''The Ramona Outdoor Play'', formerly known as (and still commonly called) ''The Ramona Pageant'', is an outdoor play staged annually in

Hemet Hemet is a city in the San Jacinto Valley in Riverside County, California. It covers a total area of , about half of the valley, which it shares with the neighboring city of San Jacinto. The population was 89,833 at the 2020 census. The foundi ...

California California is a U.S. state, state in the Western United States, located along the West Coast of the United States, Pacific Coast. With nearly 39.2million residents across a total area of approximately , it is the List of states and territori ...

since 1923. It is based on the 1884 novel ''

Ramona ''Ramona'' is a 1884 American novel written by Helen Hunt Jackson. Set in Southern California after the Mexican–American War, it portrays the life of a mixed-race Scottish– Native American orphan girl, who suffers racial discrimination and ...

'' by

Helen Hunt Jackson Helen Hunt Jackson (pen name, H.H.; born Helen Maria Fiske; October 15, 1830 – August 12, 1885) was an American poet and writer who became an activist on behalf of improved treatment of Indigenous peoples of the Americas, Native Americans by t ...

History and Origination

The original script was written by Garnet Holme in 1923. Holme was also the original director and the person who chose the plot of land where the play is still currently set, called the Ramona Bowl. The Ramona Bowl (or The Bowl) is located in the

San Jacinto mountains The San Jacinto Mountains (''Avii Hanupach''Munro, P., et al. ''A Mojave Dictionary''. Los Angeles: UCLA. 1992. in Mojave) are a mountain range in Riverside County, located east of Los Angeles in southern California in the United States. The mou ...

, in a valley in Hemet. There is a hillside where the stage is set, as well as an audience area. In 1988, major renovations took place, in which the valley was lifted, allowing the audience to move closer to the hillside. Although at least eight other stage plays have been adapted from the novel, ''The Ramona Pageant'' is the only surviving version. Moreover, Holme's adaptation is the most successful and the most circulated version of the play. The play is held over three consecutive weekends in April and May in the Ramona Bowl, a natural

amphitheater An amphitheatre (British English) or amphitheater (American English; both ) is an open-air venue used for entertainment, performances, and sports. The term derives from the ancient Greek ('), from ('), meaning "on both sides" or "around" and ...

in the foothills above Hemet in

Riverside County Riverside County is a county located in the southern portion of the U.S. state of California. As of the 2020 census, the population was 2,418,185, making it the fourth-most populous county in California and the 10th-most populous in the Uni ...

. In 2015, a brand new, updated script was written by international award-winning film director and screenwriter Stephen Savage, based more closely on the original novel, and featuring much more action and historic content. Under the skilled direction of artistic director Dennis Anderson, the new version enters its 5th season in 2019. ''The Ramona Pageant'' used to be the longest running outdoor play in the United States, until 2020 when COVID ended this incredible streak. It ran uninterrupted except in 1933, caused by

Great Depression The Great Depression (19291939) was an economic shock that impacted most countries across the world. It was a period of economic depression that became evident after a major fall in stock prices in the United States. The economic contagio ...

; in 1942, when

World War II World War II or the Second World War, often abbreviated as WWII or WW2, was a world war that lasted from 1939 to 1945. It involved the vast majority of the world's countries—including all of the great powers—forming two opposin ...

occurred and in 2020 caused by

COVID-19 pandemic The COVID-19 pandemic, also known as the coronavirus pandemic, is an ongoing global pandemic of coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19) caused by severe acute respiratory syndrome coronavirus 2 (SARS-CoV-2). The novel virus was first identif ...

. In 1993 it was declared California's official State Outdoor Play.

