Press Release
As part of the Smithsonian traveling exhibit “Crossroads: Change in Rural America” currently showing at the student center on the USU Eastern campus, Morgan Lund will put on the theatrical production “The Mormon Kid: The Life of Matt Warner, Last of the Bandit Raiders” for free on Thursday, Feb. 15 at 7 pm in the Black Box Theater of the Central Instruction Building. The production is sponsored by USU Theater Department with free popcorn!
The Outlaw characters of the American West have captured our imagination like no other American Era. It is full of good stories, our heritage and our history. “The Mormon Kid” is the story of the early years of Matt Warner, a young Mormon Settler born in Ephraim, Utah and follows Matt’s life.
Matt Warner ran away from home after an argument over a girl and fell into a cattle rustling gang, where he was nicknamed “The Mormon Kid.” Through his brother-in-law, he became a part of the Robber’s Roost Gang with Butch Cassidy. He robbed banks, and after he was captured and convicted of manslaughter, he promised the then-Utah governor he would go straight. He became sheriff of Carbon County.
The Mormon Kid is a two-act, one man play performed by Morgan Lund, directed by Xan Johnson, and features live music by John Serfustini.
Xan S. Johnson: Ph.D., is an emeritus professor in the Department of Theatre at the University of Utah.
Cellist John Serfustini can’t claim to be a virtuoso, having had his last music lesson 61 years ago. However, he has taken part in orchestral and small ensemble production in Carbon County since 1997.
Morgan Lund is the Artistic Director of The OtherSide Players, a professional acting company in Carbon County, Utah.