Featured Family Vacations - Blending Fun and Great Educational Value

The great success of The Lost Colony, which debuted in Manteo, North Carolina in 1937 and continues today, set the stage for a new and distinctively American dramatic form, the outdoor historical drama or symphonic drama. These original plays are based on historic events and are performed in large, rustic amphitheaters, usually situated in scenic settings where the actual events portrayed by the drama originally unfolded.

Production elements frequently incorporated in the genre include period music and dance, elaborate sets and costuming, special effects, live animals and, in some of the plays, ambitious battle scenes. Providing entertainment with great educational value, several outdoor historical dramas in the Southeast offer summer vacationers an array of memorable experiences with appeal for most ages.

More than 20 outdoor historical dramas are performed in various venues in Alabama, Georgia, Kentucky, North Carolina, Tennessee, Virginia and West Virginia. Due to extreme popularity, advance tickets are usually required and always recommended. For additional information about where you can see one or more of these elaborate productions, visit: Outdoor Historical Dramas of the South.