Program Sampler

Dorothy takes on the persona of each of her characters, dressed in costumes that are accurate to the times.  Some of the below stories can be combined depending on the desired length of the performance.  Many other stories are available.

For each of the programs, Dorothy gives a short sound excerpt from the story.  Just click on the title and follow the directions.

If you are unable to get any sound, please e-mail me at DDAStory@yahoo.com and let me know what kind of computer you have and the specifics of your power, program etc that you have.  I'll  then pass this info onto my webmaster to see if we can accommodate your specific requirements.

When the Lion Fell From the Sky

In 1927, Americans were in love with three things: Charles Lindbergh, the concept of flying, and silent motion pictures.  Louis B. Mayer, head of MGM, decided to promote his studio's new logo, a lion named Leo, with a non-stop flight across the United States.  The publicity stunt backfired when the plane crashed in a remote section of Arizona.  This story chronicles the pilot's bravery, the local ranchers derring-do and what happened to Leo.  © 2001

A Lamentable Occurrence

Before dams and water projects, Arizonans had to rely on the vagaries of weather for water.  People killed each other over water rights.  In 1883 a feisty lady rancher, Mrs. Kelsey, took on a vicious neighboring rancher named Patrick McAteer.  The court case in Prescott generated sufficient legal sparks to cause a loss of life, limbs, and blood.  How it happened is the story.  © 2000

On Trial for Her Life

A scholarly Bostonian woman comes to Tucson for her health, becomes the first woman professor at the University of Arizona, develops into a prosperous business woman and marries a swashbuckling miner.  The successful life of Louise and Thomas Marshall and the philanthropic foundation they started is shattered when Louise is accused of killing her husband.  Will she get the death penalty or will a new untried legal defense set her free?  © 1998

The Baroness of Arizona

In 1887, on a train to Los Angeles, James Addison Reavis convinced a lovely, fifteen-year-old orphan that she was the missing heiress to a huge Spanish land grant fortune. A forger of consummate skill, Reavis persuaded governmental officials, businessmen, as well as Spanish and British royalty of the validity of the claim. This story is the account of how this fantastic scam was conceived and unmasked in Arizona.  © 2001

Never Say No to Johnny

For years the United States Army and the Bureau of Indian Affairs tried unsuccessfully to subjugate the war-like Apaches. In 1874 a twenty-three year old man from New York, John Clum, took on the job of agent at the Apache reservation. Within three years this brilliant, young agent captured Geronimo and had five thousand Apaches living peacefully on the reservation. How he accomplished this is a tale of a man who did the right thing.  © 2002

The Saga of the Superstition Mountains

First they were the Thunder God's Mountains, then they became a secret source of money for a prominent Mexican family. An old Dutchman, Jacob Wattz, claimed it as his source of gold. Even today many are convinced that there is a hidden cache of gold formed by an ancient volcanic plug. Listen to the stories and decide for yourself.  © 1991

Major Doran Did It All

He was a military man, a railroad man, a sheriff, legislator, architect and an early pioneer. He loved to tell stories about his adventures including how the Silver King Mine was discovered, how he captured and lost a conniving robber-rancher, and his survival from a daring stagecoach robbery. He was Arizona's original Renaissance man.  © 1991

Our Heroine Was No Lady

In Missouri during the 1800's, Sarah Bowman stood out in a crowd.  Over six feet tall, she towered above the average man.  Sarah thirsted for more than a frontier life.  How she accomplished her journeys of adventure which led to unparalleled heroism and becoming the first citizen of Yuma, Arizona is a fun-filled, bawdy story of courage in the face of daunting adversity.  © 1991

No Tame House-Cat Woman

Sharlot Hall was born on an isolated Kansas homestead. With less than a year's formal education, Sharlot traveled with her family to an even more isolated area of Arizona. Plucky with a wry sense of humor, Sharlot's story of overcoming hardships to become a nationally known woman writer and poet, creator of a museum, and the first woman to hold public office in Arizona has delighted audiences for over a dozen years.  © 1991

The Lieutenant And His Lady

Martha Summerhayes from Nantucket, Massachusetts knew it was her destiny to marry a military man and marry him she did.  Within weeks of her wedding she found herself accompanying her Jack to Wyoming during the Indian Wars.  Their experiences brings to life the vivid times of a vanished era.  © 1998

The Millionaire and the Arboretum

What does a very rich man do with an enormous fortune?  William Boyce Thompson's twin ambitions as a boy in Southwest Montana were to play games and make lots of money.  He combined those disparate goals by playing the greatest game of all, the Wall Street Stock Market.  The story of how Boyce Thompson redirected his life and money to the study of plant life and the creation of the Southwest Arboretum, a place where the essence of desert plants from around the world could be studied, explored and nurtured as well as the Boyce Thompson Institute of Plant Research at Cornell University, one of the largest laboratories for the study of plant life in the nation is a fascinating one.  © 1998

Other Stories for Younger Audiences:

Camels For Arizona  © 1991

Olive Oatman and a Massacre  © 1991

Yavapai Gold  © 1991

The Sheriff Meets the Woodson Brothers  © 1991

SHAKESPEARE FOR CHILDREN - Dorothy has enlarged her repertoire to include two original stories from Shakespeare's most beloved plays.


A MIDSUMMER'S NIGHT'S DREAM takes place in a special forest. On one unusual night, the forest is overrun with two young couples in love, fairies, elves, goblins, actors rehearsing a play and a King and a Queen. People get lost and found and accidentally bump into each other Add magic to the mix and you get all sorts of mischief and fun.


THE TEMPEST One dark night Miranda, the young daughter of a Duke, is dragged by soldiers out of her bed and spirited away with her father who is a very skilled magician. They end up on an island that is under a spell of a wicked witch who traps innocent people. The Duke with the help of Ariel, a young sprite he has saved, must break the witch's spell and help a now grown up Miranda find true love.

 

 

© 2002 - 2011
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