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The two-and-a-quarter hour show—a blend of history, performance, and sing-along—is a loving and knowing tribute to folk music as a venue for communal celebration and a consciousness-raising voice for peace, freedom, and social equity. And while it cannot possibly do justice to the entire range of folk music with roots in the United States and Canada (which also gets a nod), it amply succeeds in its mission of being a "progressive feast," taking us from the early field recordings collected in the 1920s and 1930s up through the time of its greatest commercial and popular success in the 1960s. During the course of the evening, a talented group of nine singers and musicians perform some three dozen songs, many of which will undoubtedly bring back memories for members of the audience whose lives were touched at one time or another by the music. Rather than simply play and sing, the cast members portray a number of real-life folk singers, from Guthrie, Seeger, and Lead Belly to the Kingston Trio, Peter, Paul, and Mary, and Bob Dylan (and his "scandalous" use of electric guitar during the 1963 Newport Folk Festival.) In making decisions about what moments to include, Mr. O'Neill, who also directs, has opted to touch only lightly on the decidedly left-leaning values embodied in the music. Unionism gets one song. The gentle "Where Have All The Flowers Gone" represents the anti-war protest movement. "We Shall Overcome" honors the struggle for African American civil rights. And there is only a brief mention of the Weavers' run-in with Senator Joseph McCarthy's House Un-American Activities Committee. Video projections of scenes depicting union activities, the plight of refugees from the Oklahoma Dustbowl, anti-war demonstrations, and the battle for civil rights serve as backdrops to the music. There is, however, one point that the show hits upon more emphatically, and that is how often the original voices, and sometimes even the intent of the music, became lost in the shuffle of "progress." Observe what happens with "There Is A Meeting Here Tonight," and consider the staging of the numbers, in which some singers are set behind scrims away from the spotlight, while others are shown front-and-center as they would have been seen in clubs or on television, or heard on financially successful recordings. Just something to ponder while you are being caught up in the terrific performances. Outstanding among the cast are Jennifer Leigh Warren, whose voice soars with the passion of blues, gospel, and an enthralling rendition of "We Shall Overcome;" Nicholas Mongiardo-Cooper, who channels Cisco Houston as he gives us the sadly still-relevant "Deportee," a 1948 song about Mexican migrant workers; and Justin Flagg, who serves as a stand-in for the indomitable Pete Seeger. Mr. Seeger was the most public voice for the folk music scene and served as its ardent purveyor for over 70 years, until his recent death. Mr. Flagg honors Seeger's banjo picking, his ability to get audience members to willingly try their hand at singing in harmony, and his undying commitment to the music and to the cause of social justice. It may be that we will never see a resurgence of the folk scene as it played out through much of the twentieth century, but surely, as the Weavers once gloriously sang and as Lonesome Traveler reminds us, "Wasn't That A Time!"
Lonesome Traveler
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