Overview

The play can be considered a "

Romeo and Juliet ''Romeo and Juliet'' is a Shakespearean tragedy, tragedy written by William Shakespeare early in his career about the romance between two Italian youths from feuding families. It was among Shakespeare's most popular plays during his lifetim ...

that is set in the Wild Wild West", since it resembles the story of two star-crossed lovers challenging their rivaling families in order to be together, despite the ongoing situation of white settlers taking over the native land. Ramona is an orphaned half-Native American and half-Scottish, who was adopted by Senora Moreno, a Mexican-American woman. Unfortunately, Ramona was neglected by her adopter, since she was of mixed race. When Ramona met Alessandro, she fell in love with him. Alessandro is the son of Pablo Assis, the chief of the Temecula Indian tribe. When Senora Moreno found out about Ramona and Alessandro, she was infuriated because she does not approve the marriage between a half-Native American and a full-Native American. When Ramona finds out that Senora Moreno never actually treated her with love and respect as a child, she runs away with Alessandro. During their elopement, they were constantly going through hardships such as getting exiled from their land, having their properties stolen by immigrants, and being pushed further into isolation. Soon, they conceived a child. However, Alessandro had mental health issues and was eventually shot and killed. After Alessandro's death, Ramona returns to Senora Moreno's home and marries her son. They both have multiple children, along with Ramona's and Alessandro's first child. Ramona Helen Hunt Jackson 1884

Performers

The production features a cast of approximately 375 members, mainly local volunteers or residents in the community. Holme says that casting local members maintained the authenticity of the roles in the play. Animals such as horses and mules are also featured in the play, as well as early California musicians, The Arias Troubadours. The Arias Troubadours have been providing the beautiful and authentic musical sound track since 1924. The Arias Troubadours were founded by Jose Arias and Antonio Corral whose descendants Carlos Corral (son), Henry Arias (grandson), Joseph Arias (grandson), John Murphy (great-grandson) and Violet Murphy (great-great-granddaughter) carry on the family legacy of cultural and traditional music. The Spanish dancer, Desiree Corral, is the granddaughter of Arias Troubadour founding member Antonio Corral. The lead roles are Ramona and Alessandro, her Native American lover. As of 2022, ''The Ramona Pageant'' is in its 99th season.

Cast

* Ramona – Dorise Schukow (1923-1933), Dorothy Bailey Vosburg (1951-1961), Kathi Anderson (1985), Kayla Contreras (2016-) * Alessandro – Bruce Botteler (1923-1933), Maurice Jara (1952-1966), Tom Lancaster (1982), Crist P. Thomas (1985-1986, 1989), Joseph Valdez (2015-2018) Brent Howard (1995-1996) Eli Santana (2019-current) * Senora – Marian Carter (1983-1986, 1988-2005) Adelaide Clarke, Kathi Anderson (2014, 2018-) * Felipe – Karyl Marker, Winston Peacock, John Murphy, Frank Jaramillo (2014), Bret Cherland (2018, 2022-) Mark Rodgers (2019) * Juan Canito – Ed Poorman, Daniel Martinez (2004-2006, 2018-) * Marda – Cesaria Hernandez (2018-2019) Debrahdawn Shokey (2022-) * Father Salvierderra – Frank Felt, Jim Marbury (2014) Robert Lequvech (2018-) * Luigo – Winston Peacock, Paplo Cifuentes (2018-2019) Mathew Clark (2022) * Margarita – Paola Cifuentes (2018-2019) Jessie Bocuard (2022-) * Aunt Ri – Monica Reichl (2018-2019) Larua Cherland (2022-) * Joe – Rafael Wave Hernandez-Minard (2018-2019) Rey Hernanez (2022) * Father Gaspara – Jim Marbury (2014) Randy Dawkins (2018- * Yesidro (Ysidro) – Frank Jaramillo (2018) Rafhel Ojeda (2019-) * Jim Farrar – Dan Ferguson (2018-)

Notable performers

Occasionally, professional actors have performed in the show, often portraying the romantic leading roles. Performers (listed alphabetically by first name) have included: *

