A posse of giggling little girls in pink cowboy hats stampeded across the bleachers headed for the concession stand. In the soft rays of twilight, I noticed that their hats twinkled with tiny colored lights around the headbands. A few of the girls wore matching pink cowboy boots. When they skipped, their boots tapped out a happy little rhythm.
Thousands of people, mostly tourists like myself, had gathered to see The Medora Musical, which its operators bill as the “rootin’-tootinest, boot-scootinest show in all the Midwest.” The show was held in the Burning Hills Amphitheater, a 2,850-seat outdoor venue carved out of a butte in the North Dakota Badlands just outside Theodore Roosevelt National Park. Atop the butte, visible for miles around, giant letters spelled out MEDORA. Stadium-style seating looked down on an Old West stage set. The vast Dakota sky and the spectacularly sculpted Badlands created the perfect Wild West backdrop.
Part Broadway musical, part hoedown, all wholesome hokey fun, The Medora Musical told the story of the town’s founding in 1883, heralded its Old West past, and celebrated its most famous resident, Theodore Roosevelt. Bill Sorenson hosted the shindig, cracking jokes, doing fancy rope tricks, and taking part in comical re-enactments of some of the biggest moments in the town’s history. After 35 years as emcee, Sorenson told us that this would be his final season with the troupe. On stage, the Burning Hills Singers, a dozen talented young performers, belted out song after song and kicked up their heels in country-western dance routines. I particularly enjoyed the veteran stars of the show, Chet Wollan and Candace Lively (a link here to their version of “Islands in the Stream” https://youtu.be/ocdBPzGd8Zs). The versatile Coal Diggers, a six-person musical ensemble, accompanied the performers.
One of the show’s highlights was the Rough Riders’ charge up San Juan Hill, led by Teddy Roosevelt on horseback. While San Juan Hill is nowhere near North Dakota, the town’s biggest hotel pays tribute to the Rough Riders.
For me, the most dramatic moment came near the end of the evening. Several cowboys on horseback silently climbed the butte behind the stage with only dim lights leading their way. We all held our breaths as the horses carefully picked their way down the steep trail and, finally, onto the stage. The riders waved enormous American flags in a final patriotic salute, appropriately accompanied by fireworks.
To date, over four million people have experienced the musical, which has taken place every summer since 1965. The Burning Hills Amphitheater opened in 1958 under the direction of Harold Schafer, a North Dakota businessman and president of the Theodore Roosevelt National Park. Initially, the amphitheater hosted another show about Roosevelt. When interest in the show waned, Schafer came up with a revue that has proven to be a sure-fire concoction, blending patriotism, popular musical genres, gospel choruses, lively dancing, over-the-top theatrics, and pure schmaltz.
Before leaving the amphitheater that night, I bought my niece a twinkling pink cowboy hat. The name of the item on the sales slip reinforced for me that this hat is truly the iconic symbol of The Medora Musical: A Cowgirl Tiara Hat.
Learn more about The Medora Musical at:
Clay, you made me want to “go west”!
I did not especially connect Teddy with Menora though I can appreciate that this lovely area of our country was so influential in shaping his character!
Thank you for such a lovely story! You brought the show right into my home in these times of sheltering!
Thanks for sharing. Especially during these uncertain times and needing to be at home, you sharing this story, video and wonderful prose brightened my day.
Clay, I love it! Video and all, Very cool Place. I’m glad I got to see this,before it’s gone Thanks for sharing!