With Oklahoma's centennial celebration coming up next year, new co-directors Martha Ray, Jerry Brown and Kathy Barnes set out last August to produce a special statehood production of the annual spectacular Pawnee Bill's Wild West Show, scheduled June 10, 17 and 24 in Pawnee and at the historic Pawnee Bill Ranch.
"We decided to pattern the 2006 and 2007 shows after the shows that Pawnee Bill staged during the 1906 and 1907 seasons," Ray said. "Our goal was to present 79 cast members, which was the number listed in one of Pawnee Bill's programs for 1906. We asked for a commitment of two years for these two special shows.
"The excitement has grown so fast that we now have 107 cast members -- mostly local people who have performed in past shows. We took the route books (playbooks) and programs from those two years and combined the names of characters and acts to decide what to include in our show this year and next year."
Gordon Lillie, who was known as Pawnee Bill and thrilled worldwide audiences with stagecoach robberies, covered wagon attacks, trick roping, riding and shooting in his Wild West show from 1888-1913, would have ridden his horse with a special pride at the result. Oklahomans will have three entertainment-packed afternoons and evenings to feel the sensations of the annual show, which was revived in 1988.
Featured events range from a 2 p.m. parade from downtown Pawnee to the Pawnee Bill Ranch, and special afternoon shows at the ranch every 30 minutes starting at 2:30 p.m., a revival of Pawnee Bill's Side Show at 5:30 p.m., and Pawnee Bill's "Statehood" Wild West Show at 7:30 p.m. The ranch will open to the public at 11 a.m., with vendor and craft booths opening at noon.
"As creative director and one who was born and reared in Pawnee, I want this 'Statehood' show to celebrate Oklahoma, Pawnee, the spirit of the Wild West and Pawnee Bill," Ray said.
She supervises historic homes for the Oklahoma Historical Society, which operates the Pawnee Bill Ranch and directs the Historical Society's Site Service Center in Pawnee.
Brown, a former director of the Wild West Show, operates a boot-making shop in Pawnee, and Barnes is a school librarian who has been active in past shows. The key roles will be played by professionals in various skills.
The afternoon entertainment will be staged at three locations, featuring Annie Oakley and Frank Butler, Buffalo Bill, Medicine Man George Hopkins, period music and gunfighters. Visitors also will enjoy a petting zoo for children, storytelling and period demonstrations in the ranch blacksmith's shop and log cabin. The cast will visit with the crowds for autographs and photos.
"One major change this year will be the addition of Pawnee Bill's Side Show," Ray said. "We will have small tents outside the arena for sideshow characters, including belly dancer Princess Olga, fortuneteller Madame Viola Ali, palm reader Madame Ermilla, mermaid Annette Kellerman, a strong man and a clown, among others.
"The side show also will feature Spotted Elk and Harry Wolf in a surprising pingpong demonstration. We found in the route books that the cowboys and Indians played pingpong for their entertainment between shows."
All that leads to the main event: the "Statehood" Wild West Show, featuring two parts. The first half will start with a salute to Oklahoma followed by the traditional grand entry and a series of spectacular specialty acts. They will feature Gordon "Pawnee Bill" Lillie, who has been played by Wayne Spears since 1991, sharpshooter May
