The first live outdoor simulcast of a theatre production outside of New York, the show will be presented in collaboration with the University’s Common Spaces Initiative and the A.R.T. The screening will take place in the plaza next to the Science Center. It will be preceded by a live performance at 6:30 p.m. with Sara Lee Guthrie, Woody Guthrie’s granddaughter, programmed by Harvard Square’s famous Club Passim. The live simulcast from the Loeb Drama Center will begin at 7:30 p.m. After the show, performers will join the simulcast audience in the Science Plaza for a celebration of Woody Guthrie’s Centennial with a birthday cake and a hootenanny. Audience members are encouraged to bring their own instruments and join the party.
The simulcast is one of several arts events taking place throughout the year as part of Harvard’s 375th anniversary celebration. It is also a part of the University’s Common Spaces Initiative, which seeks to foster a greater sense of community across Harvard by providing students, faculty and staff with opportunities to share spaces and experiences.
The event is free but tickets will be required. They can be obtained from the Harvard Box Office beginning May 3, 2012. A large tent will be erected at the Plaza in case of rain; a concessions stand and a cash bar will also be open during the performance.
One of the most influential songwriters and balladeers of the 20th century, Woody Guthrie transformed folk music into a vehicle for social protest and captured the adversity and hardship of a generation during the Great Depression. His music and activism paved the way for many great American music makers including, Bob Dylan, Bruce Springsteen, Johnny Cash and many more.
Woody Sez is a moving theatrical portrait that uses Woody’s words and songs, performed by the company of four singers and instrumentalists who play over twenty instruments, to transport the audience through Guthrie’s fascinating, beautiful, and sometimes tragic life.
For further information about these and other performances at the A.R.T., visit http://www.americanrepertorytheater.org/
For more information about Harvard’s Common Spaces Initiative and the simulcast, please visit: http://commonspaces.harvard.edu/.
Ticket Information: http://ofa.fas.harvard.edu/boxoffice/