The folks at the Black Hills Playhouse must always be on the lookout for a high-interest drama.

We suspect this current drama is more than they bargained for.

Last week, the state of South Dakota held an inspection of the Black Hills Playhouse site. Shortly after, the state attorney general's office deemed the campus buildings a "threat to human safety" ... unsafe for the upcoming season.

It's hard to believe the inspections weren't simply a well-timed power play by the state. The Playhouse has been holding firm against apparent state wishes that it move off its current site in Custer State Park - holding so firm that a lawsuit has been filed against the state over the current lease.

The well-documented dispute has been brewing between the state and Playhouse dating back to 2007.

And now this inspection and threat to the future of the Playhouse. The state of South Dakota, already holding the best cards in this dispute, just upped the ante. And the state played its hand well. The big guns were out for the Jan. 12 inspection - the state fire marshal, a structural engineer and inspectors from the Office of Risk Management, electrical commission and plumbing commission.

It's terribly unfortunate it has come to this. There is no longer any room for thoughtful consideration of the future of the Playhouse. It is an all-out dispute - the state on one side, the Playhouse on the other.

To say the inspection was poor timing for the Playhouse would be an understatement. The very thing that makes the Playhouse operational - season ticket sales and a quality lineup - is now in jeopardy. How do you sell tickets when there's no promise the show will go on? How do you lock in the season's schedule if you don't have a facility?

This editorial board has speculated the Playhouse could well do better in Rapid City or another location closer and more conveniently located for the people in this town. But as far we know, those conversations haven't been taking place. Maybe to a fault, the Playhouse management has been holding firm to its preferred location in Custer State Park.

That's fine; we'll give them credit for their tenacity. But, now we wonder if it will cost them their site and leave them with few to no options?

It's a well-watched, what is taking place in Custer State Park - and we're disappointed in the state of South Dakota for playing the role of the biggest bully on the block in this three-year-old drama.

We'll hope for a happy and equitable ending for both the Playhouse and the state, but we fear the fate of the Playhouse is sealed and we're watching a tragedy unfold, not a romance.