Arts Alive San Antonio

By JASMINA WELLINGHOFF, Editor —

David Crockett arrived at the Alamo on Feb. 8, 1836. On March 6, he died, along with all the Texian defenders of the make-shift fort, where they had holed-up to resist the onslaught by a Mexican army of at least 1,500 soldiers.

Although he was already known as “The King of the Wild Frontier,” after his death, he became a bona fide legend, a larger-than-life folk hero who captured the imagination of many, eventually, inspiring stories, novels, plays and movies.   

And this fascination with Davy Crockett is still alive among us. One admirer is Austin playwright Steve Warren who, 25 years ago, came across Crockett’s autobiography in a bookstore in Park City, Utah, bought it, read it, and “fell in love with it.” In fact, he loved it so much, that he wrote a play based on the frontiersman’s life story.

“I wrote it back then, but I let is sit in my computer for a long time. I don’t know why,” recalled Warren a few days ago. “At some point I did send it to (San Antonio theater director) Diane Malone and she loved it. Unfortunately, at the time, we couldn’t find the right actor to play Davy.”

Fast forward to 2020, and not only has the right actor been found and cast, but the original play has been enriched with songs by well-known San Antonio musician and composer Tom Masinter. The work will have its local premiere this weekend at the Josephine Theater. Called The Confessions of Davy Crockett, it stars Roy Bumgarner, one of the city’s best singer-actors and the winner of eight ATAC Globe Awards.

“Roy is the perfect man for it,” said Warren, “he’s ready to go! He can bring tears to your eyes, he can make you laugh. He is the right guy.”

The story of Davy Crockett and the entire Battle of the Alamo history are meaningful to Masinter as well. “These people chose to die for freedom; nobody ordered them to do it. It’s good for us to be reminded of what they did, the people who established Texas,” he remarked.

The action of the play is set in a Memphis tavern where Davy is holding court among friends and admirers on the eve of his departure to Texas. They are buying him drinks as “they listen to his homespun wisdom and humorous stories.”

Crockett was, in fact, known as a raconteur in addition to everything else he had been in life, from cattle driver, hunter and soldier to politician, congressman and adventurer. In Confessions he tells “some tall tales” and some true ones. Warren was reluctant to reveal too much, but there’s one story from the time of the Creek War (1813) that he feels would speak to audiences. In that war, Crockett fought with the militia and the story tells of his encounter with a young Indian boy, the sole survivor of a massacre of his family. Another narrative is about a smart turkey that the future Alamo hero outsmarted – a rather silly anecdote.

As a congressman, Crockett became an opponent of Andrew Jackson’s Indian Removal Act, causing a rift between him and Jackson who had become president. When Jackson pulled strings to have Crockett defeated in his last attempt to return to Congress, the latter famously told his constituents: “You can all go to hell but I am going to Texas.” And so, he did.

Earlier this year, Confessions had two New York City shows as a straight play, one a reading at the Dramatists Guild of America, and the other, a showcase at the Cell Theater, where Broadway performer Bart Shatto suggested that songs be added. That’s when Warren turned to Masinter, his former partner in the creation of the musical Gone to Texas and an award-winning composer and music director. He cranked them out in a couple of weeks with the assistance of lyricist June Rachelson-Ospa. Additional songs have been added since, as well as an entire musical score to be played softly while Crockett speaks. Two “minstrels,” musicians Mary Morrow (violin) and Michael Hawthorne (guitar) will be on stage throughout the show.

“At the end of the performance, there’s a coda that speaks about the Alamo,” said Masinter. “It’s a very, very moving moment.”

There are many ways to “Remember the Alamo” this weekend, but a personal encounter with Davy Crockett will likely help you connect with history like no speeches or phony reenactments can do.

The Confessions of Davy Crockett, March 6 at 7:30 p.m., March 7 at 2 and 7:30 p.m., March 8 at 2 p.m.; Josephine Theater, 339 W. Josephine ST., 78212; tickets $30, TheConfessionsOfDavyCrockett.com