What’s all the hootin’ and hollerin’ for our next production about? If you haven’t heard, Broadway Actor-Musician and People’s Light Company Artist David M. Lutken will return to Malvern for the upcoming production of The Porch on Windy Hill, a new play with old music.

On Broadway, Lutken appeared in Ring of Fire before its run at People’s Light, as well as Inherit the Wind, a play based on the Scopes “Monkey” Trial, The Civil War, and The Will Rogers Follies. Lutken’s credits also include performances at London’s West End, Carnegie Hall, Lincoln Center, the 92nd St. Y, and the Louisiana Hayride.

People’s Light has been fortunate to be an artistic home for Lutken many times since he first brought Woody Sez: The Life & Music of Woody Guthrie, a biographical jukebox musical he devised with a group of fellow actor-musicians, to Malvern in 2014. Woody Sez has toured nationally and internationally, from Europe to China, and Lutken even won the Helen Hayes and the Joseph Jefferson Award for Best Actor for his portrayal of Woody Guthrie. Audiences loved the musical so much that Lutken brought it back to People’s Light for another run in 2018.

Lutken also starred in People’s Light productions of Ring of Fire: The Music of Johnny Cash, The Road: My Life with John Denver, and Our Town to rave reviews: “His vocal range is remarkable, as is his mastery of a wide array of instruments” (Phindie review of Ring of Fire).

It has become a beloved tradition at People’s Light for Lutken to host hootenannies, BYOI (bring-your-own-instrument) musical free-for-alls where people hoot, holler, and sing. During the pandemic, Lutken took the hootenannies online to lift our spirits, with guests logging on from their homes all around the country. If you missed the hootenannying then, you can still watch Lutken’s cover of “This Land Is Your Land” on YouTube or, better yet, join an in-person jam session after Thursday night performances of The Porch on Windy Hill (Sept. 26, and Oct. 3 and 10). People’s Light may be turning 50, but it’s far from being over the hill, so celebrate up on Windy Hill with these special sing-along gatherings!

Learn more at People’s Light, a cultural and civic center with theatre at its core that invites and creates opportunities for diverse communities to discover and celebrate shared humanity.