Floyd Collins remembered
Even 100 years later, the tale of Floyd Collins continues to captivate readers as a hero’s journey that ended in tragedy.
In 1925, in the heyday of “The Cave Wars,” Floyd Collins was a Kentucky farmer determined to leave a legacy by discovering new caves that contributed to the tourism boom around Mammoth Cave. When Collins became trapped during one of his solo expeditions in Sand Cave, a rescue attempt and media circus ensued. The events have been documented in many forms, including Trapped! The Story of Floyd Collins, by Robert K. Murray and Roger W. Brucker.
To coincide with the 100th anniversary of the tragedy, a revised edition of Trapped! has been published by the University Press of Kentucky. The book was originally published in 1979 and has remained in print. Brucker believes the book’s long shelf life is due to the suspenseful nature of a historical event.
“People who like the book are intrigued by a large story with many aspects,” Brucker says. “There is a lot of mystery there. Why would anybody get stuck in a cave, why didn’t people get him out, why did this reporting carnival happen?”
Tina Landau is the playwright behind Floyd Collins, a stage musical making its broadway debut in April. Landau wrote the foreword in the new edition of Trapped! and cited it as “the only comprehensive and vividly detailed account of the story I could find.”
As Landau writes in the foreword: “Floyd’s story contains many layers. For instance, it’s a riveting rescue story; it’s a sociological exploration of class and economic disparity; it’s a blistering melodrama of clashing egos and interests— and much more.”
Brucker and Landau agree that a major draw of Collins’ story is that all people can relate to themes of aspirations and disappointments.
“It’s not just a story for cave explorers,” Brucker says. “It’s a human interest story from beginning to end.”
The revised edition of Trapped! The Story of Floyd Collins will be released April 15.
Floyd Collins, by Landau and score by Adam Guettel, opens April 21 at the Vivian Beaumont Theater in New York. Preview performances began March 27.
