Days of 98 Show
with Soapy Smith 



The Days of 98 Show in Skagway, Alaska is a one-hour historic musical comedy drama based on the Skagway adventures of Soapy Smith. The show is seen each summer by thousands of cruise ship tourists who arrive in Skagway each morning and leave at day’s end. On a typical summer day Skagway’s year round population of 800 can swell to more than twelve thousand.

Jim Richard's says in an interview with the local radio station, "We are taking a little artistic license by putting a show on in Soapy’s saloon, which would be more or less indicative of the shows that were put on during the 1890’s with appropriate turn of the century music. We run through the demise of Soapy Smith We get his name going first; we let people know about how he got his name. Then it switches immediately to his bar here in Skagway. And it’s his last day, and he’s absolutely losing it, and he goes off and gets killed."

Where:

The Eagles Hall (Fraternal Order of Eagles, Aerie 25) at Sixth and Broadway, Skagway, Alaska. The show has been performing in the Hall for over 25 years. The Eagles Hall was built using the sides of the Mondimen Hotel, in which Soapy lived. It is said that the Eagles Hall is haunted by the ghosts of gold rush era. The Eagles Hall is also host to the annual Soapy Smith Wake held every July 8 in honor of the day Soapy was shot.

When:

18 to 20 shows a week during the summer months when tourism is at its' peak. The evening shows are often preceded by mock gambling with "Soapy's money." The competition is high at the original roulette table, black jack, dice game and faro. Performances are schedule to match the arrival and departure of the cruise ships.

History: