Inside the cabin, open for guided tours, the saddle of Lizzie McDaniel, the daughter of a former owner of the property, hangs on the back porch alongside one used by Anna Ross. The modest log cabin stands in its original location, and is on the National Historic Registry. First stop is Old Matt's Cabin, the original home of the night time drama’s main characters. While the Shepherd of the Hills Outdoor Drama is the centerpiece of the Homestead, visitors find plenty to see and do throughout the daytime hours.ĭuring the daytime, a jeep-drawn tram takes visitors on a guided tour of the homestead. In fright, one of the Ollie Stewart characters runs and jumps on a tree like a tree frog. The roles are scripted, but each actor has his or her own mannerisms and ad-libs. The directors consciously type-cast local residents in the roles that fit personalities and body type. Ninety actors perform in the drama, bringing to life the history of the Ozarks Mountains and the story Harold Bell Wright wrote. With the old grist mill as a backdrop, a city slicker pursues the hand of the community’s comely miss, troublemakers incite fist fights, and masked horsemen torch a cabin. In the 2014 season, the play runs four nights a week during the summer months and weekends only during the fall. Over a hundred years after the novel brought droves of tourists to the quiet Ozarks to view up-close a picturesque pocket of earth and its peculiar populace, the story still entertains tourists as an outdoor drama in the amphitheatre at the Shepherd of the Hills Homestead. Mixing facts and traditions with fiction, he intertwined a spellbinding tale. Wright, a master storyteller, delved beneath the masks of peaceful existence to expose the stranger’s mysterious past and a father’s bitterness over the tragic death of his only daughter. Yet, a story comes to life only with conflict. Wright created tension between the vigilante Bald Knobbers and the upstanding citizens who gathered at the old grist mill to picnic, dance, and gossip. The story wraps around the silent love of a strapping young Matt for the community’s favorite lass, Sammie Lane, her longing to become a refined lady, and the ghostlike boy who roamed the hillsides stirring superstitious minds with visions of “haints,” an Ozarks’ name for supernatural spirits. His tale hinges on Ozarks’ pioneers and the stranger who entered their simple mountain community. In keeping with the customs of the Ozarks, Ross and his wife, Georgianna, and their son, Matt, welcomed him to their home. Due to flooding on the White River, he asked for shelter at the John Ross cabin, intending to stay only overnight. Harold Bell Wright, a Kansas minister who had been diagnosed with consumption, came to the Ozarks to breathe the wholesome mountain air. Their story has been played out on summer nights for over 50 years - an integral part of Branson’s entertainment history. The fabric of Branson’s history is stitched with men and women who came into the Ozarks and fused their individual destinies with hill folks and the land itself. The story of The Shepherd of the Hills is - well, not as old as the hills - but almost as old as the first white settlers in the Ozarks Mountains of Missouri. After an emotional closing performance of the Shepherd of the Hills Drama in October 2013, the outdoor play in Branson reopened for 2014 for a limited engagement.
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