although some scenes may be too intense for children younger than 6. For more information about "Buffalo Gals," call Thielen at 394-4103.

If you go

What: "Buffalo Gals"

Where: The Journey Museum theater

When: 7 p.m. today; 2 p.m. and 7 p.m. Saturday, Oct. 25; and 2 p.m. Sunday, Oct. 26.

Tickets: $6 for adults; $4 for children 17 and under and $5 for museum members. Available in advance at the museum's visitor service desk, by calling 394-6923 and at the theater 30 minutes before each curtain time.

Contact Eric Lochridge at 394-8321 or eric.lochridge@rapidcityjournal.com.