It was a theater company of one that played to an equally creative mural of dignitaries of her own creation and often to capacity crowds of tourists and desert rats. In a moment her vision was clear: She would reinvent the hall as the Amargosa Opera House. She noticed a rundown community hall that had once been used as a theater by the Pacific Borax Co.

Born in 1924, as a girl growing up in New York City she studied dance and theater and enjoyed substantial success.īut it was a fortuitous flat tire in 1967 in Death Valley Junction that changed her artistic and personal life forever.

“Still there is much to do with repairs, reconnecting with her fans and following, all without Facebook or social media.”īy now Becket’s life story is well known to lovers of dance and desert lore. Becket and she never has to fear of people invading (Death Valley Junction) for the wrong reasons,” Scheller writes. Inyo County, Calif., adult protective authorities focused on the treatment she was receiving, and changes were made that appear to have given her new energy to go along with her amazing outlook on art and life. In recent months, Becket’s condition and the status of the foundation that operated the opera house and its small hotel entered the news - and not in a positive light. With help from friend Sandy Scheller and a reliable circle of supporters, Becket is planning a celebratory stage appearance at 2 p.m.

The 89-year-old grand diva of the Amargosa Opera House in Death Valley Junction, Calif., has managed to fend off the ravages of age and infirmity once more. Entertainment history is filled with amazing comeback stories, but the return to the stage of Death Valley ballerina Marta Becket just might top them all.įrank Sinatra’s throat trouble was nothing compared with the medical maladies Becket has endured in recent years.

Amargosa opera house.