STORY BY KAREN BOSSICK

PHOTO BY KIRSTEN SHULTZ

Woody Guthrie reminded us that “This land is your land” as he extolled the sparkling sands of America’s diamond deserts and “the wheat fields waving and dust clouds rolling.”

“Woody Guthrie’s American song” reminds us that his song is our song.

“I have a storm of words in me but my words are not private property,” he intones during the theater production, which links Woody’s history—and the history of America—together with a couple dozen of the folksinger’s memorable songs.

“These words belong to you. I borrowed them from you,” he concludes.

“Woody Guthrie’s American Song,” playing at the Liberty Theater in Hailey through Sunday, July 15, is must-see theater.

Presented by Company of Fools, it’s engaging, thought provoking, telling and entertaining.

The production, by Peter Glazer and Jeff Waxman, is s a story of the iconic singing troubadour, but it’s also a story of the American people.

“This is the best thing I’ve seen in a long time. It’s so apropos for today, so hopeful,” said Sherry Thorson.

The production resembles a hootenanny of sorts as it follows Guthrie through his “Hard Travelin’ ” days from his early years on the Oklahoma plains “where the oil flowed, the dust blowed and the farmer owed.”

Many will recognize such songs as “It Takes a Worried Man,” “Goin’ Down the Road (I Ain’t Going to Be Treated This A-way” and “Oklahoma Hills (Where I Was Born).”

And they’ll be confronted with the positive spin Woody endowed his work with, even in the midst of one of the nation’s bleakest chapters. Just look at how he turned a negative experience on a train full of Dust Bowl refugees into a train that’s “bound for glory, this train.”

The characters are likeable—always with a smile on their face, despite the hard times.

The production is augmented with photographs commissioned by the Farm Security Administration and borrowed from the collection of Michael and Lehua Engl. They include a picture of a wheat farm in Walla Walla, 1930s square dances and sobering photographs of the Dust Bowl that made at least a couple members of the audience gasp.

The production also interjects food for thought on the current immigration debate, thanks to Guthrie’s song “Deportee” and newspaper headlines concerning a 1948 plane crash that killed Mexican farm workers.

And it interjects thoughts from Woody’s own pen. Such as: “A liberal (sic) is a feller that wood like to get his hands on something to give to the poor.”

“I write about what I see,” said Woody. “I write about what I’ve seen. I write about what I hope to see.”

Director Kent Thompson and Musical Director R.L. Rowsey have assembled an exceedingly talented cast of performers that have come together in extraordinary harmony. Karen Nelsen belts out the grit while Tess Worstell endows the show with the heartfelt emotion that must have wracked those who suffered through those hard times.

Chris Carwithen ponies up a memorable imitation of riding a horse as he sings “Way down yonder in the Indian Nation…” while Matt Musgrove turns on the boyish charm of a young Woody. And Andrew Alburger gives everything a grounding touch.

Tying everything together is the crisp barnstorm playing of Rowsey, Ted Macklin and Alyssa Joy Claffey, while Joe Lavigne has designed a terrific set recreating a Hooverville refugee campsite.

“I think it may be the best play they’ve ever done,” said Manon Gaudreau. “I love the historical flavor—it’s hard to imagine how the people survived those days.  And I love the heartfelt songs. They’re songs of the heart and they’re so positive.”

DID  YOU KNOW?

More than a half-century ago, Woody Guthrie once wrote of his contempt for his landlord, who happened to be Donald Trump’s father Fred C. Trump.

An article in First Draft News says that a scholar working on a book recently uncovered writings where Guthrie invoked “Old Man Trump” while suggesting that blacks were unwelcome as tenants in the Brooklyn apartment complex near Coney Island.

“He thought that Fred Trump was one who stirs up racial hate and implicitly profit from it,” Will Kaufman, a professor of American literature and culture at a British university, told The Conservation news website.

Guthrie later inserted Trump into his song “I Ain’t Got No Home.”

IF YOU GO…

What: “Woody Guthrie’s American Songbook”

When: Tonight-July 15. 7 p.m. Tuesday through Thursdays, July 5 and July 10-12. 7 p.m. Sundays July 8 and 15. 8 p.m. Fridays and Saturdays, July 6-7 and July 13-14.

Where: The Liberty Theatre in Hailey.

Tickets: $15 for students and $35 for seniors 62 and over, for members of a group of eight or more and members of the Sun Valley Center for the Arts. They’re $40 for all others, available online at www.sunvalleycenter.org, by phone at 208-578-9122 or at The Liberty Theatre Box Office.

Special Deals: The ten front-row seats will be offered for $10 each starting one hour before curtain before each show. Tickets are limited to two per person.

Girl’s Night Out on Saturday, July 7, features a pre-show happy half-hour with discounted wine, beer and bubbly, deals at local partner restaurants and a chance to win prizes.

A Post-Show Chat Back with actors and Backstage Tour will be offered Sunday, July 8 immediately following the show.