Lonesome Traveler: The Concert (with Special Guest, Peter Yarrow of Peter, Paul & Mary)

Thursday, March 29, 2018 – 7:30 PM

VPAC at OCCC

Presented By

Experience the enduring power and popularity of American folk music with Lonesome Traveler, the stirring concert version of the acclaimed Off-Broadway musical that the New York Times called “illuminating… revelatory… achingly beautiful.”

Charismatic young singers and multi-instrumentalists return us to a time when music brought us together – when it changed us. Complete with period costumes and multimedia projections, this unforgettable concert event takes us from the 1920s to the 1960s – from the back porches of Appalachia to the nightclubs of San Francisco and New York – from the festival stages of Newport to the sound stages of Los Angeles. Romantic duets, patriotic songs, church hymns, union anthems, songs of protest – the story of folk music is truly the story of an ever-changing America.

Conceived and directed by Ovation and L.A. Drama Critics Circle Award-winner James O’Neil, with Tony nominee Dan Wheetman as original musical director and arranger, and Grammy winner George Grove of The Kingston Trio as orchestrator, the show is subtitled “The Roots of American Folk Music" and celebrates the likes of Woody Guthrie,  Lead Belly, Pete Seeger, The Weavers, Gordon Lightfoot, Peter, Paul and Mary, Bob Dylan, The Byrds, Donovan, Cat Stevens, Don McLean, James Taylor, Van Morrison and Leonard Cohen.

An inspiring evening of great music, Lonesome Traveler presents a revealing perspective of the roots forever embedded in our culture, bringing together audiences of all ages.

Peter Yarrow was the founding member of Peter, Paul and Mary - with Peter Yarrow, Mary Travers and Noel Stookey - which debuted in 1961.They chose the catchy "Peter, Paul and Mary" as the name for their group, since Noel Stookey's middle name was Paul, and rehearsed intensively for six months, touring outside New York before debuting in 1961 as a polished act at The Bitter End nightclub in Greenwich Village.

On August 28, 1963, Peter, Paul and Mary appeared on stage with the Reverend Martin Luther King at his historic March on Washington where their performance of "Blowin' in the Wind" established it as a civil rights anthem.

Yarrow's songwriting helped to create some of Peter, Paul and Mary's best-known songs, including "Puff, the Magic Dragon", "Day is Done," and "Light One Candle".