Bear Country now playing at ASF

To actor Greg Jones, a native of New Mexico, Paul "Bear" Bryant was and remains "an iconic figure ... a man with an undeniable, inexorable, iron will. He would not let up. He was one of the most driven men I've ever studied."

Stage director Tim Rhoze, a native of Detroit, Michigan, also talks of Bryant's "iconic stature ... Even today, you mention Bryant's name to a 6-year-old and they'll know who you are talking about," he said in a recent interview.

Although neither man grew up in Alabama or even the Southeast, both jumped at the chance to be involved in the world premiere of Bear Country, a "memory play" commissioned by the Alabama Shakespeare Festival as part of its Southern Writers Project. The play opened Sunday night and runs through February 15th on the Octagon Stage at the Carolyn Blount Theater.

Jones, who is making his ASF debut, plays the "young" Bryant (ages 14 to 58).

Like Ronald Clark, who portrays the legendary football coach at the age of his retirement, Jones possesses Bryant's height and raw-bone stature.

He depicts Bryant as a gangly teen listening to an Alabama Rose Bowl game on the radio in 1926, then as a teen who, to impress a girl, wrestles a bear, as a dedicated football player in high school and then at Alabama, where he viewed the game as an outlet to a better life. Jones also plays Bryant in his first year as head coach at his alma mater in 1958.

His scenes are set up by the reminisces of Clark's Bryant, who is packing memorabilia into a box in his office after retiring from the game.

To research the part, Jones read Bryant's autobiography, Bear,(written with acclaimed Sports Illustrated writer John Underwood). He also watched DVDs, found plenty of material on the internet and You Tube and talked to several people who knew Bryant. It also didn't hurt that he grew up a big fan of college football.

Director Rhoze did the same research, noting that "there's no shortage of material" about Bryant.

Still, there was much more footage and archive material of the Paul Bryant the country knew in the 70s and early 80s, said Jones.

Jones characterizes his performance as vignettes of Bryant's "formative experiences." These events help explain what motivated Bryant and ultimately made him into the larger-than-life figure he would become.

His "biggest challenge" was meshing his portrayal of Bryant with Clark's portrayal.

"You want people to believe that he is the same person," he said, adding that Clark's older Bryant is probably the figure most people best remember and relate to.

The play was written by Mike Vigilant, a playwright who is also the chief operating officer for the ASF.

Bear Country received its first reading in the 2008 Festival of New Plays and has been workshopped over the past six months. The original script "evolved tremendously," said Rhoze.

Initially, the play was going to star just one person as Bryant (like plays of Mark Twain or Abraham Lincoln). As the script evolved, three new cast members were added with two cast members playing multiple roles.

Rehearsal started on December 15th. The first preview performance was last Thursday with the official opening (attended by many former Bryant players) on Sunday night.

Rhoze acknowledges that this is no typical play.

For one thing, it's an original "world premiere" production.

"This is not another production of Death of A Salesman," laughs the director, who also has numerous stage and television acting credits (including parts on "Friends," "Grey's Anatomy" and "The Office.")

He also knows that the subject matter will be of keen interest to Alabamians who care deeply about the portrayal of one of the state's most revered heroes.