[Kirk McKnight, Wickenburg Sun]
In a setting where interactive, bronze sculptures will divulge their story with the push of a button, local character actor Lance Kramer looks to add an extra dimension to the educational experience of Downtown Wickenburg. Coming from a place formerly referred to as “Hangtown,” Kramer arrived and found Wickenburg to be a “perfect place” to resume his thespian duties.
“I was in a comedy shootout group called the ‘Hangtown Marshals’ in a little town in Northern California called Placerville,” Kramer said. “It’s where the gold was discovered in 1848, which brought on the California Gold Rush, but it was originally called ‘Hangtown.’ Here, you have the history of Henry Wickenburg and Vulture City, the richest gold mine in Arizona. It’s touristic with a cute little downtown, so what I want to do with this group is pretty much what we did up north and that is provide comedy.”
Kramer, having already amassed some of his “posse,” looks to recruit area locals as well. “Right now, I’ve got five to six guys and two to three women, and we are in the infant stage,” Kramer said. “The idea is to get up to about 15 guys and probably four to five women, and it could get bigger after that. The nice thing about a big group, when you have a show, 50% will show up, but if you’ve got a good group, maybe you have two shows in one day. They’re comedy skits that last about eight minutes. The idea is to make people laugh.”
Aside from comedy, Kramer also hopes to provide “edutainment” with the group. “In Hangtown, one of the things we did as a group was study its history,” Kramer said. “Then we would go downtown and do what we called ‘walkabouts.’ There are a lot of tourists who come into Wickenburg because of the history here. I talked to the Chamber of Commerce about being downtown in our period clothing during the winter months when the majority of the tourists come and just mingle with them and talk a little bit about the history if they have any questions.”
Kramer’s talents, which include singing Marty Robbins gunfighter ballads, have already been sought out locally for weddings. His group in Placerville evolved from street performances to winery and brewery appearances, as well as visits to senior centers and rest homes. “With Wickenburg, I’m really hoping this thing will get some traction and motivation and that people will really get the vision of what we’re trying to move this toward,” Kramer said. “That’s part of keeping the old west alive.” For info, call (530) 417-4036 or email lancegkramer@yahoo.com