Narrative Musical 'The Lonesome Traveler' Coming To Huntington

HUNTINGTON, NY — "Lonesome Traveler," a narrative musical about legendary folk groups The Weavers and The Almanac Singers, is scheduled for 7 to 10 p.m. Jan. 15 at the Huntington Cinema Arts Center's Sky Room, located at 423 Park Ave., Huntington, the arts center announced.

The show will feature the songs of folk singers Lee Hays, Woody Guthrie and Pete Seeger and will be performed by Long Islanders Ira Perlman and Denise Romas during the monthly Hard Luck Café concert series co-presented by the Folk Music Society of Huntington and the Cinema Arts Centre.

Huntington-based singer and guitarist Bill Lauter will perform a short opening set featuring his renditions of songs from that era. An open mic, for which sign-up begins at 6:30 p.m., precedes the 8 p.m. show.

Tickets are $20 ($15 for Cinema Arts Centre/FMSH members) and may be purchased online or at the box office through the evening of the show.

Hays, Guthrie and Seeger performed together with The Almanac Singers beginning in the 1940s. Their songs were part of the musical soundtrack for the American labor movement and the struggles for social justice, influenced generations of other musicians, and have been popularized and taught in public schools throughout the country.

In "Lonesome Traveler," the crowd will hear and might even sing along to classics like "Goodnight Irene," "If I Had a Hammer," "Talking Union Blues," "Tzena, Tzena," and "Union Maid." The songs will be interspersed with narrative based on/excerpted from Doris Willens’ biography of Lee Hays entitled "Lonesome Traveler," which was also his theme song.

A past president of the Folk Music Society of Huntington, Perlman has appeared at numerous Long Island folk venues performing both well-known and obscure folk songs. Romas, who immersed herself in the music of Peter, Paul and Mary and Joan Baez at an early age, performs a repertoire of original songs and covers at venues across Long Island.

Established in 1973, Huntington’s Cinema Arts Centre seeks to bring the best of cinematic artistry to Long Island and use the power of film to expand the awareness and consciousness of the local community. Long Island's premiere not-for-profit, viewer-supported independent cinema presents a wide array of films that are often accompanied by discussions and guest speakers.

Founded in the late 1960s, the Folk Music Society of Huntington is a volunteer-led nonprofit organization. It co-presents the monthly Hard Luck Café concert series and the thrice-monthly NorthShore Original Open Mic (NOOM) with the Cinema Arts Centre on Wednesday nights in its Sky Room, as well as a monthly folk jam & sing-along at the South Huntington Public Library.