JUNE 11, 2009 ISSUE
Horn in the West Opens for 58th Season June 19
Ticket Pre-sales Reach Record High
“This time last year, we had sold $400 worth of tickets,” said Virginia Roseman, Horn in the West’s director of public relations. “We are about to cross the $20,000 mark this year. I hope this is a foreshadowing of the excellent season ahead.”
Horn in the West saw a 14 percent increase in attendance last year, and this year’s ticket pre-sales so far have been the highest in the local Revolutionary War drama’s history, giving staff hope for a continuation of the trend.
“Last year, we had the largest closing in decades [and] we would love to have the largest opening this year,” Roseman said.
Horn in the West will open for its 58th season on Friday, June 19. Shows will begin at 8:00 p.m. and run every day from then until Saturday, August 15, except for Mondays.
On the opening day, the mayor will make a speech, and other local dignitaries will give the benediction for the season and lead “The Star-Spangled Banner.”
The Watauga Community Band will play on June 19 before the gates open at 7:30 p.m., and the Hickory Ridge Homestead also opens that day.
“Dave Davis has stepped back in as museum director,” Roseman said.
“He originally started the museum [and] he’s putting heart and soul back into it,” she said, adding that she encourages people to arrive early to enjoy Hickory Ridge Homestead before the show.
Hickory Ridge Homestead expands upon the Horn in the West experience. On-site interpreters share the history of the time period, and attendees can view early mountain life firsthand in the homestead’s cabins.
“It is part of the show,” Roseman said. “When you walk through the homestead, you see time stand still; it looks like a community just disappeared.”
The appearance is that someone left something cooking on the stove and another person just jumped out of bed, leaving it unmade, she said. “You see a moment in time frozen [and] appreciate the lifestyle.”
Watauga citizens with IDs can purchase as many tickets as they wish for $6 apiece on opening weekend—June 19, 20 and 21—and on closing weekend—August 13, 14 and 15. Residents of any county bordering Watauga County can purchase $8 tickets.
Online discounts, however, are not available; the only ways to receive a county discount are to either order tickets in person at the office or to order them over the phone.
Advance ticket purchases are encouraged, because Horn in the West has had large groups of 25 to 100 people calling daily to secure tickets.
“Other companies have been looking at us [and asking] what did we do right to have an increase in attendance even with the economy how it is,” Roseman said.
She credits the local community for its continual support of the show.
“If our community did not back us up, we would not be here,” she said.
This year’s drama will feature several significant changes from last year. The Town of Boone has reinforced the front of the stage and newer chairs have been added to the amphitheatre.
Staff added boundary microphones to the stage to ensure audience members seated in the top of the house can hear over the increased noise of a growing town, said Julie Richardson, Horn in the West’s artistic director.
During the winter months, she also revamped the script.
“I’ve been working on it for nine months [and] giving it life again,” Richardson said, adding that the board’s support of the script changes “has been phenomenal.”
She combined a few scenes, shortened the script overall, extended the battle scenes and also designed newer looks for the costumes and the set, she said.
The cast this year will feature new faces along with several principal returning cast members, including: Wes Martin as Daniel Boone; Darrell King as Reverend Sims; Jenny Cole as Widow Howard; Andrew Dylan Ray as Doctor Stuart; and Jen Mears as Martha Stuart.
“I’m very excited about the company this year, and they’re very excited about performing,” Richardson said.
For more information or to order tickets, call 828-264-2120 or click to www.horninthewest.com.
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