The Burning Hills Singers sing and dance during a performance of the Medora Musical. Photo courtesy Theodore Roosevelt Medora Foundation
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Medora Musical
Since 1965, nearly two million people have enjoyed
this outdoor theater musical in historic Medora, North Dakota,
about U.S. President Theodore "Teddy" Roosevelt when he was a
"Rough Rider" cowboy in the North Dakota badlands during the 1880s.
Roosevelt said that if he had not gone West as a young man, he may
not have developed the traits and the "bully spirit" that enabled
him to become President.
Among the country's finest outdoor theaters, Burning
Hills Amphitheatre was "hand carved" out of the badlands in 1958 by
local volunteers. Its location in the natural bowl provides
excellent acoustics and majestic views for the
Medora
Musical.
North Dakota businessman Harold Schafer purchased the
Burning Hills theater in 1965, and began a restoration project,
that included revising the show and recruiting new talent. The
result is a fast-moving mix of singing, dancing, variety acts,
dramatic scenes, horses, riders, wagons, and stunt men shooting,
fighting and falling from large rocks. All is accompanied by
theater organ music.
During the show's patriotic finale, Roosevelt's
recorded voice is heard from a darkened stage under the stars. Then
music swells as rockets burst in the sky, a huge Roosevelt
"face-in-fireworks" glows on the site of the butte, and the stage
sparkles as the cast takes bows.
In 1986, Schafer created the non-profit Theodore
Roosevelt Medora Foundation and gifted his properties, including
the Burning Hills Amphitheater and the Medora Musical production,
to the foundation. In 1991 the theater received a $4.1 million
restoration, which also enlarged capacity to 2,863 seats.
Restoration funding was a statewide endeavor. Funds also came from
state and federal grants, corporate gifts, and individual donors,
who included 1,700 people who gave $1,000 each to dedicate seats in
their names.
The
Medora Musical is presented every night
from early June through the first Sunday in September, and is a
popular stop on the motorcoach tour circuit. Many performers are
long time favorites, such as Bob Bergman, who logged more than
1,000 performances as the "Old Timer," and local cowboy, Lyle
Glass, who has portrayed Roosevelt's ghost ride up a badlands butte
for more than 2,600 performances.
Documentation includes twenty photographs, copies of
each program since 1965, an eight-page text about the history of
the
Medora Musical, and a 1992 video.
Originally submitted by: Kent Conrad, Senator.
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