Actors Shoot It Out in Nevada City

NEVADA CITY, Nev. —  “Hey, honey, dump those broads and come up and see me,” a scantily clad woman bellowed from a second-story balcony.

My husband, observing the woman, turned to Mary Louise Weaver and asked, “What’s this all about?”

“It’s a rehearsal for a murder mystery that the Foothill Theater Company is putting on this weekend,” she said.

On this Thursday night, the gas-lit, twisting, cobblestone streets of Nevada City were deserted, except for the actors who were shooting it out on corners, soliciting customers from balconies and chasing one another down the street.

Gold Rush Days

Rehearsals and weekend performances characteristically preserve the flavor of the Gold Rush era of this California town. About an hour’s drive via California 49 northeast of Sacramento in the northern gold country, Nevada City is not only well preserved, but invites visitors to enjoy life in a theatrical way.

The Foothill Theater Company performs March through December in the Nevada Theater, the oldest theater building in California, dating to 1865.

Weaver, owner of the Red Castle Inn, a bed and breakfast establishment, has been welcoming guests for more than 25 years. She and husband Conley, a San Francisco architect, offer a Victorian experience, Nevada City-style.

From the time it was built in 1860 to the turn of the century, the four-story, brick, Gothic Red Castle dominated life in Nevada City. Built by Judge John Williams for his own and his son’s families, it served as a social center for several decades.

There were parties and dances in the resplendent home. One can even imagine the guests congregating in the parlor for a glass of wine or, in fine weather, stepping outside on the white wraparound veranda to survey the town below.

The inn has eight rooms, seven with private baths; most were original family bedrooms.

Victorian Style

Decor is Victorian, with carved and canopied beds, flowered wallpapers, small settees, tiny tables, antique chairs and lamps.

Rooms on the main floor are bright with high-ceilinged corners and natural light streaming through the French doors opening onto the veranda.

Third-floor rooms, once brimming with youths, now are made up into cozy two-room suites. On the fourth floor an attic suite with two bedrooms and a sitting area can accommodate two couples. Originally it was the study used by Judge Williams.

Weaver brings the past alive. She urges guests to discover Nevada City’s heritage by exploring the city’s historic district in a horse-drawn carriage.

She also directs guests to sophisticated restaurants, where the seafood is as fresh as any in San Francisco (at half the price), and toward saloons with nonstop, late-evening entertainment.

The arts, which have flourished in Nevada City since the first settlers, give this gold country town an Eastern sophistication.

Unraveling the Mystery

The rehearsal we saw, for example, was for a “Murder Mystery” evening. About 40 actors perform in various locations around town; members of the audience follow the actors as the mystery unravels.

In addition to the Foothill Theater Company, P.O. Box 1812, Nevada City, Calif. 95959, phone (916) 265-8587, a season of concerts is presented by Music in the Mountains. The popular summer festival, which will run next year from about mid-June to July, includes concerts and picnics and a gala opening night.

There also will be operas, cabaret-style soirees, musicals and holiday events. For more information, write to P.O. Box 1451, Nevada City, Calif., phone (916) 265-6124.

Nevada City also is home to the American Victorian Museum, assembled in a former miners’ foundry. It’s at 325 Spring St., Nevada City, Calif. 95959, phone (916) 265-5804.

An eclectic collection of Victorian arts and crafts includes paintings, a suit of armor, a tracker-action organ, clothing and furniture. The museum, open only on weekends, offers a variety of special events including an annual Oz Festival, a teddy bear convention, quilt exhibits and a Robbie Burns concert.

Historic Home

Beyond the Red Castle Inn, two other B&Bs; display Nevada City’s heritage.

Grandmere’s Inn, operated by Annette Meade, is another historic home that has been brought up-to-date. For nine years the 100-year-old Colonial Revival house served as home for Aaron Augustus Sargent, a congressman, senator and founder of the first newspaper to be published in Nevada County.

In subsequent years the house has been home to some of Nevada City’s most prominent people, including its first physician, the founder of the phone company and the postmaster.

The interior has been completely updated, and the spacious grounds have been renovated and planted with trees to create a park-like setting.

This is a huge, three-story inn with six simply decorated guest rooms, all with color-coordinated country-French furnishings, fluffy handmade comforters, attractive art, ample sitting areas and modern bathrooms with good lighting and abundant mirror space.

The Parsonage, presided over by Debby Dane, illustrates another aspect of early gold country life--reserved, functional, even plain.

Home of a Methodist minister for more than 80 years, the Parsonage is nice but not fancy. Family heirlooms, furnishings, pictures and china have been treasured by Dane’s family since Gold Rush days, when her grandparents settled farther south.

Those who like old houses will love this three guest-room inn, despite the presence of electric lights and private bathrooms.

Comfortable Feeling

Ornate furniture is hand-carved. There are tapestries, lace antimacassars, flowered fabrics and wallpapers. China, crystal, even the linens, are family heirlooms. There’s a comfortable, proper, feeling about the Parsonage.

It’s also conveniently in the heart of downtown on Broad Street. Guests get a ringside view of every parade or event that takes place, even the murder mystery put on by the Foothill Theater.

The York Street Blues, 203 York St., Nevada City, Calif. 95959, phone (916) 265-6363, is a dinner theater open Friday and Saturday nights. Shows change frequently.

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Inns are: Grandmere’s Inn, 449 Broad St., Nevada City, Calif. 95959, phone (916) 265-4660, $75 to $115; the Parsonage, 427 Broad St., Nevada City, Calif. 95959, phone (916) 265-9478, $50-$85, and Red Castle Inn, 109 Prospect St., Nevada City, Calif. 95959, phone (916) 265-5135, $65-$95.