Associated Press #2

Clark can sound eerily like Bryant when he talks about "drinking Coca-Cola and eating Golden Flake potato chips" in that mumbling, growling Arkansas accent that's immediately familiar to anyone who watched Bryant's Sunday afternoon television shows sponsored by those companies.

But Clark says he'll go easy on Bryant's often rapid, often difficult-to-decipher mumble if he wants the audience to understand him in the production of "Bear Country." It opened Jan. 9 and will run through Feb. 15 on the Octagon Stage.

"It's almost a no-win situation. We go for the voice. We don't go for the pace of the way he talked," Clark said.

He tries to copy Bryant's speech as much as possible at the start of the play each night and then moderates it a bit. He wants to make sure the audience can follow the story of the dirt poor Arkansas boy who got his nickname by wrestling a carnival bear and went on to win more games than any major college coach in America at the time he retired after the 1982 season.

The new play by the festival's chief operating officer, Michael Vigilant, showcases Bryant on his last day as Alabama's head coach, recalling some of the signature moments of his life.

Bryant once said that five to seven plays determine the outcome of a game. Vigilant said the play tries to look at the "five or seven" events that shaped Bryant from roughhewn youth to transcendently successful coach.

The play deals with Bryant's crises, such as the Saturday Evening Post story accusing him and Georgia coach Wally Butts of conspiring to fix a game, the integration of the Alabama football program in a rigidly segregationist state, and the challenge to his authoritarian ways during a period of student protest and rebellion.

"This must have been an agonizing time for him. As he got older, he had to adapt to the style of the players. It was a testament to his ability that he was able to adapt," Vigilant said, noting that some of Bryant's best years came in his 60s near his career's end.

Festival officials are hoping the story of one of the state's most beloved icons will be a financial success at a time when the theater is struggling to fill seats during tough economic times. The festival recently canceled its planned production of the musical "Les Miserables" because of slow ticket sales.

On the other hand, ticket sales for "Bear Country" have been strong, said spokeswoman Meg Lewis, surpassing the goal set for the production.

Vigilant first became familiar with Bryant when he was growing up in California in the 1960s and 1970s and was a big fan of the Oakland Raiders, who at the time featured two of Bryant's most famous players, Kenny Stabler and George Blanda. Both were quarterbacks for Bryant, Stabler at Alabama and Blanda at Kentucky.

Here's another connection: When Vigilant was at college in Michigan he once tried to wrestle a bear.

"It was Victor the Wrestling Bear," he said, and promoters promised to donate $1,000 to a local zoo if anyone could defeat the bear. The zoo didn't get the money.

"I like to think we fought to a draw," Vigilant said.

He said he talked to many of Bryant's former players and friends while writing the play. Some were present when the play was read last year during the festival's annual Southern Writers' Project presentations.

Attorney Steadman Shealy, who was quarterback on Bryant's 1978 and 1979 national championship teams, said he has high expectations for the production.

"I think they've done their homework. The key is to come up with something that reveals coach Bryant the way he really was," Shealy said. "There's nobody who was a greater motivator or who could inspire players than coach Bryant. He had a fear factor that was beyond belief."

The play shows Bryant from his childhood, through coaching stints at Maryland, Kentucky and Texas A&M, culminating with his 25 years at Alabama, including his decision to integrate the team and winning five Associated Press national championships.

Vigilant, Clark and director Tim Rhoze all said they understood the pitfalls of bringing Bryant's story to life in a theatrical production, particularly in Alabama, where he is viewed almost like a deity by many Crimson Tide faithful.

Previous attempts to tell Bryant's story have not been critical successes. The 1984 movie "The Bear," starring Gary Busey, was seen only in limited release and was mostly panned. The 2002 ESPN movie "Junction Boys" starring Tom Beringer as Bryant during his first season as coach of Texas A&M was often ridiculed by Alabama fans on sports talk radio.

Rhoze said part of the problem is telling Bryant's story honestly, including his penchant for drinking and smoking Chesterfields. "It's very difficult. Bear was a very iconic figure, one who is as well known in Alabama as the guy next door. How do you be honest and tell a good story?" Rhoze said.

He said the solution is to have Bryant tell the memories of his life without glossing over the more colorful moments. Vigilant said he was influenced by Bryant's autobiography "Bear," written with former Sports Illustrated writer John Underwood in the 1970s.

Clark did not watch the performances of Beringer or Busey in preparing to take on the role. Instead, he turned to modern technology, You Tube, where he found many clips of Bryant from public appearances and some of those old Sunday afternoon television shows.