Marin Theatre Company Presents WOODY GUTHRIE'S AMERICAN SONG 5/27-6/20

MARIN THEATRE COMPANY PRESENTS Woody Guthrie'S AMERICAN SONG
A Musical Based on the Life and Times of the Legendary Songwriter

Songs & writings by Woody Guthrie | Conceived, adapted & directed by Peter Glazer
Orchestrations & vocal arrangements by Jeff Waxman

May 27 through June 20, 2010 | Opening Night June 1

Legendary folk singer Woody Guthrie wrote songs about hard times-the Great Depression, the Dust Bowl, high unemployment, and war. But he also sang about the joy of being alive and being an American. This stirring musical follows Guthrie as he rambles coast to coast from California to the New York Islands, and features over two dozen of his most famous songs, including Bound for Glory and This Land Is Your Land.

"A glorious show and magnificent theatrical journey." - CHICAGO SUN TIMES

WHO:
Songs and writings by Woody Guthrie

Conceived, adapted & directed by Peter Glazer

Orchestrations & vocal arrangements by Jeff Waxman

With Lisa Asher, Berwick Haynes, Sam Misner, Matthew Mueller, and Megan Pearl Smith. The band includes Chuck Ervin, Tony Marcus, and Harry Yaglijian.

WHEN: May 27 through June 20, 2010
Opening Night: Tue, June 1
Previews: Thu May 27 through Sun May 30

Performance Schedule May 27 through June 20
Tue, Thu, Fri & Sat 8:00 pm
Wed 7:30 pm
Sun 7:00 pm
Matinees: Thu June 10, 1:00 pm | Sat June 5 and 20, 2 pm | Every Sun 2:00 pm
Please check www.marintheatre.org or call box office at 415.388.5208 for exact performance dates and times.

WHERE: Marin Theatre Company | 397 Miller Avenue, Mill Valley, CA 94941

TICKETS: $34-$54, details below (discounts available for seniors and students)

INFO: 415.388.5208 | www.marintheatre.org

Ticket Prices
Previews: Thu through Sun: $34
Regular Performances:
Tues: $34 in advance, or Pay-What-You-Can (excludes Opening)
Wed, Thu, & Sun Evenings: $37 & $44
Fri: $42 & $49
Sat Evenings: $47 & $54
Wed, Thu, Sat & Sun Matinees: $37 & $44
Opening Night (Tues) with Cast Reception: $47 & $54

Discounts available:
Student tickets: $20, all performances
Senior discounts, varies by performance, please call
RUSH tickets $15, available one-half hour prior to show, based on availability
Pay-What-You-Can Tuesdays (excludes Opening)

ABOUT MTC. Marin Theatre Company is the Bay Area's premiere mid-sized theater and the leading professional theater in the North Bay. We produce a five- to six-show season of provocative plays by passionate playwrights from the 20th century and today in two intimate theaters - a 231 seat proscenium and a 99-seat thrust. We are committed to the development and production of new plays by American Playwrights, with a comprehensive New Play Program that includes at least one world premiere each season, two nationally recognized annual playwriting awards, numerous new play readings and workshops by the nation's best emerging playwrights, and a leadership position in the National New Play Network. Our numerous educational programs serve more than 6,000 students each year.

ARTIST BIOS

Woodrow Wilson "Woody" Guthrie (1912-1967) is best known as an American singer-songwriter and folk musician whose musical legacy includes hundreds of political, traditional and children's songs, ballads and improvised works. His best-known song, "This Land Is Your Land," is regularly sung in American schools. Guthrie traveled with migrant workers from Oklahoma to California and learned traditional folk and blues songs. Many of his songs are about his experiences in the Dust Bowl era during the Great Depression. Guthrie served as a figurehead in the American folk music movement, providing inspiration to a generation of new folk musicians, including mentor relationships with Ramblin' Jack Elliott and Bob Dylan. He was the father of American folk singer Arlo Guthrie. Many of his recorded songs are archived in the Library of Congress.

