People's Light to Begin 50th Anniversary Season with THE PORCH ON WINDY HILL

Malvern-based theatre People's Light will kick off its 50th Anniversary season with the regional premiere presentation of The Porch on Windy Hill, a new play with old music by David M. Lutken, Sherry Stregack Lutken, Lisa Helmi Johanson, and Morgan Morse. The story follows a young couple who leave their life in Brooklyn for the mountains of North Carolina in search of musical inspiration. It features live performances of a dozen traditional American roots melodies played on a mix of guitars, violins, banjos, and an erhu. Conceived and directed by Sherry Stregack Lutken, the production's cast features audience-favorite David M. Lutken returning to the People's Light stage with actors Rob Morrison and EJ Zimmerman. The Porch on Windy Hill runs from September 18 to October 13, with 28 performances presented on the Steinbright Stage, an intimate, flexible 140-seat theatre.

People's Light begins its golden anniversary season with a journey through Appalachia, where Bluegrass/Americana meets a worldly perspective on musical roots and family ties. In The Porch on Windy Hill, Mira (Zimmerman), a biracial Korean American violinist, and her boyfriend Beckett (Morrison) reconnect with her estranged grandfather Edgar (Lutken), delving into the joys and pains of the past. In the mountains of North Carolina, they discover the ability to bridge divides and heal wounds through the power of music. Set against a backdrop of authentic “old-time” and Bluegrass melodies, this heartwarming tale combines endearing characters and traditional instruments in a harmonious exploration of heritage and human connection.

The cast of The Porch on Windy Hill is led by actor, singer, and musician EJ Zimmerman as Mira and New York City-based actor, singer, songwriter, multi-instrumentalist, and composer Rob Morrision as her boyfriend Beckett. Joining them onstage as Mira's estranged grandfather Edgar is David Lutken, who reprises the role after previously appearing in each of the play's previous productions. This includes the 2021 world premiere at the Ivoryton Playhouse in Connecticut and three productions in Chicago, Illinois, Lowell, Massachusetts, and Weston, Vermont.

The production marks the sixth time Lutken has performed on the Malvern theatre's stage. He previously appeared in Ring of Fire: The Music of Johnny Cash (2016), The Road: My Life with John Denver (2016), his hit production Woody Sez: The Life & Music of Woody Guthrie (2014 and 2018), and a production of Our Town (2019), directed by Abigail Adams. In addition to performing and recording the 2018 cast album of Woody Sez: The Life & Music of Woody Guthrie live on the Leonard C. Haas Stage at People's Light, Lutken and his company have toured the critically acclaimed production across the U.S., Europe, the Middle East, and China.

“We are thrilled to have David Lutken back to help us launch our 50th Anniversary Season,” cheers Zak Berkman, Producing Artistic Director. “He's one of our most beloved company members and brings such honesty, tenderness, joy, and humor to all of his work. It's like he's the living, breathing antidote to all the tension and inauthenticity of these times – and you don't want to miss his hootenannies!”

In the spring of 2021, Lutken's wife and artistic collaborator of 25 years, Sherry Stregack Lutken, came up with an idea for a three-actor play centered around an American family's cultural and generational divisions, isolation, self-examination, and the hope of reunion, with music as the catalyst. The Lutkens then brought on multi-hyphenate artists Lisa Helmi Johanson and Morgan Morse as collaborators and wrote what became The Porch on Windy Hill, a new play with old music. It has been met with critical acclaim, hailed by the Chicago Reader as “a delight from beginning to end.”

The regional premiere presentation of The Porch on Windy Hill at People's Light marks its fifth production, all of which have been led by director and co-writer Sherry Stregack Lutken. She has numerous Off-Broadway and Regional directing and choreography credits, including: The Bourgeois Gentleman, The Million Dollar Quartet, Hank Williams: Lost Highway, Hopscotch, and Anything Goes. In 2009, she directed the first regional production of Ring of Fire: The Music of Johnny Cash at North Carolina's Flat Rock Playhouse as well as its 2016 production at People's Light. Stregack Lutken has directed many subsequent productions around the U.S., as well as internationally at the English Theatre in Vienna, Austria, and The Deutsches Theater in Munich, Germany. As Associate Director of the critically acclaimed Woody Sez: The Life and Music of Woody Guthrie, Stregack Lutken has set productions of the musical in Chicago, Washington D.C., Florida, and its first national U.K. tour.

Stregack Lutken leads the production's creative team, which features David M. Lutken as Music Director, Scenic Designer Mara Ishihara Zinky, Costume Designer Gregory Graham, Lighting Designer Dawn Chiang, Sound Designer Sun Hee Kil, and Stage Manager Audrey M. Brown. 

TICKET INFORMATION

Preview performances for The Porch on Windy Hill are from Wednesday, September 18, through Saturday, September 21. The production opens with a performance on Sunday, September 22, at 2 p.m. and runs through Sunday, October 13. Tickets start at $35, including fees. People's Light also offers a range of ticket discounts, including youth tickets, 50% off Access Nights, 25% off for educators and military, and discounted student and industry tickets. The Access Night performances for The Porch on Windy Hill are Tuesday, September 24, at 7 p.m., or Wednesday, October 9, at 2 p.m.

People's Light hosts a variety of ancillary events to further engage with audiences around its productions. For The Porch on Windy Hill, the theatre hosts Thursday Hootenannies, a post-performance BYOI (bring-your-own-instrument) musical free-for-all with the cast. All musicians and music enthusiasts are welcome to hoot, holler, and sing along. Thursday Hootenannies for The Porch on Windy Hill are available on September 26 and October 3 and 10. Additionally, David M. Lutken will appear at a Voter Registration event on Saturday, September 7, at 11:30 a.m. held at the People's Light Campus outside the Leonard C. Hass Stage and at South Wayne PorchFest from 2 to 2:45 p.m.

Learn more about available ticket discounts here. To purchase single tickets, visit peopleslight.org or call the box office at 610-644-3500. Special rates are available for groups of 10 or more. For more information or to purchase group tickets, call the People's Light Box Office at 610-644-3500 or email tickets@peopleslight.org.  

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