Go West! Outdoor drama honors early Americans and their struggle for freedom

History is forever a work in progress. Just ask Julie Richardson, the artistic director for the long-running “Horn in the West” outdoor drama in Boone, N.C. 

Nearly 60 years after playwright Kermit Hunter first penned the script for this Western North Carolina drama, he kept reworking it. At one point, it was called “Echoes of the Blue Ridge.” After the show premiered in 1952, Hunter ended up writing some 37 versions of the play, and even today, each new season includes a slightly different version. 

This year, Richardson has been tightening up the show to keep it to about two hours so audiences won’t lose interest or get lulled into a predictable plot. 

“You don’t want the audience to get ahead of you,” Richardson says.

But editing out a line or a scene can be a tough task, especially given all the roles she’s been involved with over the years as a technical director, stage manager and set builder for “Horn in the West.” 

“It’s hard,” she says. “You’re married to every bit of it.”

For this season, Richardson wanted to include a rousing speech from Jack Stuart that she saw when she was a kid. She also planned to meet with a Cherokee elder to make sure the words spoken by Dragging Canoe, a Cherokee leader in the play and a real-life warrior, are as authentic as possible. 

Before taking the reins at “Horn in the West,” Richardson’s career included stints at other prominent outdoor dramas—“The Lost Colony” on the North Carolina coast and “Blue Jacket” in Ohio. While you may think these different dramas compete against each other for summer audiences, they also share a common goal to celebrate their unique art form. In May, Horn in the West’s outdoor theatre hosted “Stages of History,” a one-day event in which nine theatre companies offered audiences a chance to see scenes from North Carolina’s many historic outdoor dramas.

The part of “Horn in the West” that continues to amaze Richardson is how much people had to endure back then and how they somehow managed to survive—long before the days of convenient modern living—cell phones, TVs and the like. 

“We have it way easy now,” she admits, adding that the show tries to preserve the past to prepare people for the future. And oddly enough, history has a way of repeating itself. Two centuries later, America is again at war, tea parties are all the rage, and citizens are still protesting taxes and demanding more from their leaders.

Rebels with a cause

As the nation’s oldest Revolutionary War drama, “Horn in the West” brings to life the fiery crucible that was the Appalachian frontier of the late 1700s. Dr. Geoffrey Stuart, a well-known British doctor, comes to the colony of North Carolina to investigate an outbreak of smallpox. Meanwhile, in May 1771, a group of colonists fed up with British rule and taxation without representation, take up arms in the Piedmont region of North Carolina. A brief skirmish ensues. Dr. Stuart’s son, Jack, winds up fighting with the band of rebels, many of whom are captured, imprisoned or hanged. So Dr. Stuart is forced to choose between saving his son and obeying the British crown. The physician ends up joining his son on a fateful march to King’s Mountain, where an army of mountaineer volunteers decisively defeat the British to help turn the tide of the Revolutionary War in favor of the upstart Colonial Army. “Horn in the West” also weaves in a true story of how Cherokees befriended white settlers amidst this turmoil. Families face life-or-death decisions that decide the fate of a nation. 

The show has just about everything—romance, humor, action, dancing, chorus numbers, sword fights, canons blasting—and it’s all live outdoors. 

A cast of 55 actors auditions at regional sites and principal actors, usually veterans of the show, return each season to join a kind of theatre family that has been one of Boone’s main attractions for generations. 

Some like Jenny Cole have been involved with the show since their teenage years. It’s the kind of show where kids grow up watching the show and end up being members of the cast. Extras often play several roles as townspeople, British soldiers and Cherokee, so any given night could mean half a dozen costume changes. 

“You learn how to be a great actor here,” said Virginia Rosman, public relations director for the show.  

One of the principal actors in the show is Wes Martin, who has played the role of Daniel Boone for the past 13 years. A high school drama teacher for nearby Wilkes County Schools, he teaches, produces and directs shows for four high schools. 

“I love teaching,” Martin said, “ but I’m an actor at heart.”

He takes great pride in introducing the concept of outdoor theatre to his students and then sees some of these very students wind up acting in “Horn in the West” or working behind the scenes. 

The difference between outdoor theatre and indoor theatre on a stage is, rather obvious. In the former, the actors are exposed to the elements, which in Boone can change at a moment’s notice. Storm clouds and thunder can subside to reveal a bright sky—or vice versa. The other major difference is projecting to a large-scale audience. The sheer size of an outdoor amphitheatre means sets have to be large enough for the people in the back row to see clearly. There are more than 800 seats at the Daniel Boone Theatre and about 900 people came out to the season finale last season. 

Martin first got involved in the outdoor drama in 1993, when he took on the role of Dr. Geoffrey Stuart and studied under Glenn Causey, the veteran actor who starred as Daniel Boone for 41 years—and never missed a single performance. Martin saw in Causey a larger-than-life man with the persona of a rock star. When Causey retired his role, Martin was offered the job and found a way to channel a new kind of energy into the mythic figure of American frontier history. Most of what Martin found in his research presented Daniel Boone as a down-to-earth man, reluctant to boast of his accomplishments, good with people, an average Joe respected by others. 

“I try to make him very approachable,” Martin said. In fact, he models his characterization of Daniel Boone after his father, a well-respected probation parole officer who died of a heart attack back in 1990. At his father’s funeral, Martin kept hearing the same thing over and over again: “Your dad was my best friend.” And so, as a tribute to his father, Martin dedicates a good part of each summer to being that affable man, a pragmatic man who knows who he is. 

“I don’t play him like he’s famous,” Martin said. 

