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ART’s ‘Woody Sez’ a tribute on his centennial that captures his spirit and shows its relevance
“The Gershwins’ Porgy and Bess,’’ a revival of the George Gershwin classic that began life last fall at the American Repertory Theater in Cambridge before moving to Broadway, has racked up 10 Tony Award nominations, second only to “Once,’’ which received 11 nominations.
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.
It isn't easy to put together a 90-minute musical that includes the Civil War, the birth of computer programming, indie rock, the internal dynamics of Lord Byron's family, mathematical formulas, and writing letters back and forth about an invention that will either save the world or be a precursor to the atom bomb.
Futurity: A Musical by The Lisps began as a concept album about an imaginative Civil War soldier who dreams of building a machine that creates peace and evolved into a staged musical that combines history, science fiction, technology, and imagination. Upon entering Oberon for the world premiere of Futurity, leave your presumptions about musical theater at the door. Born of the art world and the indie rock scene, the show is part performance art, part rock concert, and totally defies conventional labels.
A female scientist, a poetic script, gizmos, and an intellectual romance—“Futurity” has everything a hipster intellectual could ask for. The show revolves around the cast’s magnetic stage presence which, when combined with an innovative set design, makes this show a quirky musical triumph.
WGBH critic Jared Bowen reviews Futurity: A Musical by the Lisps on the airF
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.
"Civil War meets sci-fi in rock musical Futurity": Read a preview of the show from the Boston Globe.
