Directed by: Don Baker
1984
Running Time: 90:00
Color
Now Available on DVD!!!
A video version of Roadside Theater's highly acclaimed play, Red Fox/Second Hangin' is the story of M.B. "Doc" Taylor, called "the Red Fox"--a red-headed, red-bearded, highly popular preacher, doctor, philosopher, mystic, and U.S. Marshall. His execution, the second in the history of Wise County, Virginia, followed that of a local troublemaker. Both had been implicated in murders resulting from a feud that began during the Civil War. The hangings kicked off a law-and-order campaign that Northern speculators considered essential to expanding their coal mining operations in turn-of-the-century Appalachia. Onstage, Roadside Theater actors Gary Slemp, Frankie Taylor, and Don Baker recount this historical tale, adopting different voices and personae, and weaving economic and political tensions into a family saga. The program was recorded before an audience in Carcassonne, Kentucky.
Reviews
"Intensely local, Red Fox/Second Hangin' has universal implications--and appeal." -Pat Aufderheide, In These Times
"A sophisticated, technically daring work." -Christopher Hudgins, Department of English, University of Nevada-Las Vegas
"Red Fox/Second Hangin' has more to say about the history of rural America than any five history books." -Theater Times
"Each of the performers is an expert in telling tall tales, melding regional accents, local references, and topical humor....The camera surefootedly tracks the performers' verbal ballet, never losing the link between them and the audience." -Video Times
"A good film to use with students doing storytelling. My own 8- year-old daughter wants to watch it again and again." -Judy Meadows, Librarian, Grays Branch (Kentucky) Elementary School
Screenings & Festivals
KCET/Los Angeles
