Woody Sez: The Life & Music of Woody Guthrie

Woody Sez: The Life & Music of Woody Guthrie first premiered in 2007 at the Edinburgh Festival Fringe, created by David M. Lutken alongside Nick Corley, Darlin Corey, and Andy Teirstein. Conceived as a theatrical tribute to the American folk pioneer, the biographical musical was devised to trace Guthrie's journey from Oklahoma during the Great Depression through his time as a migrant worker, radio personality, union activist, and political songwriter. Over the past two decades, the production has toured extensively across the United States, Europe, and the West End, adapting its staging while maintaining a core quartet of actor-musicians who handle both the narrative and the instrumentation live on stage.

The current run at Soho's Underbelly Boulevard, which opened on 8 September, presents a streamlined production built around Guthrie’s extensive back catalogue. The staging is minimalist, placing the focus entirely on four performers who alternate between more than fifteen acoustic instruments, including guitar, banjo, fiddle, harmonica, double bass, and mandolin. The narrative structure moves chronologically through Guthrie’s life, detailing his early family tragedies in Okemah, his travels along Route 66 to California, his radio broadcasts in Los Angeles, and his eventual arrival in New York City, where his political activism deepened.

Audiences attending the show can expect a continuous, high-tempo performance featuring over twenty-five songs. The setlist includes his most recognizable works, such as "This Land Is Your Land," "So Long, It's Been Good to Know Yuh," "Pastures of Plenty," and "Bound for Glory." Rather than relying on traditional theatrical scenery or recorded backings, the production functions as both a biographical play and a live folk hootenanny. The cast delivers ensemble harmonies and intricate acoustic arrangements, interspersed with spoken-word excerpts from Guthrie’s prose, radio transcripts, and newspaper columns.

The opening night performance concluded with a post-show question-and-answer session featuring Woody Guthrie’s daughter, Nora Guthrie. She discussed her family’s ongoing efforts to archive her father’s unpublished lyrics and writings through the Woody Guthrie Center, while also highlighting the family’s long-standing advocacy for Huntington’s disease research—the genetic neurological condition that claimed her father’s life in 1967. She detailed how her mother, Marjorie Guthrie, founded the Committee to Combat Huntington's Disease (now the Huntington's Disease Society of America), establishing a legacy of medical activism that continues to support clinical developments today.

Headed by David M. Lutken as Guthrie, the ensemble delivers virtuosic musical execution, steering the show clear of standard jukebox formulas through historical precision and acoustic authenticity. Guthrie's catalogue retains raw topicality, with lyrics on economic displacement, labour rights, anti-fascism, and social inequality landing with direct relevance to modern political realities.

Woody Sez offers a detailed, musically proficient chronicle of an artist whose work directly shaped twentieth-century popular music and influenced figures ranging from Bob Dylan and Johnny Cash to Joe Strummer and Billy Bragg. The production remains a tight, authentic exploration of American folk history. Highly recommended.

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Photo credit: Wendy Mutz