Playwright updates classic Western "Shane" to reflect reality of American frontier diversity
MINNEAPOLIS -- Westerns are regarded as one of the most classic of Hollywood movie genres, especially during its heyday in the mid-20th century. Now, the Guthrie Theater is taking the story that became one of the most popular Westerns of all time and updating it in an important way.
"Shane" tells of a mysterious and magnetic stranger who moves to a Wyoming town. The book was from 1949; the 1953 movie earned a number of top Oscar nominations, including best picture. It was also named one of the 100 greatest American movies ever, according to the American Film Institute.
Karen Zacarias picked the original story up to read shortly after her family emigrated from Mexico.
"At the beginning of the book, his family is moving from the South to Wyoming, and they are starting a new land, a new "what if." So as an immigrant family, I completely connected," she said.
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But soon enough she realized the whole story hadn't fully been captured.
"When you hear one-fourth of cowboys were Black and one-fourth of cowboys were Mexican, you never see that. That is historically accurate and you don't see that," she said.
So Zacarias, a renowned playwright based in Washington D.C., decided to adapt "Shane" for the stage -- and for accuracy -- at the Guthrie.
"The United States brought in a lot of people from different walks of life very early on, and representing that, that's really the real Wild West. (It) includes a lot of stories or a lot of people we don't usually get to see on stage," she said.
She says, in making her version of the titular character Black, she's making sure her cast reflects an underseen reality.
"He has a backstory of growing up on a plantation in Louisiana, and his mom being brought in from Cuba and his father being the head of the plantation," she said.
She also wrote in an Indigenous character.
"Neither in the book nor the movie do they address that homesteaders are coming in and this 'free land' was actually not free, and there was a new character named Winona, and she was essential to the plot," she said.
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It's a plot she says is still honoring the classic version while acknowledging our history.
"It's very gratifying and I love all the characters. I love all the complexities. And what I love about the story is about listening, not always having the answer but allowing other people to tell their story," she said.
The 90-minute play has no intermission, and runs at the Guthrie through Aug. 27.
The 1953 movie adaptation of "Shane" was produced and distributed by Paramount Pictures; CBS News shares its parent company.