This Friday (Aug. 23) and Saturday (Aug. 24), Woody Guthrie fans are in for a treat when an award-winning five-star play takes centre stage at the historic Sunset Theatre in Wells.
Written and performed by Vancouver-based actor Thomas Jones and director John Murphy, Woody Sed has been described by Winnipeg’s Uptown Magazine as a “powerful piece delivered by a powerhouse talent” about the life and times of Woody Guthrie and the songs he sang about them. Woody said: “All you can write is what you see.”
Well, Woody Guthrie saw it and wrote about it – from the dust bowl of Oklahoma to the orange groves of California and the towers of New York City; from Hobo Jungles to Union rallies and the Merchant Marines. Both a biography of a seminal American musician and an epic drama of Greek proportions, Woody Sed charts Guthrie’s rise to fame and his struggle to escape a harsh fate that dogged his footsteps to the end.
Featuring Woody’s songs, the story offers a cascade of colourful characters, all bundled up in a true-to-life tale. Woody was a provocative writer; his words ring as true today as they did in his own troubled times. Woody wrote and sang his truth, and his songs still inspire us to join in and carry on.
Writer and performer Jones was inspired to write the award-winning 90-minute solo show over 10 years ago.
“This play was born out of the sheer astonishment I experienced learning about Woody’s life and the relevance I saw in his work and his story to the world we live in today,” he says.
Jones has toured Woody Sed to rave reviews since 2008. The show is loaded with songs both well-known and obscure, and each song is framed in a theatrical context. For more information about the play, visit woodysed.com.
To book your tickets for what will be a stellar evening of entertainment, call the Sunset Theatre at 250-994-3400. The Sunset is located at 2357 Pooley St. in Wells. Tickets are $15, and showtime is 8 p.m. Visit sunset-theatre.com to learn more.
— Submitted by the Sunset Theatre