Peter Glazer (Playwright and Director) Peter's musical Matthew, Margaret, Pat and Kate, co-written with singer/songwriter Michael Smith, was produced at MTC in 1994. Woody Guthrie's American Song has been seen at over 100 theaters around the US and won dozens of awards, including two Bay Area Drama Critics awards, three Joseph Jefferson Awards in Chicago, and Drama Desk and Outer Critics Circle nominations in New York. Other works and collaborations include O'Carolan's Farewell to Music; Heart of Spain - A Musical of the Spanish Civil War; and Foe, adapted from Nobel Laureate J.M. Coetzee's novel. Additional directing credits include José Rivera's Marisol, Big River, My Fair Lady, Brad Fraser's Unidentified Human Remains and the True Nature of Love, Howard Barker's Seven Lears, William Shakespeare's Measure for Measure, Harold Pinter's Silence, and Maria Irene Fornes' Springtime. Glazer holds a doctorate in Performance Studies from Northwestern University, and is an Associate Professor in the Department of Theater, Dance, and Performance Studies at UC Berkeley.

Jeff Waxman (Orchestration, Musical Arrangements and Musical Supervisor) makes his MTC debut with Woody Guthrie's American Song. He has worked on many of the show's productions with Peter Glazer since its inception, including the 2009 Colorado Shakespeare Festival production for which he was nominated for a Denver Post Ovation Award, and received a Colorado Henry Award, as well as a Westward Magazine Award for arrangements, orchestrations, and musical direction. Jeff also received a Drama Desk nomination for his orchestrations for its Off-Broadway production. Jeff was the orchestrator, vocal arranger, and musical director for Almost Heaven, Songs and Stories of John Denver at the Denver Center Theatre Company. He produced the Grammy-nominated cast album of the Broadway Musical Doonesbury, which he also arranged, conducted and musical directed. Jeff owns Dancing Bull Music and Waxtrax Recording where he produces and composes music for theater, television, film, and commercial children's educational products.

Lisa Asher (Company) makes her MTC debut in Woody Guthrie's American Song. She appeared in the award-winning 20th anniversary production at the Colorado Shakespeare Festival in 2008. Other recent credits include I Married Wyatt Earp at Bristol Riverside Theatre and Almost Heaven: Songs and Stories of John Denver at Denver Center Theatre Company. Lisa toured nationally with the Broadway show The Who's Tommy and appeared off-Broadway in Woody Guthrie's American Song at Promenade Theatre. She performed in a tribute concert for Woody Guthrie at the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame alongside Bruce Springsteen and Arlo Guthrie. Lisa is a recipient of a New York Nightlife Award, a MAC Award, and a Back Stage Bistro Award for her solo work in cabarets in New York. She has two solo CDs, Let the Mystery Be and Lisa Asher Live at The Duplex. She can also be heard on the original cast recording of Almost Heaven. Lisa is a graduate of the University of Kentucky.

Berwick Haynes (Company) was last seen at MTC as Winston in Avenue X. Bay Area credits include The Cay at California Theatre Center, The 25th Annual Putnam County Spelling Bee at San Jose Repertory Theatre, and The Full Monty at Broadway By the Bay. Regional credits include Ain't Misbehavin' and Cyrano de Bergerac at Tennessee Repertory Theatre; Seussical the Musical at Chicago Shakespeare Theater; and Anyone Can Whistle with Patti LuPone and Audra McDonald at the Ravinia Festival. Berwick is a graduate of San Francisco State University.

Sam Misner (Company) makes his MTC debut in Woody Guthrie's American Song. He reprises this role from the 2008 Colorado Shakespeare Festival production. Local credits include Cal Shakes, Center REP, Playground, and Pacific ALLIANCE THEATRE Company. Regional credits include Colorado Shakespeare Festival, Indiana Repertory Theatre, Syracuse Stage, Geva Theatre Center, Foothill Theatre Company, and four seasons with Shakespeare Santa Cruz. Sam also performs and tours regularly in the Folk/Americana duo, Misner & Smith. His song "Madeline" won the West Coast Songwriter's Association's Song of the Year in 2007, and the title track of the duo's most recent album Poor Player was nominated in the New Folk Song category in the Just Plain Folks music organization's international song contest. Sam holds a BA in theater arts from the University of California Santa Cruz.

