Travel Down the Lonesome Highway with Hank Williams at Ivoryton Playhouse
Review by Bonnie Goldberg
A decade ago Morgan Morse accompanied his dad to an audition at the Ivoryton Playhouse and accidentally landed a part, launching his musical career. Now ten years later, Morgan Morse is back at Ivoryton starring in its newest offering “Hank Williams: Lost Highway,” created by Randal Myler and Mark Harelik. His versatile musical range has served him well over the years, playing instruments, a gifted singer and actor and talented collaborator, now as the star of his own production. He calls Hank Williams “complicated….the embodying that…every night feels like the culmination of everything I’ve been working toward.”
To Morse, this is an ensemble piece, a collaborative production, a true team of players, some one who can leave his ego off the stage. To enter the world of this country music legend, mosey on over to the Ivoryton Playhouse by Sunday, April 27 and let Morgan Morse introduce you to the intricate career of his unique man, his struggles and triumphs, his pressures and successes. Williams’s legacy is examined, all the dark and the illuminated moments as he built a career and all it personally cost him.
This performance does not avoid the unhappy side, Hank’s mental health, substance abuse and the price of fame. It also celebrates his gifts and legacy. According to director Ben Hope who has played the role on many occasions, “Hank Williams’s life is a stark reminder of what happens when a person becomes a product. He was brilliant, sensitive, wildly talented – and crushed by the weight of being commodified. Hank lived in a time before Instagram, before TikTok, but he still experienced the pressure of branding himself, living up to public expectations and hiding his struggles.”
This hillbilly crooner is known for such tunes as “Your Cheatin’ Heart,” “I’m So Lonesome I Could Cry,” “Praise the Lord, I Saw the Light,” “Hey, Good Lookin’ ,” “Honky Tonk Blues,” “Love Sick Blues” and more, an American blending of gospel, folk, blues and honky-tonk. Helping tell his story on stage are Eric Scott Anthony, Stephen G. Anthony, Brien Brannigan, Rod Brogan, Oliva Fenton, David Finch, Ben Hope, Liv Kurtz, Marcy McGuigan, Tony Perry and Rick Snell.
For tickets ($60 adults, $55 seniors, $25 students and Thursday at 6 p.m. buy tickets for $30 if available), call the Ivoryton Playhouse, 103 Main Street, Ivoryton at 860-767-7318 or online at ivorytonplayhouse.org. Performances are Thursday, Friday and Saturday at 7:30 p.m. and Sunday at 2 p.m.
Come witness this country music superstar path to induction into the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame despite his battles with alcohol and loss and tragic choices.
