MountainTrue is presenting two upcoming live shows that celebrate the life and adventures of John Muir, an early advocate of wilderness preservation in the U.S.
The local nonprofit is bringing the traveling national shows to Flat Rock Playhouse Jan. 23 and Asheville Community Theatre Jan. 27. While each show is different, they both aim to bring environmental history to life in entertaining ways.
The Jan. 23 production of The Tramp & The Roughrider will transport attendees back to a Yosemite campfire in the spring of 1903. Based on a real event, the actors will play Muir and President Theodore Roosevelt sparing over environmental issues, reenacting the conversation that eventually lead Roosevelt to establish 200 million acres of wilderness, ive new national parks, and 55 wildlife preserves.
The Jan. 27 production of The Spirit of John Muir “is a fun romp through some of the very best of Muir’s grand, thrilling adventures in his beloved western wilderness,” according to the MountainTrue website. Also based on real events, the play will recount Muir’s adventures “riding down a Yosemite Valley canyon wall on a snow avalanche, climbing a 500′ wall of the winter ice beneath the Yosemite Fall, surviving a mighty Yosemite earthquake … and much more.”
In both shows, Muir will be played by Lee Stetson, who has been performing as the character in Yosemite National Park since 1983. He also played Muir in Ken Burns’ critically acclaimed television series, “National Parks – America’s Best Idea.” Watch Stetson play Muir in this video, embedded here via YouTube:
http://youtu.be/nVJ-RO8_v4c
For more information and to purchase tickets, visit the MountainTrue website.
