Winner of the 2013 Helen Hayes Award for Outstanding Lead Actor in a Non-Resident Production
woodY sez:
THE LIFE AND MUSIC OF WOODY GUTHRIE
19 Dupont Circle, NW DC
October 8 – 25, 2026
Featuring
David M. Lutken, with Raquel Chavez, Margaret Dudasik, and Hubby Jenkins
Devised by David M Lutken with Nick Corley and
Darcie Deaville, Helen Jean Russell and Andy Teirstein
Directed by Georgette Verdin
Part of this year’s
Voices From a Changing Nation series
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SYNOPSIS | CREATIVE TEAM
SYNOPSIS
"The international smash hit WOODY SEZ: THE LIFE & MUSIC OF WOODY GUTHRIE brings its unstoppable spirit and foot-stomping energy to DUPONT UNDERGROUND this election season!
THE ROCK & ROLL HALL OF FAME calls Woody Guthrie “the original folk hero, a man who, in the Thirties and Forties, transformed the folk ballad into a vehicle for social protest and observation .. Fueled by a boundless curiosity about the world, the colorful life he led became as legendary as the songs he wrote.”
“Bound For Glory”, “Pastures of Plenty”, “Vigilante Man”, “The Ballad of Tom Joad”, “Deportees” and “This Land Is Your Land” and many more, — WOODY SEZ celebrates “America’s greatest ballad maker,” the rambling troubadour whose unforgettable words, timeless melodies and extraordinary life-story embodied Resistance Singing, long before it became a hashtag.
His music continues to inspire today’s finest storytelling songwriters — from Bob Dylan and Joan Baez to Bruce Springsteen, Ani DiFranco, Jonatha Brooke, Chuck D, Tom Morello, Jesse Welles, and Jay Z.
David M. Lutken, winner of the Helen Hayes Award for his portrayal, returns to Washington to kick off a new, 2026 production of the tour-de-force musical, from Voices Festival Productions and Woodrow Theatricals at DUPONT UNDERGROUND Oct. 8th - 25th.
WOODY SEZ tells the vibrant, true story of a uniquely American hero whose radical influence, and songs of defiance, hope and resilience endure.
*
"The musicianship is first class ... Led by the nimble strumming of David M. Lutken – who looks enough like the Guthrie pictured in black-and-white photos over the stage to provide a convincing impression, aided further by his charmingly twangy locution – the cast effortlessly adapts to the rousing spirit of the songwriter’s heartland balladeering and protest music…
Guthrie’s music is more seductive than antagonistic, often managing to express with dry-eyed humor the bitter experiences of the poor.”
(Peter Marks - The Washington Post)
“A haunting, powerful show .. transcends its homespun materials to become a work of art”
(The New York Times)
“Stirringly captures the rebellious spirit of Guthrie’s times, and of our own .. Knocks the big West End biopics in a heap of dust!”
(The Guardian)
meet the cast
meet the creative team
Georgette Verdin is a Chicago-based director whose work explores identity, grief, and the intimate lives of women, earning her three Joseph Jefferson Award nominations and recognition as a 2023 NewCity Magazine “Players” honoree. She currently serves as Associate Artistic Director at Northlight Theatre, following her tenure as Managing Artistic Director of Interrobang Theatre Project.
ANDREW BOYCE (SCENIC DESIGNER) Recently in DC: Are You Now, or Have You Ever Been… (Arena); Wild Duck; Frankenstein (Shakespeare Theater Company). Recently in NYC: The Monsters (Manhattan Theater Club); Burning Cauldron of Fiery Fire (Vineyard). Broadway: Dana H. Other DC credits at Studio Theater and Woolly Mammoth. NYC credits with New York Theater Workshop, Primary Stages, Lincoln Center, Atlantic, Roundabout, among others. Regional credits with most major regional and LORT theaters across the U.S. Opera and Dance credits with Lyric Opera of Chicago, Opera Theater of St. Louis, Cincinnati Opera, Opera Omaha, Boston Lyric, Central City, San Diego Opera, Pacific Northwest Ballet, Ballet Hispanico, among others. Yale School of Drama. Associate Professor of Design at Northwestern. www.andrewboycedesign.com
JESSE BELSKY (LIGHTING DESIGNER) Recent Baltimore/DC credits include Summer 1976, The Colored Museum, John Proctor is the Villain, Pipeline, Until The Flood, P.Y.G. or The Mis-Edumacation of Dorian Belle, The Remains, The Effect, Three Sisters, No Sisters, and Animal at Studio Theater; Who’s Afraid of Virginia Woolf? at Ford’s Theatre; JQA and The Year of Magical Thinking at Arena Stage; Oslo and The Book of Will at Round House Theatre; Penelope, The Bridges of Madison County, and Sweeney Todd at Signature Theatre; Measure for Measure, Henry IV, Part 1, The Winter’s Tale, and Sense and Sensibility at Folger Theatre; and The Music Man, Labour of Love, and The Magic Play at Olney Theatre Center. Other regional credits include Henry IV P.1 at Oregon Shakespeare Festival, Lydia and Rough Crossing at Yale Rep and The Year of Magical Thinking at PlayMakers Repertory Company. Jesse holds a B.A. from Duke University and an MFA from the Yale School of Drama. He has taught lighting design at Connecticut College and UNC Greensboro. jessebelsky.com
RAQUEL ADORNO (COSTUME DESIGNER) is a costume designer and educator. Selected costume design credits: CHICAGO: Steppenwolf Theatre Company, Goodman Theatre, Chicago Shakespeare Theatre, Marriott Theatre, Court Theatre, Writers Theatre, Northlight Theatre, Victory Gardens, Remy Bumppo Theatre. REGIONAL: American Players Theatre, Pasadena Playhouse, The MUNY, McCarter Theatre Center, Milwaukee Repertory Theatre, Utah Shakespeare Festival, St Louis Shakespeare Festival. Raquel is the recipient of the Joseph Jefferson Award for Best Costume Design, the Michael Merritt Emerging Designer Award, and the Academic Achievement Prize for Collaborative Design. Raquel is an Assistant Professor of Design at Northwestern University www.raqueladorno.com
