T his is a story of what happens, or rather, what can happen, when you combine the best of Arizona — a writer, a composer, a filmmaker, a painter and the arts and philanthropic communities — and it produces something monumental, something magically more than the sum of its already impressive parts. From the day that a washed-out hike led to one man’s discovery of a classic tale ripe for retelling, “Riders of the Purple Sage” has enjoyed a serendipitous journey to the Arizona stage. And now the opera — after its sold-out world premiere run by Arizona Opera in 2017 — will soon gallop back for both its hugely anticipated return and a film documenting its production. So saddle up, Arizona. Ed Mell, Kristin Atwell Ford and Craig Bohmler helped reimagine the beloved novel by the best-selling Western author of all time. 22 FRONTDOORS MEDIA | AUGUST 2019 COVER STORY {by karen werner } RIDES AGAIN World-class artists bring Riders of the Purple Sage to stage and screen

“NONE OF IT HAPPENED AS IT SHOULD,” said award-winning composer Craig Bohmler, recalling the genesis of the production. In 2011, after a successful musical-theater spell in Branson, Missouri, he and his husband were spending a summer day in Payson, looking to recharge with a hike to Fossil Creek. “The heavens opened up,” he said, so they had to find an alternate destination: Zane Grey’s cabin. “I’m embarrassed to say I knew that Zane Grey had been famous for Arizona, but I didn’t really know why,” Bohmler said. That night he looked for Grey’s titles on his Kindle and settled on the one with the most evocative name: “Riders of the Purple Sage.” Thirty pages in, Bohmler knew it would be his next project. The book was melodramatic with heightened emotions, but resonated in a contemporary way. “The religious fundamentalism, the women’s rights, the gun issues — all of that was very prevalent in there and I thought, well this is an interesting story,” Bohmler said. He stayed up all night reading the book and finished a treatment for an opera in just two weeks. Then he called his friend and frequent collaborator, Steven Mark Kohn, and asked him to get involved. “He said, ‘I don’t even like opera,’” Bohmler recalled. “But I said, ‘Read the book and give your hand to libretto writing.’” Set in the Utah Territory circa 1870, “Riders” is a story of strength and redemption and is perhaps the most popular Western novel of all time. It was written by Zane Grey, a former dentist who went on to shape and memorialize the myth of the Old West that has captivated people around the world for generations. “Riders” was Grey’s first commercial success, translated into 20 languages right after it was published in 1912, the year Arizona became a state. Filled with a strong-willed female rancher, a black-clad gunslinger, ranch hands, cattle AUGUST 2019 | FRONTDOORS MEDIA 23