Woody Guthrie's American Song
Reviewed by David Kashimba
Photo by Ed Smith

 “Let me be known as a man who told you something you already knew,” says one of the characters that play Woody Guthrie in Woody Guthrie’s American Song, now showing at Marin Theatre in Mill Valley. Indeed, this was the key to Guthrie’s popularity. His songs touched people in an intimate way and they did so at a time Americans needed it most. He sang about the struggles Americans were going through in the great depression of the 1930’s. Born in Oklahoma in 1912, he lived through the great depression and the dust bowl that John Steinbeck wrote about in The Grapes of Wrath.

This Land is Your Land was probably his best known song, but its theme echoes in the over 1,000 original songs that Guthrie wrote. “Songs are a high art because singing lifts your mind free of your usual run of thinking and often shows you a world of new thoughts and stories and ideas – and principles and ideals are seen plainer while singing,” said Guthrie. “This is why singing is a part of all of us… it puts action and the ways to action clearly before you.”

The entire cast, directed by Peter Glazer and the band directed by Tony Marcus are excellent. The set design and special effects transport you to the 1930’s. There’s one scene that really makes you feel like you’re riding in a boxcar of an old train. With close to 30 of Guthrie’s songs performed, this show will keep you singing for days.

For tickets or more information call 415-388-5208 or visit www.marintheatre.org.

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