Songs About Trains

Folk songs, stories, and movement weave together in this theatrical concert to celebrate the workers from a pivotal moment in history—the building of the US rail system—and how their labor has had a lasting impact on the world we live in today.

Using music as central storytelling, Songs About Trains highlights the untold stories of this multicultural workforce and explores the complexities of immigration, labor, Manifest Destiny, and the “progress” of the railroad—how it helped forge a global superpower, generated unbelievable wealth to a select few, and did so at the expense of thousands of lives, all while inspiring one of the deepest canon of music ever made in this country.

Created by: Radical Evolution

Directed by:
Rebecca Martínez and Taylor Reynolds
Music Director/Arranger:
Julián Mesri

Featuring: C.K. Edwards, Christian A. Guerrero, Cedric Lamar, Julián Mesri, Beto O’Byrne, Sara Ornelas, Jessica Ranville, Xiaoqing Zhang.

Choreographer:
Joya Powell
Artistic Producer:
Meropi Peponides
Lead Author:
Beto O’Byrne
Contributing Authors:
Eugenie Chan, Reginald Edmund, Rebecca Martínez, Jay B Muskett
an Archive Residency premiere in partnership with IRT Theatre

Tickets are available on a sliding scale with tickets starting at $0.
Watch a preview from Songs About Trains rehearsal.