Asleep at the Wheels “A Ride with Bob – The Bob Wills Musical”

July 23-24 – Abilene Civic Center

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By phone at 1-800-869-1451
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"The Most Entertaining Night in Texas"
- Liz Smith, New York Post

"I can't think of a more deserving or capable outfit to pull this off"
-George Strait

"Ray Benson and the other performers have recreated the music and times to perfection"
-Governor Rick Perry

Audiences in for the Ride of a Lifetime "crisp and rousing."
-The Washington Post

Nine-time Grammy®-award winners Ray Benson and Asleep at the Wheel are proud to present A Ride with Bob: The Bob Wills Musical, the first-ever musical drama about the legendary Bob Wills and his Texas Playboys

In 1973 after the release of the band’s first album (which paid tribute to the music of Bob Wills), Benson was invited by his idol to Dallas for a meeting. Upon his arrival, he learned Wills was not feeling well and the meeting was postponed for the next morning. That same night Wills had a stroke and went into a life-ending coma. In A Ride with Bob, Benson finally gets to have his conversation with the Spirit of Bob, who visits him on the Asleep at the Wheel bus late one night. The fascinating and sometimes outrageous stories of Wills’ career, his contribution to American music, and his raucous personal life unfold. The drama includes performances of Wills’ most famous songs, including “San Antonio Rose,” “Faded Love,” “Cherokee Maiden,” “Take Me Back to Tulsa,” and many more.

This two-act play features Ray Benson (as himself), Asleep at the Wheel members including fiddler Jason Roberts (as Young Bob Wills), and actor Marco Perella (as Old Bob Wills). The play was co-written by Benson and Hollywood screenwriter Anne Rapp (Cookie’s Fortune and Dr. T & the Women). Production credits also include Robert Tolaro (Production Stage Manager), Christopher McCollum (Set Designer) and Jane Clarke (Costume Designer).

A Ride with Bob debuted in the spring of 2005 with six sold-out shows at the State Theater in Austin, Texas. It was an instant hit with audiences and critics, garnering several nominations from Austin Circle of Theaters Awards and fueled a four-city tour of Texas and Oklahoma that fall. In 2006, the show rode high into San Antonio, Ft. Worth, San Francisco, CA and Washington, DC where President and Mrs. Bush were in attendance at the renowned Kennedy Center. Since then, the play has continued to introduce many to the legend of Bob Wills as well as remind others of a bygone era. Response to the play has been glowing. Liz Smith calls A Ride with Bob, “The most entertaining night in Texas.” And John Wooley of the Tulsa World wrote that the play is “…as raucous, spirited and joyous as the music that inspired it.”

 

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