Theatre West Virginia Story Archives - West Virginia Public Broadcasting

Theatre West Virginia Outdoor Summer Season Kicks Off In June

The annual performance season of Theatre West Virginia opens later this month. The first production is the original play “Hatfield and McCoys” on Friday, June 17.

This show will run through July 2.

The outdoor drama was first produced by Theater West Virginia more than 40 years ago. The performance is based on the true story of a family feud between a family from Kentucky and another from West Virginia.

Shows are outside at the Cliffside Amphitheater in Grandview. The park was recently named part of the New River National Park and Preserve near Beckley.

The events are usually a draw for tourists to southern West Virginia. Organizers say the audience is filled with about half locals and half visitors.

Other upcoming shows this summer include “Rocket Boys The Musical” and “The Wizard of Oz.”

Most performances begin at 7:30 p.m. with live pre-show music before each show.

Find more information on Theatre West Virginia’s website or visit the Cliffside Amphitheatre Box Office.

Songwriter Billy Edd Wheeler Born: December 9, 1932

On December 9, 1932, songwriter, musician, playwright, humorist, and poet Billy Edd Wheeler was born in Boone County. He started writing and performing songs when he was just a teenager.

Wheeler got his first check in the music business when Pat Boone recorded his song “Rock Boll Weevil.” He would go on to write more than 500 other songs, including the country classics “Jackson,” “The Reverend Mister Black,” and “Coward of the County.”

Some of his songs are uproariously funny. “Ode to the Little Brown Shack Out Back” laments the loss of backyard outhouses. But he also wrote poignant songs, like “Coal Tattoo,” which sympathizes with the plight of coal miners.

Over the years, the performers who have recorded Wheeler’s songs read like a Who’s Who of country music. They include Johnny Cash, Elvis Presley, Jerry Lee Lewis, Merle Haggard, Chet Atkins, Glen Campbell, Bobby Bare, Kenny Rogers, and Hank Williams Jr.

In addition, Wheeler wrote the long-running Hatfields and McCoys play, performed by Theatre West Virginia. In 2007, Billy Edd Wheeler was inducted into the inaugural class of the West Virginia Music Hall of Fame.

Q&A: Larry Groce Talks Hillbillies, Wishes, & the Making of 'Paradise Park: The Musical'

Theatre West Virginia in Raleigh County was founded as a way to preserve and share West Virginia’s unique culture. Some long running plays include “Honey in the Rock” and “Hatfields and McCoys.” This year, the organization added “Paradise Park The Musical” to the list.

“Paradise Park” the motion picture came out in 1991 and starred Larry Groce, the host and artistic director of Mountain Stage. The movie is now a musical theatrical play and Groce wrote all of the songs to the new production. Jessica Lilly recently spoke with him to find out more about the music in the play.

Listen to this interview to hear Larry Groce share some of his favorite songs from the play and talk about the connection to West Virginia culture.

June 27, 1961: Honey in the Rock Debuts at Cliffside

On June 27, 1961, the play Honey in the Rock debuted at the newly constructed Cliffside Amphitheater at Grandview in Raleigh County. The play, written by Kermit Hunter, tells of West Virginia’s founding through the experiences of a fictitious family, with some historical figures like “Stonewall” Jackson and the state’s first governor, Arthur Boreman.

The play’s alumni include Academy Award nominee Chris Sarandon and actor, director, and playwright David Selby.

Honey in the Rock was produced by the West Virginia Historical Drama Association, with support from the Women’s Club of Beckley. The association included many Beckley leaders—among them former governor Okey Patteson and future governor Hulett Smith. In 1970, the group added the play Hatfields & McCoys to the lineup and in the mid-70s changed its name to Theatre West Virginia, a repertory company that performed each summer at Grandview and toured schools and rural communities of West Virginia and surrounding states in the off season.

Honey in the Rock was performed annually at Grandview until 2013, when Theatre West Virginia was dissolved. Supporters have since revived Theatre West Virginia, which plans a busy season this year.

January 13, 1889: Beckley Newspaperman Charles Hodel Born

Newspaperman Charles Hodel was born in Ohio on January 13, 1889. After learning the printing trade, he moved to Beckley at age 24 and became editor and general manager of the Raleigh Register newspaper.

Thanks to the rapidly expanding coal industry, Beckley was a booming town.

In 1929, Hodel and his associates acquired the Register’s competitor, the Post-Herald, which became Beckley’s morning paper. The Register was then published in the afternoons and on Sundays.

An early conservationist, Hodel began an editorial campaign to safeguard the state’s forests, which had been timbered out. He also railed against irresponsible strip mining and waged a long editorial battle with the United Mine Workers of America.

A tireless promoter of Beckley, he helped founded the local chamber of commerce. In 1933, he was instrumental in developing the Beckley Mount Hope Airport and later put up money to buy land for the Raleigh County Memorial Airport, which opened in the 1950s. Then, in 1955, he helped establish the West Virginia Historical Drama Association, which became Theatre West Virginia.

Charles Hodel died in 1973 at the age of 84.

Honey in the Rock Debuts at Cliffside: June 27, 1961

The play’s alumni include Academy Award nominee Chris Sarandon and actor, director, and playwright David Selby.

Honey in the Rock was performed annually at Grandview until 2013, when Theatre West Virginia was dissolved. Supporters have since revived Theatre West Virginia, which plans a busy season this year.