Media Archive

 First Lady Michelle Obama made a suprise visit to the Saturday evening performance of the A.R.T.’s production of  ‘The Gershwins’ Porgy and Bess’ now running on Broadway.  

First Lady Michelle Obama made a suprise visit to the Saturday evening performance of the A.R.T.’s production of  ‘The Gershwins’ Porgy and Bess’ now running on Broadway. 

ART’s ‘Woody Sez’ a tribute on his centennial that captures his spirit and shows its relevance

ART’s ‘Woody Sez’ a tribute on his centennial that captures his spirit and shows its relevance.

In a time of widespread affluence, I doubt a show about the life and work of American singer-songwriter Woody Guthrie would strike much of a chord, unless hillbilly folk and blues were your bag. But, my, how the world has changed. I defy anyone to go and see Woody Sez at the Arts Theatre and not come away feeling that this modest yet delectable offering is a pretty snug fit for these cash-strapped, anxious times.

What chokes your throat in this show is the profound pride in being the heir to people who despite struggling with real hardship, still believed in the inherent goodness of their neighbors and saw worth in banding together with them to make a better world for everyone. Pride, and shame at what we sometimes seem to have lost.

Long before Bob Dylan and the folk-inspired protest singers of the 1960s, there was Woody Guthrie, a troubadour of backwoods America who believed in “singing for the plain folks and getting tough with the rich folks”.

In the same spirit as that of the Muppets, the iconic puppets created by Jim Henson whose mayhem and mischief speak to children and adults, “The Snow Queen,” complete with its own set of enchanted puppets, engages audiences of any age with a clever and elegantly reimagined version of the classic fairy tale by Danish storyteller Hans Christian Andersen. The new stage adaptation is the work of a group of students from the A.R.T. Institute, a two-year, graduate training program for aspiring actors and dramaturges. Institute student Tyler J. Monroe adapted the story for the stage.