Famous Feud Saves Theatre West Virginia
Beckley, WV (PRWEB) July 10, 2014 -- The most famous family feud in American history has becoming the saving grace of Theatre West Virginia.
Hatfields and McCoys, an annual Theatre West Virginia production since 1970, will run for 17 performances, July 11th-August 2nd at the Cliffside Amphitheatre apart of the New River Gorge National River at Grandview near Beckley WV. It will be Theatre West Virginia’s only production during this rebuilding year.
This marks the 54th consecutive season for Theatre West Virginia’s summer outdoor drama series, but it almost didn’t happen. The theatre was left for dead before several concerned Southern West Virginia citizens and the West Virginia Legislature stepped in to rescue the beloved institution, whose plays have entertained audiences from around the world.
The Hatfields and McCoys saga has received huge renewed interest in large part due to the award winning 2012 television mini series starring Kevin Costner as Devil Anse Hatfield and Bill Paxton as his rival Randall McCoy that aired to strong reviews and huge audience ratings. The History Channel miniseries set the record as the most-watched entertainment telecast in the history of basic cable. A 2013 reality series followed, titled Hatfields & McCoys: White Lightning, with an investor offering to set up the still feuding families into business together making moonshine, and follows the families' attempt to run the business together.
The Hatfields and McCoys outdoor drama book and lyrics were commissioned by Nashville Songrwiters Hall of Fame member and West Virginia native Billy Edd Wheeler, whose string of country chart toppers include “Jackson” by Johnny and June Carter Cash and “Coward of the County” by Kenny Rogers.
The setting for the Hatfields and McCoys outdoor drama is ideal; the world’s most famous feud took place in the same rugged Appalachian mountain range as Grandviews’ New River Gorge National River Cliffside Amphitheater. You can feel a sense of danger and adventure and even smell the gunpowder during the wildly entertaining retelling of the still disputed feud.
Some say it started with a dispute over the ownership of a hog. Others say the ill-fated love of Roseanne McCoy and Johnse Hatfield caused it. Whatever its origins, the battles and bloodshed that made the mountains bleed red have captivated the imaginations of people around the world for over a century.
Theatre West Virginia’s Hatfields and McCoys runs July 11th through Saturday, August 2, 2014 with 17 performances beginning at dusk each evening, with no Monday or Tuesday showings. Free music will precede each performance beginning at 7pm. To reserve your tickets, call (304) 256-6800 or purchase them online at http://www.TheatreWestVirginia.com.
For media reviewer or giveaway tickets, or to request interviews with Theatre West Virginia cast and staff, contact Allen Media Strategies Erika Schaefer at (703) 589-8960 or Erika(at)AllenMediaStrategies(dot)com.
Burke Allen, Allen Media Strategies LLC, http://www.allenmediastrategies.com, +1 (703) 589-8960, [email protected]
Share this article