The Solid Muldoon...When Giants Walked the Earth - World Premiere Performance

Created by Southern Colorado artists Dr. David Volk and Kennedy Pugh, The Solid Muldoon... When Giants Walked the Earth takes a colorful piece of local history and transforms it into a theatrical exploration of truth, deception, ambition, exploitation, immigration, grief, and the human desire to believe in something larger than ourselves.

In 1877, reports spread that the petrified remains of a seven-foot-plus prehistoric man had been discovered near Beulah. The mysterious figure became known as the Solid Muldoon, attracting attention and curiosity far beyond Southern Colorado. But behind the sensational discovery was a story of deception, showmanship and the remarkable power of a good story to capture the public imagination.

Nearly 150 years later, that legend returns—this time through music, theatre and the imagination of Colorado artists.

The new operetta combines original music, dramatic storytelling, historical fiction, theatrical spectacle and elements of circus and expressionist theatre to transport audiences into a world where fact and fiction collide. Against the backdrop of 1870s Colorado, the story follows characters whose lives intersect with the Muldoon sensation and asks a question that feels remarkably contemporary:

What happens when the story people want to believe becomes more powerful than the truth?