Director's Note
Based on the true story of a 1925 Kentucky caver, Floyd Collins summarizes the story of a man obsessed with finding his glory and fame by hoping to discover the next great cave. Others were enjoying such luck, why couldn’t he? He had already discovered Crystal Cave, though it was not as close to the road as Mammoth Cave and therefore not as accessible to tourists and tourist money. In an American time period fueled by uncertainty, the musical depicts the clear Appalachian tensions between the farmers and the cavers. Those traditionalists who knew how to keep their feet on the ground and tend to the farms versus those discoverers, destined to find new territory for tourists to enjoy and propel economic stability. On the cusp of the Great Depression, Floyd’s desperation for success was rooted in survival. Having lost his mother and having a sister who had just returned from an insane asylum, he got an offer from a farmer that he couldn’t turn down. Bee Doyle made him a deal that he’d split whatever he found on his farm land and Floyd was off. Off to explore with only one light source, little food and clothing, but lots of motivation, he set out to find his fortune on a cold January night that would change him and those who knew him forever.
When Floyd Collins premiered in 1996 at Playwrights Horizons, Ben Brantley of the NY Times said it “radiates good faith, moral seriousness and artistic discipline.” Arguably, these are unusual qualities to be found in a musical about a man trapped in a cave. In our version, we have focused on not just Floyd’s journey, but the community of people who tried to save him. From his family, to the engineer who came up with the idea of a shaft, to his closest caving friends, and the brother who’d do anything to save him, Floyd’s entrapment forever changed the people around him. Skeets Miller, the young inexperienced reporter, finds himself most changed of all. Being one of the few people small enough to reach Floyd (150 feet down), he finds courage within himself and friendship in the most unlikely of places. His role of reporting Floyd’s story truthfully goes against the grain of the other reporters who are clearly looking for sensationalism in what they tell the world about Floyd. The media circus and capitalists quickly descend on this small town taking opportunity to make a buck off Floyd’s circumstance. Miller eventually discovers the true responsibility of the media and even apologies to Floyd for “making him a story.”
Ironically, Floyd’s dream of becoming famous is happening while he is trapped and unable to see the benefit. His pursuit of glory led him to make rash decisions and an unprepared for journey which ultimately costs him everything. He does discover glory of another kind though, as he recalls that indeed he has had faith his whole life. It is the kind of discovery that can only be found in the moments where one grapples with the end of life and wonders if there is a heaven and what it’s like as told in the song “How Glory Goes”,
“Will I want, will I wish
For all the things I should'a done?
Longin' to finish what I only just begun
Or has a shiny truth been waitin' there
For all the questions ev'rywhere
In a world of wonderin', suddenly you know
And you will always know”
Floyd finally concludes that “Only heaven knows how glory goes”. His surrender to this truth leaves us with a morality tale unlike any other.
Misti B. Wills, Director
