''Texas'' is a

stage musical Musical theatre is a form of theatre, theatrical performance that combines songs, spoken dialogue, acting and dance. The story and emotional content of a musical – humor, pathos, love, anger – are communicated through words, music, ...

produced annually by the Texas Panhandle Heritage Foundation at the outdoor Pioneer Amphitheater in

Palo Duro Canyon Palo Duro Canyon is a canyon system of the Caprock Escarpment located in the Texas Panhandle near the cities of Amarillo and Canyon. The second largest canyon system in the United States, it is roughly long and has an average width of , but ...

outside of

Canyon, Texas Canyon is a city in and the county seat of Randall County, Texas, United States. The population was 14,836 at the 2020 United States census, 2020 census. It is part of the Amarillo, Texas, Amarillo metropolitan area, metropolitan statistical area ...

. The show is performed every Tuesday through Sunday from June through August. It was written by Pulitzer Prize-winning playwright Paul Green and conceived of as an idea by Margaret Pease Harper. The show is family-friendly and described as a "musical romance of Texas panhandle history". The plot is set against an authentic tapestry of history and the show's fictional characters bring to life the stories, struggles, and triumphs of the settlers of the Texas Panhandle in the 1800s.

Plot

The musical drama is about ranchers and farmers in the early days of

Texas Texas ( , ; or ) is the most populous U.S. state, state in the South Central United States, South Central region of the United States. It borders Louisiana to the east, Arkansas to the northeast, Oklahoma to the north, New Mexico to the we ...

' settlement in the 1880s.The ''Texas Observer''; Austin, Texas; July 13, 2015
"Reinventing ''Texas'': History Takes the Stage in Palo Duro Canyon"
by Robyn Ross. Retrieved October 25, 2015. The major themes of the play are love, romance, and people's struggle against the environment. The story's protagonist is Calvin Armstrong, a young

homesteader Homestead may refer to: *Homestead (building), a farmhouse and its adjacent outbuildings; by extension, it can mean any small cluster of houses * Nguni homestead, a cluster of houses inhabited by a single extended family, typically with a kraal ...

from the East who seeks to make a living as a farmer in the Texas Panhandle. Armstrong has a dramatic romantic affair with Elsie McClain, who is the niece of Colonel Henry. Henry, a character most likely based on rancher,

Charles Goodnight Charles Goodnight (March 5, 1836 – December 12, 1929), also known as Charlie Goodnight, was a rancher in the American West. In 1955, he was inducted into the Hall of Great Westerners of the National Cowboy & Western Heritage Museum. Early y ...

, is buying land and fencing it off for his cattle. McClain contributes to the conflict between Henry and Armstrong. The play covers events such as droughts and fear of losing one's land. It ends happily, and "the appropriate couples get married". Later versions of the show have been changed by directors, with each change vetted by Green or later, his literary executor. Some of the show's highlights include special fire and water effects.

History

The idea for ''Texas'' was born in July of at a dinner where Margaret Pease Harper and her husband Ples discussed issues relating to the

with William and Margaret Moore. Both couples wanted to find a way to attract tourists to the canyon and also provide jobs during the summer. All four also wanted to find a way to teach the history of the region in a way that would be exciting. Harper had read an article in ''

Reader's Digest ''Reader's Digest'' is an American general-interest family magazine, published ten times a year. Formerly based in Chappaqua, New York, it is now headquartered in midtown Manhattan. The magazine was founded in 1922 by DeWitt Wallace and his wi ...

'' about playwright and author Paul Eliot Green. Green had recreated the histories of several regions of America in what he called "symphonic dramas", featuring pageantry and music. Harper began corresponding with Green about the land, people, and beauty of

. Green replied within a week, stating he was interested in the project and wanted to meet. In 1961, Harper and a group of Canyon, Texas families brought Green to their city and he was intrigued by the place and began writing the musical. The music, dancing,

choreography Choreography is the art of designing sequences of movements of physical bodies (or their depictions) in which Motion (physics), motion or Visual appearance, form or both are specified. ''Choreography'' may also refer to the design itself. A chor ...

, and direction of the production came from various departments of nearby West Texas State College (now

West Texas A&M University West Texas A&M University (WTAMU or WT) is a public university in Canyon, Texas, United States. It is the northernmost campus of the Texas A&M University System and accredited by the Southern Association of Colleges and Schools, Southern Associat ...

