Since 1997
More chapters from the company
The Comfort Theatre Company grew out of a simple idea: that we could produce high quality musical theater experiences almost anywhere, making live performance accessible to rural audiences without ever compromising artistic quality. Along the way, that idea took a lot of different shapes. Here are some of them.
Of Thee I Swing
An original musical revue that recreated a late night cabaret at a New York Broadway hotel in its heyday of the thirties and forties, showcasing unique arrangements of popular songs from World War I, the Depression era, and World War II.
Kaija & Gene
A separate show and a swinging one: Kaija Bonde with the Gene McGowan Jazz Trio, bringing jazz standards to rooms across the region. A chapter all its own, and a good one.
Pump Boys and Dinettes
The long running touring show that put Kaija behind the counter as Rhetta Cupp and Brian under the hood as Jim, serving up highway songs and pie long before East of Westreville hit the road.
The Poker Alice Band
The six-piece country swing outfit, featuring some of South Dakota's premier musicians, that backed Always... Patsy Cline and later carried the Patsy Cline concert programs. When we needed the real Nashville sound, this was where we found it.
A Prairie Home Companion
In 2012, Kaija and Brian were national finalists in Garrison Keillor's A Prairie Home Companion Vocal Duet Contest, singing live at the Fitzgerald Theater in St. Paul. Not bad for two kids from South Dakota.
And the story keeps going
In 2026, Brian was announced as an inductee of the South Dakota Hall of Fame in Arts and Entertainment, the same year East of Westreville marked twenty-five years with No Dream Unfulfilled. The company that started with a dream in 1997 is still at it. Come see us sometime.
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