COLUMBIA, Ky. – Lindsey Wilson College theatre professor Jeremy Cloyd grew up around the legend of doomed spelunker Floyd Collins, but he said that he did not fully appreciate the enormity of the cave explorer’s tragic story until he was cast in Floyd Collins: The Musical.
In 1925, Collins became trapped while exploring Sand Cave in Southcentral Kentucky in what is now part of Mammoth Cave National Park. Collins died in the cave after a furious 14-day rescue effort, which was one of the 20th century’s first national media spectacles.
As part of the centennial commemorating Collins’ death, Ramsey Theatre Company is producing Floyd Collins: The Musical on March 8 at Southern Kentucky Performing Arts Center in Bowling Green.
The musical, which premiered in 1994, is also getting its Broadway debut later this year as it is part of Lincoln Center Theatre’s 2024-25 season.
Cloyd is cast in the Ramsey Theatre production as H.T. Carmichael, an engineer who attempts to lead the rescue operation to save Collins.
“He sees it as this massive opportunity to make a name for himself,” said Cloyd. “The underlying thing about H.T., I think, is that he does want to get Floyd out – whether that started with good intentions or not. He does end up being the only person that consistently is trying to get Floyd out. He never stops trying. The ending for me is so hard because the shaft collapses, and he runs into it to help, even though he can’t do anything.”
Cloyd said that Floyd Collins’ story is made even more powerful by the music and lyrics by Adam Guettel, grandson of musical theater legend Richard Rodgers, and book by Tina Landau, who is an ensemble member at legendary Steppenwolf Theatre Company in Chicago.
“The story itself is amazing, but then you add this music that Guettel wrote and you’re sucked into the story and as a performer as a singer,” said Cloyd. “You’re going, ‘Oh my God, what am I doing? This is really amazing.’”
A Monroe County, Kentucky, native, Cloyd knew about Collins while growing up in a region known as The Land of Ten Thousand Sinks, but he didn’t know the details or backstory beyond the warnings he received from adults.
“As a kid you were told don’t don’t mess around with caves. That was kind of the vibe that we got from the Floyd Collins story,” said Cloyd. “I hadn’t even thought about Floyd Collins for years until the audition notice came out, and I was considering auditioning. So I read up on it again to figure out why it was turned into a musical. And I will say that this play is a beautiful use of musical theater because in the story where the emotions and the situation are so intense, you don’t know what else to do, so you start singing to express the moment.”
When Cloyd was a Lindsey Wilson student, he appeared in a broad range of the college’s plays. But since he joined the Lindsey Wilson faculty, nearly 10 years ago, Cloyd has spent most of his time directing plays. He said it feels good to be back on the stage again, which also benefits his Lindsey Wilson students.
“I’m bringing back a lot of what we are doing in rehearsals to the classes I’m teaching,” said Cloyd. “We push up our students’ level of professionalism further and further each year, and being in this production pushes me as well. It’s incredible to be able to tell our students what we are doing in a professional show and bring that to their experience at Lindsey Wilson.”
Photo: LWC JEREMY CLOYD – Lindsey Wilson College theatre professor Jeremy Cloyd plays H.T. Carmichael in the Ramsey Theatre Company production of Floyd Collins: The Musical, which will be presented March 8 at Southern Kentucky Performing Arts Center in Bowling Green.
(Duane Bonifer – Lindsey Wilson College)