Woody Guthrie’s Life and Music Celebrated in Dupont Underground Concert
Voices Festival Productions is staging Woody Sez: The Life and Music of Woody Guthrie at Dupont Underground. The concert uses Guthrie’s songs and stories to examine his life, his view of music as a weapon, and his political choices. The review notes that this production differs from a straightforward tribute and arrives during a moment when Guthrie’s work feels relevant again.
Voices Festival Productions staged Woody Sez at Dupont Underground, with David M. Lutken, Raquel Chavez, Margaret Dudasik, and Hubby Jenkins performing. Lutken, a deviser, portrays Guthrie; the others embody figures from his life, including his mother, partners, and Leadbelly. Raquel Adorno designed period-looking costumes.
The production traces Guthrie’s experiences with generational trauma and poverty, his view of music as a weapon, and his political alignment. It follows a different path from Theater Alliance’s Woody Guthrie’s American Song, another DC Guthrie show that year, and the review says his work feels relevant again.
This production could affect DC audiences by connecting Guthrie’s songs to present-day questions about inequality, dignity, and civic responsibility. Music fans and politically engaged residents may find the performance prompts reflection on how artists use their work to comment on society. Because it arrives near an election, it may also encourage conversations about history, identity, and the role of culture in public life, though its impact will depend on individual viewers.