Synopsis
In the early 1900’s Montana was a lure for those who wanted to start a new life. Easterners came by railroad from just about every state to strike it rich in mining, ranching, and any other business ideas they could come up with. Along with legitimate businessmen came charlatans as well, and that brings us to this story and the Adams Hotel in 1906. Lavinnya Moritz and her procurer, Paul Denali, are two of those hustlers who show up in Montana at the Adams Hotel and set off a chain reaction, which continues right up to the fight for women’s rights. When Lavinnya changes her mind and lets those being deceived know about their scheme, the Adams Hotels finds itself in flames and Lavinnya finds her new life with half her body burned. Thankful for being notified by her about Paul’s logging conspiracy, the owner of the Parish Ranch, Brock Parish, his Native American mother, White Cloud, and handy man Chinn Woo bring her back to the ranch to recover, changing all their lives. About hundred years later in 2002 the very same Adams Hotel is sold to a middle aged California drifter, Ray Du Barry, who purchases it for a very low price with hopes of taking it down. But he falls in love with a local waitress and the two befriend the owner of the luncheonette, Little Poody, an ex-circus entertainer and the latest owner of the Old Parish Ranch. The grandchildren of Chinn Woo embrace Ray and Jody as friends and alter their lives forever. The passage of time has not significantly altered Montana’s big sky, mountains, and prairie, which still loom large. Hardly changing over the years Montana remains a place where people come to hide, a draw for misfits, the greedy and the passionate yet it is also a place people can find themselves and see who they really are. And where those who are different than most can realize that love is truly in the eye of the beholder. Author Judith Present over the years had the opportunity to interview several small Montana towns, learning the state’s history and people. Drawing from this information she has developed this story mixing history and contemporary events together.
About the Author
Author Judith Present is a photographer, playwright, director and actress who has written many plays which she honed as a resident playwright of the American Renaissance Theater in NYC. Her direction and plays have been seen in NYC, Binghamton NY, and Deposit and Hancock NY. She was a founding member of Theatricks by Starlight Theatre Company and Playwright's Unit. As a newspaper columnist for the Hancock Herald Newspaper, she reported on the human interest stories, which lead to her interest in small towns and those people who live in them. This is how she came to interview small town residents in Louisiana, New York, North Carolina, and Montana. On her several visits to Montana, she talked with sheep farmers, mercantile owners, café waitresses, Native Americans and local residents, learning their regional history and what brought them to this most unusual state. She came up with this story from the many she heard from area people. Drawing from this information she developed this story mixing history and contemporary events.
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