Vignettes of History 2009: Legendary ladies. The Ouray County Historical Society presents the "Legendary Ladies" for their fourth annual Vignettes of History 2009 fund raising event. This award winning, dedicated troupe of women performs across the state promoting the history of famous and unique women of the West. The L. L. are under the artistic direction of Kyle Neidt P.H. D. Neidt is the academic advisor for theater and dance at the University of Colorado.
This historical evening begins at 4 pm with a reception and hors d'oeuvres at Venue Roscoe Fox, continues with an elegant dinner at the Tundra in the Beaumont Hotel, and progresses to the Legendary Lady performance at the Wright Opera House at 7:00pm. After the performance, the audience is invited to join the Legendary Ladies troupe for cookies, candy, and coffee. Each Legendary Lady selects her character, does her own research, writes her script, and designs and constructs her costume. On the 22nd, the women portrayed include such celebrated figures as Marie Scott (Ridgway rancher), Hariett Fish Backus (author of the Tomboy Bride), and Kathryn Lee Bates (author of "America the Beautiful").
Tickets for this event are: $79 per person donation for the entire evening. Menu choices at the Tundra include Filet Mignon with Herb Butter, Provencal Salmon, or Stacked Grilled Vegetables and Celeriac Potato Puree on a Large Portobello; or $25 per person donation for the performance only with refreshments following.
For reservations, please call the Ouray County Historical Society at 970-325-4576.
Vignettes of History 2008: An Evening with Tom Walsh, Evalyn and Friends featured Denver author John Stewart as Thomas Walsh. His newly published book "Thomas F. Walsh" chronicles the life of this business tycoon who discovered the fabulously rich and world famous Camp Bird Mine located south of Ouray. Sue Hillhouse portrayed his daughter Evalyn, a Washington D.C. socialite famous for her extravagant parties. Evalyn loved jewels and purchased the Hope Diamond. Her life was punctuated with tragedy and legend says that her diamond was cursed. This event startedat 4:45 p.m. with appetizers at an historic home in Ouray. Then, participants gathered at the Beaumont Hotel for dinner. The production started at 8 p.m. at the Wright Opera House. A book signing and coffee and chocolate with John Stewart followed the performance. Below is a photo of Sue Hillhouse portraying Evelyn Walsh McLean
Vignettes of History:Reflections of Colorado Women, a fund raiser for the Ouray County Historical Society was presented at the Wright Opera house in Ouray in the Fall of 2006 and at the Magic Circle Theater in Montrose in the Fall of 2007. A cast of eighteen local area women, wearing period costumes many from the museum's collection, represented notable women in Colorado's history. The legends of Baby Doe Tabor, Margaret "Molly" Brown, and Mary Scott, a local rancher, were told. Audiences learned the story of Dr. Florence Sabin, health reformer and Mildred "Babe" Didrikson who was named Female Athlete of the Half Century by the Associated Press. They relived the tale of Evalyn Walsh McLean and her fabulous Hope Diamond. The stories of these outstanding women traced Colorado's history from Chipeta to the present time. We have a bibliography (pdf file) of all of the women represented in the show. Below is shown a scene with Joan Chismire portraying Babe Didrikson from the 2006 production of Vignettes.
