Cast members Ian Tubman, left, playing John Dalton, and Paul Bennett, playing Richard Murgatroyd, attempt to engage in fisticuffs while Jai Dobson, playing Nell Stanley, holds them apart in a scene from “Gold in the Hills” during a dress rehearsal Thursday at Parkside Playhouse. The longest-running melodrama in the U.S. opens for its 76th season at 7:30 tonight at the playhouse on Iowa Boulevard and continues each Friday and Saturday through March. Tickets are available at the doors, as well as at Paper Plus and The Cricket Box.