The Porch On Windy Hill -A New Play With Old Music
Suppose you are traveling across the rural south and hear the sounds of a fiddle, acoustic guitar, flute, whistle, pipes, accordion, mandolin, harmonica, and tenor banjo. In that case, you are close to a jamboree where people are having a wingding good ole time at a folk music event. Conceived and directed by Sherry Lutken, Northlight Theatre's The Porch on Windy Hill features bluegrass favorites and is a beautiful, brilliant portrait of folk music's charms. American folk music became popular around the 1950s, hitting its peak during the 1960s. Traditional folk music was passed down through the families teaching their kids and others how to play the music by ear, hearing the lyrics, and perfecting it through repetition instead of reading the music. Rooted in folklore traditions, where the typical folk song is strophic, reciting successive poem stanzas— the songs usually had four lines of rhythmic words that changed between generations, regions, and ethnicities.
The play opens with an old-fashion rural-style cabin home of Edgar (brilliantly played by David M. Lutken) as Mira's grandfather, singing music he learned when he was knee-high to a grasshopper. The first act is more music and less dialogue.
Mira, a Vietnamese American girl, travels the rural country roads with her boyfriend, Beckett, a pretty good musician writing a thesis on the historical folklore traditions and songs. After being isolated in their Brooklyn apartment during Covid, they escape using Mira's family's old van for musical authenticity and inspiration. They travel to sites using a map set with locations they can visit to learn and hear folk music; however, during their travels, the van breaks down. So Mira suggests they go off-map to a place she knows, which, unbeknown to Beckett, is Mira's old family home. And where she reconnects with her estranged grandfather, whom she hasn't seen since being a little girl and a folk music rural legend she never mentioned to Beckett.
The second act is where the intense drama unfolds. Mira is rediscovering her roots and traumatic history, while Edgar is passive-aggressively seeking to avoid the main issues that caused Mira and her parents to leave. Mira questions Edgar about the past and how he forsook her as a child, and he has to admit his betrayal and discrimination that caused the families to fall apart. The combination of past childhood trauma, prejudice, rekindling joy, and unforgettable music, The Porch on Windy Hill is a story that will make you laugh and cry. Lutken, note from the Director, quotes Martin Luther King, Jr.'s words regarding the harmful decisions we make when we remain silent about bigotry and hatred. During the Vietnam War in 1955 and during Covid, people treated anyone from the East Region of the world differently. War and worry equally bring fear, and this storyline touches on these painful issues in a humanistic fashion that reminds us we shouldn't hate the color but be thankful to the creator.
This new play with old music was a pleasant surprise and with an amazingly talented cast that would make any folk music savant proud. Lutken does an outstanding job working with Lisa Helmi Johanson(Mira), David M. Lutken(Edgar), and Morgan Morse as Beckett, who together co-wrote this production—the exhilarating narrative, superb music performance, and Beckett's impressive historical knowledge of folk music refreshingly a delight to watch.
Let's Play Theatrical Review Highly Recommends The Porch On Windy Hill.
Northlight Theatre
The Porch on Windy Hill: A new play with old music
Written by Sherry Lutken, Lisa Helmi Johanson, David M. Lutken, and Morgan Morse
Directed by Sherry Lutken
April 13 - May 14, 2023
