Wyoming Arts Council

Barbara Bragg brings her father’s Wyoming stories to the Autry in L.A.

Featured News | April 9, 2013

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Barbara Bragg used to listen to her father Bill’s stories around the campfire in the backyard of their Casper home and on long drives across Wyoming.

She got involved in theatre at a young age. She went on to earn a bachelor’s degree at the University of Utah and master’s at Yale University before moving to New York City, where she worked on off-Broadway productions. She has lived in Los Angeles since 1995, working as a writer, actor and producer.

Recently she’s transformed her father’s stories into “Tales of the Old West,” a play which opened last week at the Autry National Center in L.A. They were adapted for the stage by Barbara and it stars Bill Bragg’s grandson, Peter Gaddis.

From a story in the Casper Star-Tribune:

“Tales of the Old West” is two years in the making.   The play is based on three of Bragg’s short stories, “The Ten Sleep Mail,” “The Ghost of Fort Laramie” and “Silent Owl’s Song.” An original score was written by Bruno Louchouarn, most famous for his role composing the music for the film “Total Recall.” The play is directed by Corey Madden, whose work has appeared at New York’s Public Theater and the Kennedy Center in Washington, D.C., among others. The play is staged in various exhibit halls throughout the Autry.

All four productions of the play, which ran last week, were sold out and the Autry has asked for an extension, Barbara said. She would like to take the play on the road and show it throughout the West, but that will require money and fundraising.

“It would be a dream to bring it to Casper,” she said.

Read the CST article here.

Home page photo: Barbara Bragg acts in a scene from “Ghost of Fort Laramie” at the Autry. 

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