Anne Archer Anne Archer (born August 24, 1947) is an American actress. Archer was named Miss Golden Globe in 1971, and in the year following, appeared in her feature film debut ''The Honkers'' (1972). She had supporting roles in ''Cancel My Reservation'' (1 ...

as Ramona (1969) * Francesco Sorianello/Frank Sorell as Alessandro (1967-1971, 1975–1978, 1981) * Henry Brandon *

Jean Inness Jean Spurney Inness (December 18, 1900 – December 27, 1978) was an American film, stage and television actress. She was known for playing Nurse Beatrice Fain in the American medical drama television series '' Dr. Kildare''. Life and career ...

as Ramona alongside her husband, Victor Jory as Alessandro *

Jeffrey Meek Jeffrey William Meek (born February 11, 1959) is an American actor. Meek and his family moved often; as a child, Meek lived in Zweibrücken (Germany), Michigan, and San Francisco. Meek graduated from Arlington High School in Riverside, Califor ...

Raquel Welch Jo Raquel Welch ( Tejada; September 5, 1940) is an American actress. She first won attention for her role in '' Fantastic Voyage'' (1966), after which she won a contract with 20th Century Fox. They lent her contract to the British studio Hamm ...

/Raquel Tejada as Ramona (1959) *

Victor Jory Victor Jory (November 23, 1902 – February 12, 1982) was a Canadian-American actor of stage, film, and television. He initially played romantic leads, but later was mostly cast in villainous or sinister roles, such as Oberon in ''A Midsummer N ...

as Alessandro (1933-1937) * Brent Howard 1995-1996 As Alessandro (1995-1996)

Influence

The play is strongly supported by local residents of Hemet, some spanning generations of entire families, who have had a role in the play, such as managing and leading a group of children acting as Native American kids who play on the hilltop, washing and mending the costumes that the casts wear, and applying makeup to cast members. Although the play was shortened from three hours to two and a half hours, the play's theme of tolerance and message of acceptance haven't been changed. The narrative has remained the same, maintained through the tradition of the play. Alongside ''The Ramona Pageant'', there were also five movie adaptations, one song adaptation, and tourist attractions. The play also launched the successful careers of

and

. Moreover, it gave an opportunity of exposure in which it altered the public opinions of Native American culture and the history of how they were almost decimated as the country moved forward, advancing in technology and urbanization. The romanticizing of 1850s Southern California also signified the historical heritage and the lifestyle of the indigenous people before industrialization and modernization.

California Historical Landmarks

*Marker at the site reader: *'' Within this valley was laid part of the scene, and here resided a number of the characters portrayed in Helen Hunt Jackson's historical novel, "Ramona", which depicted life and presented the status of the Indians of many great ranchos in early California beginning around the 1850s. This story, dramatized by the late Garnet Holme, was first presented on this site Apr. 13 1923, becoming annual event.'' Erected 1950 by California Centennials Commission in cooperation with Ramona Pageant Association, Inc. (Marker Number 1009.) Nearby Marker at the site read: *''Pochea was one of cluster of Indian villages forming the very large settlement of Pahsitna which extended along the ridge east and west of Ramona Bowl. Pahsitnah was thriving when the Spanish first passed by in 1774. A tragic story tells of the natives contracting smallpox from Europeans; a terrible epidemic spreading, and some survivors fleeing to the area of the present Soboba Reservation.'' Erected 1983 by State Department of Parks and Recreation, San Jacinto Valley Museum, Hemet Area Museum Assoc., Ramona Pageant Assoc. Billy Holcomb Chapter No. 1069, E Clampus Vitus/Second Marker by D.A.R. (Marker Number 104.)Marker Database Pochea Indian Village Site
/ref>

References

External links

Ramona Bowl, home of the Ramona Pageant
* – with a plaque dedicated to Ramona from the Pageant Association {{DEFAULTSORT:Ramona Pageant Californios Hemet, California Outdoor theatres Annual events in Riverside County, California 1923 plays Plays based on novels Plays set in California