Matthew Mueller (Company) makes his MTC debut in Woody Guthrie's American Song after appearing in the 2008 Colorado Shakespeare Festival production. Regional credits include A Christmas Carol, Hamlet, The Two Gentlemen of Verona, Love's Labor's Lost, and Around the World in 80 Days (Denver Post Ovation Award) at Colorado Shakespeare Festival; Morisot Reclining, The Glass Menagerie, and Savage in Limbo at Boulder Ensemble Theatre Company; Contrived Ending at Conundrum Productions; Stories on Stage, Richard III, and Living History at the Denver Center for the Performing Arts; and American Buffalo at Palm Beach Dramaworks. Matt has appeared in productions of The Complete Works of William Shakespeare (Abridged) at Colorado Shakespeare Festival, Boulder Ensemble Theatre Company, and Utah Shakespearean Festival.

Megan Pearl Smith (Company) makes her MTC debut in Woody Guthrie's American Song after appearing in the 2008 Colorado Shakespeare Festival production. Bay Area credits include San Jose Repertory Theatre, Cal Shakes, TheatreWorks, SF Playhouse, Center REP, and Playground. Regional credits include the Colorado Shakespeare Festival, Willamette Repertory Theatre, Foothill Theatre Company, Capital Stage, and Viola in Nancy Carlin's production of Twelfth Night at the Lake Tahoe Shakespeare Festival. Megan performs original music with the Folk/Americana duo, Misner & Smith. The pair recently headlined at Berkeley's Freight & Salvage and will be on tour throughout the western states following this production.

Tony Marcus (Music Director, Mandolin, Fiddle, Banjo) makes his first appearance at MTC in Woody Guthrie's American Song. He has previously performed in Woody Guthrie's American Song at Berkeley Rep and San Jose Repertory Theatre. Additional credits include It Ain't Nothin' But the Blues at TheatreWorks; Lost Highway at Center Repertory Theatre; Fire on the Mountain at Northlight Theatre, Seattle Repertory Theatre, Denver Center Theatre, Barter Theatre and San Diego Rep; and Almost Heaven and Appalachian Strings at Denver Center Theatre. He has played music from Yokohama to Dublin, and has performed with Geoff Muldaur, R. Crumb and the Cheap Suit Serenaders, Cats & Jammers, and many others. Tony currently sings and plays songs from the great American songbook with Patrice Haan in the duo Leftover Dreams.

Chuck Ervin (Bass, Harmonica) makes his MTC debut in Woody Guthrie's American Song. His theater credits include Hoss in Hank Williams: Lost Highway for Center REP and Sierra Repertory Theater, and playing in the stage band in Foxfire at Contra Costa Civic Theatre. Chuck currently performs with the acoustic roots quartet Euphonia, the jazz-pop vocal group Pop Top Trio with Sylvia Herold and Ed Johnson, the jazz-pop-rock ensemble Chris Grampp & the DialTones, and Celtic-Grateful Dead jam band Wake the Dead.

Harry Yaglijian (Guitar, Banjo, Piano) makes his MTC debut in Woody Guthrie's American Song. He has been a member of many memorable bands including the Good Ol' Persons, Old Friends, High and Lonesome, Lost Highway, Lost Tribe, Carolina Special, Boomtown Lulu's, and the Shell Road Band. He has also played guitar, mandolin, and bass as a substitute member of many Bay Area bluegrass bands such as High Country, Done Gone, and the David Thom Band. Harry served on the Freight & Salvage Coffeehouse Board of Directors from 1988 until 2009.

Photo Credit: Glenn Asakawa

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