Photo Flash: Rubicon Theatre Company's LONESOME TRAVELER

Rubicon Theatre Company continues its 2010-2011 Season with the World Premiere of Lonesome Traveler, a musical event that takes audiences on a journey down the rivers and streams of American Folk Music -- from the hills of Appalachia to the nightclubs of San Francisco and New York; from the 1920s to the 1960s. Conceived and directed by Rubicon?s Artistic Director James O?Neil, with Musical Direction and Arrangements by Dan Wheetman, Lonesome Traveler begins April 13 and continues through May 15 at Rubicon Theatre in Ventura?s Downtown Cultural District. Presented in concert-style, Lonesome Traveler is performed by nine artists who create musical portraits inspired by folk immortals such as Pete Seeger, Woody Guthrie, Joan Baez, Bob Dylan, The Carter Family, Leadbelly, Cisco Houston, The Almanac Singers, The Weavers, Peter Paul & Mary and others whose music and influence changed American music - and America itself-forever.

The company includes Tracy Nicole Chapman (Caroline, or Change and Into the Woods on Broadway), Anthony Manough (The Lion King and Jesus Christ Superstar on Broadway/Rubicon?s Songs for a New World), L.A.-based singer/songwriters Justine Bennett and Brendan (B. Willing) James (both mainstays in the Ventura music community and regular performers at Zoey?s Café), Sylvie Davidson (a Seattle actress and singer whose credits include ACT and Book-It), second-generation musicians James Webb and Trevor Wheetman, and New York-based actor/musicians Nicholas Mongiardo-Cooper and Justin Flagg (who plays the title character). All of the artists play multiple instruments and sing.

A few of the well-known song titles include "Will the Circle Be Unbroken," "This Land is Your Land," "Deportee," "Talkin? Union," "Goodnight Irene," "Puff, the Magic Dragon," "Mr. Tambourine Man," "We Shall Overcome," "Jamaica Farewell," "Tzena, Tzena, Tzena" and "Maggie?s Farm."

Performances of Lonesome Traveler are Wednesday through Saturday evenings, with matinees at 2:00 p.m. on Wednesdays, Saturdays and Sundays, at 1006 E. Main Street, Ventura, CA 93001. The press opening is Saturday, April 23 at 8:00 p.m. For tickets, call (805) 667-2900 or go to www.rubicontheatre.org.

Photo Credit: James Scolari

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