Woody Guthrie's American Song is a pleasantly rousing tribute to musical Americana, and Marin Theatre Company has gloriously mounted a spirited revival of this stirring tradition. Five lively singers enact sequences of Woody's career through some of his most popular songs. With the onstage banda of three musicians and a simplified rustic set, the show is a series of vignettes with spoken details of the politics and economic conditions of the time when he was traveling around the country writing songs and singing during the years of the Great Depression and the World War. The enthusiastic ensemble delivers Guthrie's uplifting folk songs with a personal fervor.
MTC's production expertly expresses the spirit of the show and of the music with the songs and ballads from Woody's legacy. Sam Misner as Woody and other cast members narrate briefly between songs. The songs follow Woody from his Oklahoma birthplace through the Dust Bowl, New York City and California. With minimal set pieces to denote his travels, Woody and the company sing his familiar numbers about "Dust Storm Disaster" and "Hard Travellin'." They sensitively portray the radical nature of Woody's politics while remaining fervently enthralled by his music.
The banda is a foot-stomping trio dressed in Jocelyn Herndon's vividly descriptive, plain costumes. The choreography is interesting and provides motivation for crosses and actions while remaining understated and unobtrusive. For the song "Bound for Glory" from Woody's hobo days, a set change denotes a train. The singers crouch on a platform and rock rhythmically back and forth while Woody climbs a car ladder with his guitar. This is one of the most animated scenes in over two quick hours, until the well known finale. "This Land Is Your Land" invites the audience to sing along while the singers form a vee shape. This fortunate staging allows the singers to concentrate on and conscientiously deliver their work.
Suggestive of the diversity of American culture, the show opens with a multi-voiced cacophony that blends into harmonies. During an ensemble number of "The People I Owe," singer Lisa Asher's twangy voice harmonizes outstandingly with Megan Pearl Smith's soprano. Baritone Berwick Haynes provides a strong basis for the other singers. Tenor Matt Mueller as the Cisco Kid competes with Woody at guitar busking on a New York street in a hat lazzi. The two subtly sabotage each other while singing and playing their hilarious duet "New York Town."
The show is meant to be feel-good nostalgia and ennobling themes set to an uncomplicated, tuneful score. MTC has succeeded admirably in creating a comfortable, professional production. It's more than a concert of Woody Guthrie's best songs, but it's definitely worth seeing for the music alone.
Woody Guthrie's American Song continues through June 20 at Marin Theatre Company, 397 Miller Ave, Mill Valley. Tickets ($31) are available online at www.marintheatre.org or by phone at 415.388.5208.
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