Leanza Cornette to appear in Saturday's production of "Trail of the Lonesome Pine" in Big Stone Gap, Virginia.
BIG STONE GAP, Va. — “The Trail of the Lonesome Pine,” the official outdoor drama of the Commonwealth of Virginia and member of The Crooked Road Heritage Music Trail, is celebrating a 54th consecutive season dur-ing the summer of 2017 with several special performances planned over the season.
Leanza Cornett, a former resident of Big Stone Gap who went on to claim the crown of Miss America in 1993, joins the cast of the drama on Saturday in the role of Miss Anne Saunders, the school teacher.
Cornett, raised in Jacksonville, Florida, was crowned National Sweet-heart in 1991, Miss Florida in 1992 and Miss America in 1993. As Miss America, she became the first title holder to adopt AIDS Awareness and Education as the platform for her year of service.
She has served as a host for several television shows, including “En-tertainment Tonight” (1994–1995), “New Attitudes” (1998), and “Who Wants to Marry a Multi-Millionaire?” (2000). She made guest appearances in television series such as “Melrose Place,” “The Tick,” and “Fear Factor.” She serves as a reporter for Animal Planet’s coverage of the Eukanuba AKC National Dog Show, and she currently hosts “THE CHAT,” a talk show based in Jacksonville, Florida, on NBC and ABC affiliates.
Guests might recognize The Trail of the Lonesome Pine Outdoor Drama as featured in scenes from the 2015 movie “Big Stone Gap,” based on the novel of the same name by local author Adriana Trigiani. “The Milk Glass Moon Seat Package” is a special package that features seats G5 & G7 occupied by Ashley Judd and Patrick Wilson in the movie. These two seats under the stars are the best place to view the milk glass moon, obviously; but guests in these seats also receive a special gift and some other perks. The Milk Glass Moon Seat Package is $50 and may be purchased by contacting the box office.
“The Trail of the Lonesome Pine” runs through Aug. 19 and is per-formed each Thursday, Friday and Saturday at 8 p.m. with Jerome Street closing to through traffic at 6 p.m., amphitheater gates opening at 7 p.m., pre-show entertainment beginning at 7:15 p.m. Arrive early for concessions and visit the June Tolliver House and Folk Art Center museum next door, as well as the drama gift shop.
Tickets prices are $18 for adults, $15 for seniors and active mili-tary, $10 for children 12 and under, free for children 5 and under, and groups of 10 or more can receive discounted tickets by calling the box office, 800-362-0149, to make arrangements.
To make reservations or purchase tickets online, visit www.TrailOfTheLonesomePine.com and select the Box Office link. You can also find the drama on facebook under Trail of The Lonesome Pine Outdoor Drama.