The real Daniel Boone was adept not only as a hunter and trailblazer. He knew how to survive in the turbulent times of the Revolutionary War. He served as a colonel for both the American Army and the British Army. And though he was revered for his skills in the outdoors, he never quite made it as a businessman, losing property dealings later in life again and again, and racking up enormous debts. 

Boone, whose namesake became the college town that now popularizes his life, actually lived in Wilkes County to the north of “Horn in the West.” The foundation of his original cabin is now at the bottom of Kerr Scott Lake. 

A Quaker by faith, Boone wore a flat-brimmed hat rather than the coonskin cap popularized by the TV show starring Fess Parker. Parker (who once actually came to see “Horn in the West”) used the coonskin cap as Davy Crockett and later wore it as Daniel Boone, even though it wasn’t technically accurate. 

“Horn in the West” takes a little dramatic liberty with this detail by having the Daniel Boone character wear a coon-skin cap because it’s what audiences are used to seeing, but the costume accessory has been cut out gradually so that it’s now only in a few scenes. 

In an age of 3-D movies, text messaging and short attention spans, perhaps the enduring allure of outdoor drama is its immediacy. Even the best technology is no substitute for live theatre. 

And that becomes the ongoing challenge for actors, directors and technicians working with a show like “Horn in the West”—maintain the history and the tradition of the show while giving it appeal to modern audiences. 

See for yourself how history is made.

For more information, call 828.264.2120 or go to www.horninthewest.com.

Added Attractions

The main stage show is not the only draw at “Horn in the West.” At the nearby Hickory Homestead, guests can see how Appalachian families lived two centuries ago. A ticket to the show gains you entrance to the homestead. Learn how a long rifle is loaded. See how square-tipped nails and musket bullets were made. Listen to the sweet sounds of a dulcimer. Enjoy old-fashioned hearth cooking with homemade stews, pumpkin pie or cornbread with apple butter. At the local tavern, folks can sample apple cider or a sarsaparilla. 

In addition, cast members can also be seen in the Powderhorn Theatre, a 75-seat lab theatre on weekdays and Saturday mornings. The added shows helps give upcoming actors more experience and stretch their abilities as they build an acting resume. 

As a tribute to the days of the Revolutionary War, audiences to “Horn in the West” can take part in their very own revolt for the July 4th night of the show. In remembrance of the 13 colonies, there are 13 cheers and 13 shots fired. Then, an effigy of King George III is burned. Fireworks sparkle overhead after the show. 

As another special attraction this season, the local Daniel Boone Inn Restaurant will offer a buffet dinner on the grounds of the theatre on Thursday, Friday and Saturday nights. Meals are $13 for adults and $8 for children. All bookings are made in advance. 

‘Unto These Hills’ enters new season

Celebrate the pageantry of an ancient culture in a newly renovated 2,800-seat open-air amphitheatre that hosts one of the nation’s longest-running outdoor dramas. 

“Unto These Hills” will begin another popular season this summer, with shows running from June 4 through Aug. 14. The Mountainside Theatre recently underwent a $1.8 million renovation to provide amenities like VIP reserved seats, covered seats, a “Chief’s Box”  (used by the Cherokee Chief, his council and special guests), a golf cart shuttle service to transport patrons who are elderly or disabled to their seats, and a new concession stand with an expanded menu. The renovations also widened the aisles and enlarged the seats to give theatre-goers a more comfortable experience. 

The outdoor drama, which began in 1950, has entertained more than 6 million people in its 60-year history. The original script, written by playwright Kermit Hunter was recently retooled to include more authentic Cherokee traditions and new roles such as Kanati and Selu (the Great Warrior and the Corn Maiden of Cherokee mythology). Many of the roles from the original script are still there, and some of the dances and songs offer a similar showcase of dramatic interludes between the acting scenes, but the show encompasses more of the authentic history of the Cherokee people, their daily lives, their struggles, and their artistic and cultural expressions. For years, the cast in the show, the director and technical staff were predominantly white, but the newer version includes many more roles for Cherokee and Native Americans. And while the Trail of Tears represents a famous, yet tragic chapter in Cherokee history, it is by no means the central theme of their story. The tribe is clear to point out that today more than 13,000 Cherokee represent a vibrant culture alive and well, a fact symbolically performed in the upbeat Horse Dance in the final scene.

In addition to main shows at the Mountainside Theatre, the Cherokee Little Theatre opened last summer as a space for children and families to learn more about the legends and traditional stories of the Cherokee. The Little Theatre will be open from 10 a.m. to noon, Monday through Saturday, from July 1 through Aug. 1, with tickets priced at $6 per child and $12 with a box lunch. Tickets are limited for these shows, so make a reservation by calling 866.554.4557.

The Mountainside Theatre is located on Drama Road in Cherokee, N.C. Parking at the top of the hill is $3 per vehicle. There’s also free parking at the Museum of the Cherokee Indian and Qualla Arts and Crafts with a free shuttle service to the show. 

General admission tickets are $18 for adults and $8 for children ages 12 and under. A family pack includes two free tickets for children ages 6-12 with the purchase of one ticket. Reserved tickets are $22 for adults and $10 for children ages 12 and under. Discounts are available for groups of 15 people or more, but advance reservations need to be made and paid at least two weeks before the show. The Cherokee box office is located at the Cherokee Historical Association on Tsali Blvd (across the street from the Museum of the Cherokee Indian. For more information about tickets, reservations, call 828.497.2111 (ext. 204) or 1.866.554.4557, or email groups@cherokee-nc.com.