A play that ran for only 64 performances in 1931 did almost as much as Will Rogers to help put the town of Claremore on the American cultural map.
The play was “Green Grow the Lilacs,” a story of the romance between a self-assured cowboy and a headstrong young woman punctuated with several folk songs — the sort of tunes the people living in that place in that time would know and sing.
It was written by Claremore native Lynn Riggs, and was the product of a year spent in France on a Guggenheim Fellowship. Originally titled “Shivaree,” Riggs would ultimately name the play after one of the folk songs he had incorporated into the script.
Some 13 years later, Riggs’ tale would return to Broadway — this time with songs written by the team of Richard Rodgers and Oscar Hammerstein — as the landmark musical “Oklahoma!”
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Riggs has already been honored by having one of Claremore’s main streets named for him, and an exhibit titled “The Cherokee Who Brought Oklahoma to the World” occupies a large section of the Claremore Museum of History.
The most recent recognition of Riggs’ impact on his hometown is the city renaming an eight-block section of its historic downtown as the Lilac District.
“When you look at all the things he accomplished in a relatively short life, it’s impressive by any standard,” said John Feary, Claremore’s city manager. “He was a poet, he wrote plays, he worked in Hollywood as a screenwriter, and he’s responsible for something that has been seen around the globe.
“Claremore has always been a town that has valued its arts and culture, and Lynn Riggs is very much a part of that,” Feary said. “Honoring him in this way just reinforces that fact.”
The Lilac District will feature new parking and street signage, some of which has already been installed. Future developments will include new outdoor spaces, and moveable parklets.
The rebranding of downtown as the Lilac District is part of the city’s comprehensive plan to develop certain areas of Claremore into distinctive districts.
“The idea is for all of these districts to be centered around an experience,” said Kyle Clifton, president of Claremore Main Street and the city’s director of director of planning. “For the Lilac District, that experience is that it’s a place to relax, to enjoy a good meal, to shop at some unique establishments. It’s a place that has something for just about everyone.”
Clifton said the city has offered refurbishing grants to downtown merchants to help them spruce up the historic buildings in which they operate. And the city is planning to bring back another namesake — the annual Lilac Festival, which also got its start because of the connection to Riggs’ most famous play.
“It was something the city did for years, so it’s also an homage to our cultural heritage,” Clifton said.
“For many years, we were bound by some pretty strict ordinances that more or less prevented there being any kind of nightlife downtown,” Feary added. “We were able to get those changed, and you can see the difference that has made with things like our Food Truck Thursday and the Dickens on the Boulevard event at Christmas. People are learning that there’s more to our downtown than antiques.”
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