). ''Texas'' first opened at its permanent home in the Pioneer Auditorium on July 1, 1966. In 2003, a new script, titled ''Texas Legacies,'' premiered in 2003 and ran through the show's 40th anniversary in 2005. The new show, written by Lynn Hart, was meant to be more historically accurate and focused on different eras of Texas history each year. ''Texas Legacies'' did not prove to be a successful change, and in 2006, the original ''Texas'' returned to the Pioneer Amphitheater by popular demand.

Texas Panhandle Heritage Foundation

The show is produced by Texas Panhandle Heritage Foundation, a not-for-profit organization. It was founded by Margaret Pease Harper on May 7, 1961. Along with Harper, the first board of directors included Pete Cowart, Jerry LaGrone, Dorothy Nebelett, Raymond Raillard, William A. Moore, and Avent Lair. In July, they discussed their initial purpose, which was to "recapture, recreate, and preserve the history of the Texas Panhandle by the presentation of a symphonic drama in a permanent theater in the Palo Duro Canyon of Texas." In September 1961, the organization incorporated legally and the group came to represent 40 West Texas counties. The first project of the group was to build an amphitheater in Palo Duro Canyon, which would have as a backdrop a 600-foot cliff. The theater, named Pioneer Amphitheater, was eventually built with 1,600 seats.

2013 tragedy

Five members of the ''Texas'' cast died in an automobile accident north of Amarillo shortly before midnight on August 12, 2013, while returning from a cast party held south of Dumas. The August 13 performance was cancelled in light of the deaths. Killed were Clinton Diaz, the 20-year-old driver, who was from Amarillo; Andrew Duncan, of

Wichita Falls Wichita Falls ( ) is a city in and the county seat of Wichita County, Texas, United States. It is the principal city of the Wichita Falls metropolitan statistical area, which encompasses all of Archer, Clay, and Wichita Counties. According to ...

; Amanda Starz, of Timonium,

Maryland Maryland ( ) is a U.S. state, state in the Mid-Atlantic (United States), Mid-Atlantic region of the United States. It borders the states of Virginia to its south, West Virginia to its west, Pennsylvania to its north, and Delaware to its east ...

; Julian Arredondo, of Haltom City, Texas, and Eric Harrison, of

Fort Worth Fort Worth is a city in the U.S. state of Texas and the county seat of Tarrant County, Texas, Tarrant County, covering nearly into Denton County, Texas, Denton, Johnson County, Texas, Johnson, Parker County, Texas, Parker, and Wise County, Te ...

. Surviving but injured were their fellow passenger, Timothy Johnson of

Portland Portland most commonly refers to: *Portland, Oregon, the most populous city in the U.S. state of Oregon *Portland, Maine, the most populous city in the U.S. state of Maine *Isle of Portland, a tied island in the English Channel Portland may also r ...

Oregon Oregon ( , ) is a U.S. state, state in the Pacific Northwest region of the United States. It is a part of the Western U.S., with the Columbia River delineating much of Oregon's northern boundary with Washington (state), Washington, while t ...

; and another driver, Theron Arthur McSay of

Fort Collins A fortification (also called a fort, fortress, fastness, or stronghold) is a military construction designed for the defense of territories in warfare, and is used to establish rule in a region during peacetime. The term is derived from La ...

Colorado Colorado is a U.S. state, state in the Western United States. It is one of the Mountain states, sharing the Four Corners region with Arizona, New Mexico, and Utah. It is also bordered by Wyoming to the north, Nebraska to the northeast, Kansas ...

. Diaz's vehicle struck McSay's tractor-trailer rig as Diaz was turning from FM 119 onto U.S. Highway 287. The

Texas Department of Public Safety Texas ( , ; or ) is the most populous state in the South Central region of the United States. It borders Louisiana to the east, Arkansas to the northeast, Oklahoma to the north, New Mexico to the west, and has an international border wi ...

said that alcohol was a factor in the crash.

References

External links

Official website for ''Texas''Website for Palo Duro Canyon

Panhandle Plains Historical Museum
{{Authority control Theatre in Texas Tourist attractions in Texas Folk festivals in the United States Love stories