Medora Musical cancels 3 shows leading up to President Trump's Medora visit

The Medora Musical has canceled its planned shows from June 28 to July 1 in advance of President Donald Trump's visit to Medora for the grand opening of the Theodore Roosevelt Presidential Library.

The shows -- on June 28, June 29 and July 1 -- are canceled because of a public event Trump will hold at the Burning Hills Amphitheater, where the musical is performed, on the morning of July 1. Medora Musical spokesperson Brock White said the additional closure days before the event are needed for the Secret Service and other federal agencies to set up.

Some ticketholders for the four canceled days expressed frustration with the cancellation on Facebook over the weekend.

"Thanks for nothing Medora musical," Minnesota native Jim Stachowski said in a Facebook comment. "You just canceled our June 28 reservation because Trump will be there on July 1st. Now I am stuck with a non refundable hotel reservation in Jamestown the evening before and a five day vacation ruined at the last minute. It makes no sense. Three days should be enough to prepare for this ego maniac. We will not be coming back."

White told the Tribune roughly 2,000 tickets are affected by the cancellations.

"We understand how important this is," White said. "It is a family tradition, right? People plan their vacations here for months in advance, and it's a family tradition for many generations. We are absolutely devastated to have to disrupt travel plans, but I think the enormity of the moment and historical implications were too much to pass up."

Brittany Schauer posted a comment on Facebook saying the closure disrupted a trip she had planned in April around the musical.

"They knew Trump was coming, for months, if not longer. They should have never sold tickets," Schauer said in the Facebook comment. "In addition, they are offering affected guests NOTHING."

White said those claims are not accurate. He said the Medora Musical sent emails to affected ticketholders offering two vouchers for each paid ticket or a full refund. He told the Tribune the Medora Musical had known about the visit, but not about the use of the amphitheater.

"We knew for quite a while there was going to be a visit, right?" White said. "To turn it into a public event was a decision made within the last week, and we received official confirmation of it a few days ago ... Obviously, if we knew about this back in March, we never would have sold tickets to these dates."

He said the Medora Musical had decided that welcoming a living president onto its stage was a "huge opportunity" it could not pass up.

The grand opening of the Theodore Roosevelt Presidential Library is the conclusion of 10 years of work, including roughly three years of construction. It will tell the story of Theodore Roosevelt's life, including his time in North Dakota and how his time in the state impacted him as a person and future president, according to a library spokesperson.

The library's official grand opening ceremony is scheduled for July 4, but Trump will "cut the ribbon" at the library during his visit on July 1, according to U.S. Secretary of the Interior Doug Burgum, a former North Dakota governor.

The opening of the library is part of a larger initiative to celebrate the country's 250th anniversary of independence, nationally spearheaded by Freedom 250 and the White House Task Force on Celebrating America's 250th Birthday.