Texas Musical Drama had its beginning 1960 when the William Moores and Ples Harpers of Canyon, Texas were intrigued by an article in Readers Digest about Paul Green who had re-created the history of several regions in tremendous dramas with pageantry and music. Margaret Harper wrote to Green to see if he would be interested in weaving such a production around the story of the Texas Panhandle and the great canyon across it. Mr. Green agreed and135 people from 12 counties met in 1961 and together formed the Foundation to raise money for the production. A sound and light demonstration was held and the show FANDANGLE was brought from Albany , Texas to perform in 1964. In 1965, a sound and light booth was donated and Margaret Harper's THUNDERING SOUNDS OF THE WEST was performed at the theatre. During 1966, the State of Texas built the dressing rooms and concession building, and at last on July 1, 1966, Texas Musical Drama opened. 61,338 guests attended the show that first year. Since that time more than three million visitors have come to see productions in the Pioneer Amphitheatre in the beautiful Palo Duro Canyon State Park , the nation's second largest canyon.

 

Theatre during contruction - Early 1960s 

Since 1999, 3.5 million dollars in improvements have been made at the Pioneer Amphitheatre. In 2001 new side stages were completed at a cost of $330,000. The Pete and Wanda Gilvin monument and the new sound and light booth were built in 2002 at a cost of $550,000. Many volunteers helped with the installation of the highly technical equipment which produced a state-of-the-art facility that would have cost over 2 million dollars had it been commercially procured.

 

In 2002, TEXAS Express was formed as an outreach arm of the Foundation with the initial goal of 10 performances. The original 12-member ensemble of college students and graduates performed over 50 events including performances for over 2,000 school students in April and May. TEXAS Express has been invited to entertain groups as diverse as the South Plains Legislative Day the Lady Bird Johnson Wildflower Center , the DECA State Convention and the 2003 Southern Legislative Conference, showcasing their talents for over 1,000 legislators from 16 southern states.

 

In 2003 a new script, TEXAS Legacies , based on historical characters was written and performed with a plan to produce a new script in epic format every few years. By popular demand TEXAS Musical Drama retuned for the 2006 Season. Attendance was up over 28% over the last year and revenue was up 44%. TEXAS Musical Drama is here to stay, proof being that reservations have increased dramatically over past years, and attendance is on the rise.

 

The production brings an economic impact of more than thirty million dollars per season to the Panhandle area and continues to reflect the faith and work of the people of the State of Texas as this season we celebrate the 43nd Anniversary of productions at the Pioneer Amphitheatre.