Heading north as you’re leaving Las Vegas, you leave behind the magical chaos of the glittering strip and over the top themed casinos and enter into a vast open desert. As you drive, the land, scattered with picturesque Joshua Trees looking like sentries on a lunar landscape, slowly morphs into desolate scorched earth, red with fire and resembling a Mars landscape.
Recently, I had a once-in-a-lifetime opportunity to work on a film project in this strange land, at a place called Death Valley Junction, CA. After a short 2 hour drive from Vegas, we arrived at the Amargosa Opera House and Hotel. The U-shaped building was white-washed and rundown, featuring Spanish Colonial Revival style architecture. Like a mirage in the desert, it seemed to warmly beckon us inside for refuge. As we unpacked our items from the Jeep, I was struck by the strangely silent beauty of our new environment. The desert breeze and the occasional tumbleweed rolling by were the only audible sounds; a refreshing change from the sensory overload that is Vegas. It truly felt like we left civilization behind and stepped into the Twilight Zone from the Gold Rush Days.
We checked in and met Rich, who described himself as: "The lone Police Officer, Mayor, Judge, Jury, and friendly Tour Guide" of this desolate ghost town with only 3 inhabitants. Elaborate murals and frescoes adorned the hallway walls and bedrooms, all meticulously painted by Broadway Ballerina and Artist Marta Becket. After learning more about the hotel, I realized that if there was ever someone who danced to the beat of their own drum, it was Marta Becket. In 1967, she was camping in Death Valley with her husband Tom Williams, when they experienced a flat tire. Tom left for help, and Marta's curiosity inevitably drew her to the dilapidated opera house. Hypnotized by what she saw, Marta said, "Peering through the tiny hole, I had the distinct feeling that I was looking at the other half of myself. The building seemed to be saying….Take me….do something with me….I offer you life." Enthralled by this possibility, Marta and her husband located the town manager. They agreed that she and her husband would assume all repair costs and pay a monthly rent of $45 in exchange for moving in. Although Marta was at the pinnacle of her Broadway career, they returned to Manhattan only to gather their belongings and return to Death Valley: one of the harshest and most extreme environments on earth.