Title: Billy the Kid Letter

Identifier: 1250-s7-ss1-b409-fd   (https://digital.lib.ecu.edu/35227)

Description: Letter to Kermit Hunter and Frank Lewin from the New Mexico Outdoor Drama Association, dated January 22, 1985, regarding production of The Legend of Billy the Kid. It was to highlight New Mexico’s “rollicking, rambunctious, raw-boned, red-blooded days of the 1880 frontier, when the great cattle drives were at last giving way to railroads, when the Territory of New Mexico yearned to become a state in the Federal Union, and when law and order were the watchwords for building a permanent society.” Around the time of the letter, the realtionship between Hunter, Lewin, and the New Mexico Outdoor Drama Association soured.There was not enough funding to produce Hunter’s and Lewin’s full vision of a musical historical outdoor production. The idea of producing a scaled down version was suggested, much to Hunter’s chagrin. Instead, Hunter suggested having a different script and music written, setting aside his work for another year. Ultimately, in 1987 the Association produced Billy the Kid; not Kermit Hunter’s version but rather a script written by board member Don McAlavy.