TEXAS: The Musical in Palo Duro Canyon

As twilight settles over the red dirt canyon, the setting sun paints the striated walls in brilliant colors that make it seem more alive than during day.  Darkness slowly takes the place of sunset, as a steady hum of crickets and night creatures fill the still, humid air.  A calm lull signals the close of day in the canyon, but there is a stirring above that catches your eye.  600 feet above, a lone cowboy and his steed are silhouetted as they ride along the rim of the canyon.  As the cowboy raises his right hand, the last beam of sunset back lights the unfurled Texas flag, and the sleepy canyon erupts in a swell of lights and music.  Over 60 performers take the stage for another performance of the Broadway style musical, TEXAS, a traditional end of day activity in Palo Duro Canyon for almost 50 years. 

Palo Duro Canyon, known as ‘The Grand Canyon of Texas.’  is 29,000 acres of wilderness land punctuated by only a few miles of paved roads, campgrounds, and stables.  Palo Duro is translated from the Spanish language as “hardwood” – taken from the abundance of mesquite and juniper in the area. Formed by the divurgence of two strong river forks, the waters and ever present wind have carved Palo Duro into a 120-mile long, 20-mile wide, 850-foot-deep canyon. 

The sometimes unforgiving land is much the same as it was 12,000 years ago when it was inhabited by the Clovis and Folsom Indians, who chose this area for the abundance of wildlife, water, and protection.  Wild turkey, white tail and mule deer, barbary sheep, coyotes, cottontail rabbits, roadrunners and western diamond-back rattlesnakes can still be seen in canyon, although the bison and mammoth that were hunted by the Indians are long gone.

Other tribes of Indians-the Apaches, Commanches, and Kiowas-made the canyon their home until the expansion of European settlers into the area created a collision of cultures. The collision came to a head in 1874 when the Palo Duro Canyon was a Red River Wars battlesite. Col. Ranald Mackenzie,under orders from the U.S. Government, captured and killed 1,400 horses and then easily captured the Indians who were living in the canyon. With no remaining way to escape, the Indians surrendered and were moved to reservations in Oklahoma.

It is this troubled time in history that is the backdrop for the musical that is performed each summer night in the canyon.  Performers take the stage and the surrounding canyon basin that serves as a natural amphitheatre for the show.  The production is reminiscent of the Rogers and Hammerstein era of musical, so modern audiences get a double dose of history as they enjoy a performance that has been running in the canyon for almost 50 years.

As the scenes unfold, the performers present the triumphs and trials of the 1800s on the plains with Texas bravado.  The audience has a front row seat as the worlds of the Indians, the cattle ranchers, the farmers, and railroad collide with complication and complement for each group.  A series of well done special effects, including a realistic lightening storm and prairie fire make the struggles come to life for the audience. 

In the end, the cowboy gets the girl, the railroad brings prosperity, and the White man and the Indian find forgiveness.  To celebrate, there is a rousing tribute, complete with fireworks and water cannons, to the state of Texas and the United States of America.  It’s enough to make you proud to be a Texan and an American, even if you happen to be neither.  It is just the kind of happy ending that you would expect from a musical, but enough there is enough grit and reality exposed in the show to help spectators pause and consider the cost and mistakes of the past, and how those pioneers and the land shaped the future.

TEXAS is performed Tuesday through Sunday from early June through mid-August. Ticket prices range from $9.95 to $29.95 (plus fees), varying with the seat location and date of the show. An optional dinner is available, ask about details when you call. Show begins at 8:30 P.M. and last about two hours.

For more information or reservations call 806-655-2181.

Show photos provided courtesy of TEXAS: The Musical.  Our tickets for the show  were provided by the CVC.  They did not require that I express a particular viewpoint and all opinions are my own.