POLSON - In real life, Montana Territorial Governor Thomas Meagher disappeared over the side of a Missouri River steamboat never to be heard from again.
But nowadays, Meagher's fictional equivalent is making a comeback, with an encore performance of a locally written musical.
"No Coward's Epitaph", the historical musical by Neal Lewing, premiered at the Port Polson Players theater last winter and got some rave reviews. The show not only tells the story of Meagher's brief political career in Montana, but his earlier role as an Irish patriot and folk hero, and his banishment to a prison colony.
The songs tell the story of how that revolution began, and the price Meagher and his friends had to pay for running afoul of the British government.
The musical also relates Meagher's arrival in America, where he became a Civil War leader before accepting his Montana assignment, with his subsequent disappearance.
Tickets for the encore performances of "No Coward's Epitaph" over the next two weekends are still available from the Port Polson Player's website.
