World Premiere of ‘Lonesome Traveler: Generations’

In what’s sure to be a celebration of the uplifting and thought-provoking power of folk music, multiple generations of artists come together in the world premiere musical event Lonesome Traveler: Generations at Ventura’s Rubicon Theatre. Featuring Lifetime Grammy Award-winners George Grove of “The Kingston Trio,” Rick Dougherty, of “The Kingston Trio” and “The Limeliters,” and Jerry Siggins, lead singer of “The Diamonds,” this trio of legendary musicians are joined onstage by artists from Lonesome Traveler, and I Dig Rock ‘n Roll Music, among others.

The concert — whose original theatrical incarnation Lonesome Traveler: A Journey Down the Rivers and Streams of American Folk premiered at Rubicon Theatre Company in April of 2011 and went on to successful productions at Laguna Playhouse and Off-Broadway, where it received Drama Desk and Outer Critic’s Circle nominations — includes songs such as “There’s a Meeting Here Tonight,” “Sweeter Than Wine,” “Mountain Thyme,” “MTA,” “City of New Orleans,” “Early Morning Rain” “Teach Your Children,” “Country Roads,” “California Dreamin’,” “Will the Circle Be Unbroken,” Phil Ochs’ “Power and Glory” coupled with John Legend’s “Glory,” and original songs by Trevor Wheetman and Sylvie Davidson, as well as a song recently written by Noel Paul Stookey, “Standing on the Shoulders.”

“Audiences will hear some of their favorite folk songs in the styles of each of the generations represented in the cast. Part of the fun of this concert is that we get a sense of how a song can morph and change through time. Folk songs are both timeless and firmly rooted in the circumstances of the time in which they are performed,” said the show’s Director/Co-Creator James O’Neil. The Artistic Director Emeritus co-founded Rubicon Theatre Company with Artistic Director Karyl Lynn Burns, who said of Lonesome Traveler: “Folk music is alive and well at Rubicon. It continues to be a multi-generational family affair and an important part of the Rubicon ethos. We are thrilled to be creating a new version that we hope will bring children, parents, and grandparents together to share songs that have been a part of their life stories. When people lift their voices together, it brings them closer together.”

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Lonesome Traveler: Generations

Runs: Saturday, June 11 – Sunday, June 26, 2022

Performances are Wednesdays at 2 p.m., Wednesdays at 7 p.m. (with talkback following), Thursdays at 7 p.m.; Fridays at 8 p.m.; Saturdays at 2 p.m. and 8 p.m., and Sundays at 2 p.m.

Rubicon Theatre Company  

1006 E. Main Street, Ventura (at Laurel)

Rubicontheatre.org, (805) 667-2900

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