Evan O'Quinn and Hadassah White play the scene in which Jack Hale presents a fairy stone to June Tolliver in 'The Trail of the Lonesome Pine.'
“The Trail of the Lonesome Pine” outdoor drama began as one aspect of an effort by Big Stone Gap, Virginia’s, citizens to pull themselves up by their own bootstraps.
Since its initial run of nine shows in August 1964, the people of Big Stone Gap and neighboring communities have sustained the outdoor drama through the economic ups and downs experienced by the Wise County, Virginia coal town. This summer marks the 60th year of “The Trail of the Lonesome Pine,” one of the longest-running outdoor dramas in the nation.
Today, Big Stone Gap is experiencing a renaissance, one that’s not based on mining coal. Several eateries and music venues have sprung up over the past five years. Big Stone Gap is also known for Mountain Empire Community College’s Home Craft Days, the Southwest Virginia Museum’s Gathering in the Gap, and the Blue Highway Fest, which debuted in 2022 and was an instant success. With its goal of bringing people to Big Stone Gap by presenting an attractive mix of music and history, the outdoor drama can be seen as a precursor to these other developments.
John Fox Jr., a Kentucky Bluegrass native who had relocated to Big Stone with his family, published “The Trail of the Lonesome Pine” in 1908. The best-selling romance novel drew on the colorful mountain characters Fox had met in his frequent forays into the valleys and hills enclosing Big Stone Gap. At the height of its popularity, Fox’s novel was said to be second in sales only to The Holy Bible.
The romance between mountain girl June Tolliver and “furriner” mining engineer Jack Hale, combined with rousing “western” style action, proved to be irresistible. The novel inspired a 1912 Broadway stage play, silent films in 1914, 1916 (directed by Cecil B. DeMille) and 1923, and the 1936 sound film (the first to include Technicolor location shots) featuring Fred McMurray, Sylvia Sidney and Henry Fonda. The movie versions strayed in substantial ways from Fox’s novel, which depicted the unsettling impact of the coal and rail industries on an Appalachian mountain community. The characters of Jack and June personified that conflict -- outsider and native who can find their way forward together only after terrific struggles. The outdoor drama staged in Big Stone Gap has always prided itself on remaining true to Fox’s story, breathing new life into it each summer.
“The Trail of the Lonesome Pine” is staged Thursdays, Fridays and Saturdays through Aug. 12 at the playhouse, located at the corner of Jerome Street and Clinton Avenue in downtown Big Stone Gap. The gates open at 7 p.m., there is a musical pre-show at 7:15, and the lights go up on the drama at 8 p.m. For more information, visit www.trailofthelonesomepine.com.
