Tecumseh! — An Extraordinary Outdoor Drama in Ohio

Many years ago, a friend told me about an amazing outdoor drama called Tecumseh.  This is a 2 hour outdoor drama about Tecumseh, a Shawnee Indian who lived at the end of the 1700s and died fighting in the War of 1812.  His dream was to unite all the Native American tribes from Ohio all the way south to Georgia and Alabama.  For years, he traveled trying to gain the support of other tribes in the region to stop the spread of settlers west across the Appalachian mountains into the Ohio Valley region.

Each summer there is a phenomenal outdoor drama — complete with dozens of actors, horses, an amazing backdrop with a stream and “mountains.”  It is located in Chillicothe, Ohio which is just south of Columbus.

Right from the start a horse and rider splashed across the stream. The drama was action packed filled with action scenes, fighting & loud gunshots. At times horses cantered down the hillside to the stage in front. There were canoe scenes and dancing scenes.

The drama was more than two hours long (with an intermission)… and absolutely captivated the kids! It was one of the highlights of our trip and we did some pretty amazing things while we were away! Here are just a few more scenes:

The only thing I’m sorry about is that we did not see this show at the beginning of the summer so I could share this with you sooner! The outdoor drama is now closed for the season. But keep this in mind for next summer as a MUST SEE with your family.

This semester we are starting off the year with a study of some of the Native American tribes. Once we got home, the kids read a couple of books about Tecumseh.  Our family especially recommends this book by Rachel Koestler-Grack. It would be a great book to read to the kids before seeing this show and it’s a quick read:

Note: I contacted the offices of tecumsehdrama.com for permission to use their photos, but the opinions in this post are entirely mine. I was not given free tickets or compensated in any way.  Our family simply loved their production and wanted to share our opinions with you… Go see it if you have the opportunity next summer!!

Tomorrow, I’ll share a couple more reasons to make Ohio you next vacation destination! 🙂