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"Woody Guthrie's American Song" at Stage 3 Theatre Company. From left: Richard Sholer, Hoyt Cory, Christy Nava, Lillian Mcleod, Jeff Cooper.
The Critics have spoken. Here’s a little of what they had to say.
The Calaveras Enterprise
“The houselights go dark and seven players amble onstage, a few grabbing guitars, or a banjo or mandolin, and they strum a couple of chords. The cast turns and acknowledges the crowd, and then begins a revival the likes of which I haven’t seen in quite some time.…by the time I walked out of the theater, I had been saved. My mind was freer and my soul was singing.”
The Modesto Bee
“It's striking how contemporary Woody Guthrie's songs seem even though they were written decades ago.People really are touched by this music because of its rawness and honesty.
While it's enjoyable to hear the upbeat numbers like "This Land is Your Land," "Bound For Glory" and "Do Re Mi," some of the most engaging songs are the quieter pieces. The harmonies in the ballads like "Worried Man" and "Deportee" are gorgeous…
This uplifting production makes a great start for Stage 3's 2008 season.”
The Union Democrat
The talented cast performs 25 of Guthrie’s better known songs, which are as compelling as they are timeless. Woven into the fabric of our collective landscape, many of these songs hearken back to the unemployment, homelessness, dust storms, and refugee camps of the 1930s.The play ends on a high note with a rousing version of the classic "This Land is Your Land." "Woody Guthrie’s American Song" provides an entertaining and inspiring evening of theater as well as a step back in history.”
The Sierra Mountain Times
“The play struck the right chords with the audience who clapped, and tapped feet to some of the numbers which by the play’s end brought an appreciation for a man who resonated with the country’s common folk and cared enough about their condition to express his views through his folk singing.”
Woody Guthrie musical bound for Stage 3
Well folks, Woody Guthrie is in Sonora… again. And this time he’s brought friends.
Stage 3 is set to open its new season with the rollicking musical, “Woody Guthrie’s American Song” adapted by Peter Glazer with orchestrations and vocal arrangements by Jeff Waxman.
‘American Song’ is the foot stompin’, roof raisin’, heart breakin’ soul soarin’ musical journey of Woodie Guthrie down the highways, railroad lines, and back roads straight into the heart of America. An exuberant celebration, “Woody Guthrie's American Song” tells the life of the rambling folk singer through his words and music.
The New York Times said it "manages to find both the high beauty and the earthly humor of Guthrie's love affair with America."
‘This Land is Your Land’, ‘Bound for Glory’, ‘Do Re Mi’, ‘So Long, It’s Been Good To Know You’, ‘Better World A’Comin’ are just a few of the more than 25 songs in the show.
Best known for his triumphant anthem ‘This Land is Your Land’, Guthrie is a man of the people and an American icon. Just a man with a guitar, yet he changed his world. He gave focus and hope to generations of Americans, celebrating their triumphs and empathizing with their hardships – but always bringing humor, optimism and solace with him.
The play is taken directly from the Guthrie’s own words and tells the life of the rambling folksinger through his words and music. From the dust storms of Oklahoma to the promised land of California to the streets of New York City Guthrie spins the tale of the land that was “made for you and me”.
Artistic Director Don Bilotti says, “The music is fantastic. The cast will knock your socks off with their harmony work. Unlike most musicals, the actors play their own instruments. Onstage you’ll see guitars, mandolin, banjo, fiddle, standup bass, harmonica and more. I love the great vocal arrangements. In the hands of some of the region’s best singers and players, this music can gently rock you like a lullaby or soar to epic proportions.”
“It’s perfect for our theater”, Bilotti continues. “Our intimate space is a great setting for this music. Woody’s music brought courage, comfort and hope. The same things Stage 3 aspires to do.”
And yes, Guthrie did visit Sonora in his travels. This is some what he had to say. “Sonora’s crooked, narrow streets bent and run about as wild as some of the prospectors and their burrows, and I thought as I pushed my way along the tight alleys called streets, that maybe the whole town had been laid out by just following the tracks of a runaway prospector….streets so steep I had to throw myself in low gear to pull them. Down again so steep, I figured that most of Sonora’s citizens came and went by way of parachutes.”
Woodrow Wilson Guthrie was born on July 14, 1912, in Okemah, Oklahoma. After a series of immensely tragic personal losses and the boom and bust of the oil industry Oklahoma and Texas, he joined the great migration of dust bowl refugees heading west. Life on the road, hitchhiking and riding the rails became a lifelong habit he would often repeat. In Los Angeles he landed a spot on the radio where he became a beacon for the hundreds of thousands of dispossessed. Never comfortable with success or being in one place for too long, Woody headed east for New York City, arriving in 1940 where he made his first recordings. He continued to travel the country seemingly turning up wherever he was needed and always churning out songs and writings about what he saw. Part Mark Twain and part wandering minstrel, Woody enjoyed great success until he was struck down by Huntington’s Disease, a progressively debilitating ailment that took his life in 1967. At his bedside many of those last days was a very young Bob Dylan, soaking up as much as he possibly could.
Bilotti has assembled a stellar cast of musician/singer/actors. The cast includes Lillian McLeod, Christy Nava, Hoyt Cory, Jeff Cooper and Richard Sholer. Additional musicians are Rick Barlow and Ron Cotnam.
Dennis Brown will provide Vocal Direction. Set design will be by Ron Cotnam with Lights by Tommy Johnson and Matt Leamy. Nathan J. Yeisley is Stage Manager.
This production is made possible in part by Associate Producer Alan Peters, M.D.
“Woody Guthries American Song” will run at Stage 3, 208 S. Green St., downtown Sonora, from February 8 through March 23. The show will run Thursday through Sunday. Curtain times are 7 pm, Thursday, 8 pm Friday and Saturday and 2 pm Sunday. Ticket prices are $15 Thursday, $18 Friday, Saturday and Sunday. Senior Sundays are $15. Students always $12. Call 209 536 1778 for reservations and information. Visit www.stage3.org.
