With the final curtain on Saturday the 2017 Trail Days melodrama, "Dirty Deeds at the Depot: Also known as Professor Mack's Miracle Elixir of Life," came to its inevitable happy ending.

A unique feature of this year's performance was the use of song in the show. Whether this was the first year in which singing was involved is a matter of conjecture. None of the cast who ventured a guess could say yes or no.

It was the singing, however, that prompted Bret Steger to forgo either the part of the hero or the villain, parts he has played in past years. If asked, Steger will state that he is not...