1,700 Miles Off Broadway

The Boss bought tickets to the "Texas Legacies"show for her family, but her son, who restores hot rods as a hobby, decided to drive a '55 Chevy to a car show in Reno, NV instead. So she invited me to come along in his place. The musical, which celebrates the settling of the Panhandle, is staged on an outdoors amphitheatre in Palo Duro Canyon with a juniper-studded cliff as a natural backdrop. There were plenty of cornball moments but on the whole I liked the singing and dancing, the elaborate props (including interior sets which swiveled out of fake canyon walls surrounding the audience), and the flashy pyrotechnics (some fireworks as well as a bolt of fake lightning set off by a 500 ft. primer cord). The spectacle ended with riders on horseback galloping along the cliff base, each holding one of the six flags of Texas. I was glad the audience didn't boo at the French flag, but they may not have recognized it.

Texans have by far more state pride than anyone else in the United States. I'm not sure why. I suppose it's a lingering effect of Texas' initial (although brief) existence as a separate nation. It might also serve as compensation for having to live in ugly, inhospitable territory.