When my husband, Bobby, and I lived in Hillsboro, OH, we were just a county over from Ross County. Ross County is the county in which the Outdoor Drama, Tecumseh! is performed. Sadly, we never made it to Chillicothe to see the drama, which based on the Tecumseh! website is the “epic life story of the legendary Shawnee leader as he struggles to defend his sacred homelands in the Ohio country during the late 1700’s.” We had friends that went, but for some reason, when you live close to a tourist attraction, you seem to not go to it. (Which might explain why we never spent any time at Rocky Fork Lake. A decision I now regret.)
So when I saw Facebook posts by my good friends, Ron and Jan Maxwell, about their trip to see the outdoor drama, it raised the red flag of my blogging antenna. I offered to let Jan write a post for this blog, but she graciously declined. I then requested to do an interview with her and Ron about the show so that my readers could learn it about it first-hand — or I guess, actually second-hand. Thus we set up a time that we could talk about the show and try a new place to boot. (You can read about our visit to Hayesville, Ohio and The Village Point Parlor Pizza and Ice Cream here.)
Ron had surprised Jan with a quick trip away from home to Chillicothe. I guess whenever Ron has planned surprises for Jan in the past, she has been able to guess where they were going. This time, though, Ron was successful in making it a surprise. Since Jan enjoys history and plays, it seemed to Ron a great place to go. And because he figured they would only get to Tecumseh!, The Ultimate Outdoor Experience once, he pulled out all stops and purchased VIP tickets.
On their website, you can purchase a ticket for just the show ($24) or you can purchase a VIP ticket ($43). The VIP ticket includes the show ticket, a backstage tour, a dinner buffet, a souvenir program or poster with a collectible lanyard, reserved seating and free parking. I’m with Ron, if you are going to go for the show, why not go for the whole package!
Jan shared about the backstage tour. While the entire show is done outside, there are many things that occur on stage and behind the scenes to pull off such a dramatic telling of the Shawnee history. She explained how they did their combat scenes and the weaponry used. Jan also shared how the actors went from one side of the stage to the other without the use of a curtain to shield their crossing (as would have been available had it been in a building).
The tour is given by some of the actors, which Jan found were from all over the country. She thinks it is like the Ohio Light Opera, where acting students come to perform through the summer to get experience and build their portfolio. Because I have performed in various college and community theaters, I always find it interesting to hear about the backstage or behind the scenes of a show. Jan said the backstage tour was good. Although, with the firing of the weapons, sometimes it was very loud.
Both Ron and Jan stated that they enjoyed the buffet dinner. They did mention, though, that if someone wanted to come to the show and not get the VIP ticket, there was a concession stand that people could purchase items of sustenance through the show (up to intermission, per the website). The buffet included Fried Chicken (Martha Kenton’s famous fried chicken — or at least that is what the website states), ham, creamy mashed potatoes and gravy, green beans and corn, dinner rolls, a salad bar and the choice of either apple crisp, or chocolate pudding for dessert.
Even though Bobby and I lived near Tecumseh, I am sorry to say, that I didn’t even know the background of the story. I asked Ron and Jan to tell us about it. Ron took over from there. He stated that in the Shawnee culture, it was typical for the role or purpose of a person to be determined very close to their birth. And once it was determined, everything from that point on was set for them to fulfill role in their tribe. Tecumseh was set to be a warrior. One of his brothers was determined to be a leader and the other a prophet. However, it turns out that Tecumseh was more of a leader than what was expected and he lead his tribe to withstand many battles against the white man as they tried to take over the Shawnee land.
While we all know from our American history, the Anglo-Saxon’s from across the Atlantic were not very nice to any of the Native American tribes. This fact is communicated throughout the Tecumseh! drama, Ron shared.
Some history about the Tecumseh! drama includes the fact that it began in 1973 and since that time over 2.5 million visitors have seen its performance. Over 100 people are involved in the production each summer. The drama is known for its “artistic excellence in performance, staging and design has garnered international acclaim.” The music score is performed by The London Symphony Orchestra. The play was written by Allan W. Eckert, a “seven-time Pulitzer Prize nominee and Emmy recipient.”
If you find yourself near Chillicothe and looking for something to do, you might want to check it out. This year the play runs through September 2, 2018. However, I did see on their website that they also have, for the last 5 years, ran a Halloween themed event called: Sleepy Hollow Experience at the Haunted Mountain. That sounds intriguing to me. I’ve always been a little fascinated by Ichabod Crane.
