Or “I Dreamed I Saw Joe Hill Last Night”, by Tom Churchill. A new play by Tom, one weekend run just finished. I was honored to play the Piano Player.

The show was littered with old IWW “wobbly” songs from “The Little Red Songbook“, in print since the beginning of last century. Lots of seditious lyrics set to old hymns and folk tunes that everyone knows, so you don’t have to teach ’em the tune. We got the audience singing before the show. There was lots of mid-century “modern” film-y underscoring, too, right up my alley, improvised throughout the show.

The play’s about the persecution of suspected Communists in the late 40’s, made personal in the story of someone who used to live on Whidbey. Turns out this stuff was local, too.

The whole thing felt intensely topical. Songs about people claiming back power after being laid off for an age and tossed away as disposable. Banding together to take on the establishment. Got me revved up; the words and the ideas are energizing, and relevant.

Tom writes good stuff. I’ll do whatever he asks. He video’d one of the performances; let’s see if he’ll put it online with a Creative Commons license or something.