Show EhfSa!t£afceSrihttnf THE ARTS Arts Desk: 237-207- BOOK REVIEWS CROSSWORD SUNDAY May 31 1992 8 El f 1 ' "Si" I t V y - - Jeff AllredThe Salt Lake Tribune Al Raymond Hoskins (left) wrote "The Ballad of the Mountain Meadows" Rodger Reynolds (right) is among the play's stars HartmannThe Salt Lake Tribune Two of Utahn John Howe's documentaries will air on PBS this week Filmmaker aims camera Mountain Meadows play Old West far north at travels controversial trail i i 'By Harold Schindler from the myths surrounding this icon of the American West The documentary visits three ranches to illustrate the cowboy legacy: the historic Dugout Ranch in the scenic country of southern Utah the legendary Robber's Roost Ranch — hideout of Butch Cassidy the Sundance Kid and the notorious Wild Bunch — and the Fish Creek Ranch on the sagebrush flats of Nevada "It dispels some of the myths about the cowboy way of life" Mr Howe said "but does nothing to reduce the romance in revealing the THE SALT LAKE TRIBUNE torically accurate account" he said "Who really knows the truth anyway? None of us By Nancy Melich THE SALT LAKE TRIBUNE was there" The idea for the play surfaced last year when the company was planning its 1991-9- 2 season There was strong interest in developing a new work Subjects considered were a dramatization of a work by the French author Colette and a play about the The Mountain Meadows Massacre has been called the most shameful episode in Utah history In 1857 some 40 miles southwest of Cedar City Mormon militia and American Indians killed more than 100 members of an immigrant group called the Fancher party The wagon train from Arkansas was traveling the southern route to California The handful of survivors were all under the age of 8 "The Ballad of the Mountain Meadows" a new play by Utahn Raymond Hoskins with music by Jeffrey Price premieres Wednesday at Westminster College of Salt Lake City It is the season finale for TheatreWorks West in residence at the college The play does not take a position as to right or wrong Mr Hoskins said his purpose was to tell a story not present a historical docudrama "We offer several perspectives but we are not interested in a naturalistic or his Depression Russ Lees whose "The Foggiest Notion" has been produced twice by TWW suggested the new play be concerned with something unique to Utah "We needed a subject that was interesting dramatic and marketable" said Fran Pruyn TWW artistic director "Russ thought the story of the Mountain Meadows would be a good idea and our board agreed" Instead of beginning the process in a conventional way — pen to paper — director Pruyn started with eight actors doing improvisations in an attempt to find the characters Mr Hoskins participated in the sessions and then began researching im-pro- the project He read numerous diaries and relied heavily on books by Mormon historian Juanita Brooks in particular The Mountain Meadows Massacre first published in 1950 and John Doyle Lee: Zealot — Pioneer Builder — Scapegoat published in John Howe is a "hyphenate" for KUED television in Salt Lake City And yes that is a compliment not a The word "hyphenate" is a Hollywood slang term for someone who wears many hats — producing acting writing directing etc Mr Howe is a quadruple-hyphenata 1961 As information was obtained the project took on massive proportions There were times when the subject seemed too large to tackle Mr Hoskins threw out 150 pages of of compelling natural-historand environmental documentaries that have earned him a national reputation Two of Mr Howe's productions "The Last Cowboys" and "Arctic Wars" will air Wednesday on KUED at 7 and 9 pm respectively Both documentaries will air nationally on PBS Wednesday and Thursday In "The Last Cowboys" written filmed produced and directed by Mr Howe he offers a view of the cowboy way of life vastly different y text "We decided that the meat of the story in terms of dramatic purposes was the Mormons meeting the Arkansans at Mountain Meadows" said Mr Hoskins Leaving out the events leading up to that encounter was difficult the playwright said because those accounts are integral to what happened "But when you write a We seplay you must choose a focus lected the immediate story and it is a good one" The production features 14 actors and a v See E-- 7 red-roc- k n put-dow- reality" "The Last Cowboys" won a CINE Golden Eagle Award and has been nominated for a regional Emmy Award in the "documentary and cultural" category (Winners will be announced in Phoenix June 13) Mr Howe has described "Arctic Wars: The Fight for the Arctic National Wildlife Refuge" as "the envi- See 1-- 28 DIFFER $895 LUNCH $495 SHRirlP Reg $1095 J ©ah? 7 x attention" s S lr 1 "At Coit your draperies receive personal V KliiiiHf JUNE Column Column 5 J fjt3 EU3 EE TIWAL E-- 7 Ken Farr Drapery Technician -- Reg $595 FESTIVAL choice of: Malaysian Shrimp Szechuan Shrimp Thai BBQ Shrimp Firecracker Shrimp Noodle Butterfly Shrimp Muslin Shrimp A' t I'"V' Tt - -- Jt'Zs rr nrz I ? -- v n' -fi £J? £S K UAT- if Singapore Shrimp Summer Shrimp Dinner Served Family Style Mon-Thu- 1 0pm 0:30pm DRAPES 5-- rs Fri & Sat 5-- 1 Luncheon Served Don't just clean it - Coit it! with Green Salad and Fried Rice Mon-S- at 11:30-5p- Open Sunday CHARLIE m 5prn-9p- weren't the world's largest back In 1950 And we certainly weren't the only ones on the block But we had a track and we were willing to go the extra mile We worked hard and we learned We looked for ways to improve the quality of our service We developed our own cleaning We m equipment and formulas And always but always we stood behind our work Today our equipment is top of the line But our philosophy is still the same Aim tor perfection and keep your reputation spotless Expires 7492 CUOW - TROLLEY SQUARE 575-670- 0 CHOWMEINIA S COTTONWOOD MALL 278-188- 1 lit f IM K (( I r 3 Salt Lake Qty Taylorsvffle Bountiful 595-090- 9 964-150- 0 292-460- 0 " TI- -- - - - - £1 i' Sandy West Jordan 'tii6pnL Sat' til 2pm OremProvo Open Daily r 7 942-365- 8 569-033- 3 224-114- 3 |