Julia Wolfe and Anne Bogart’s music-theater work Steel Hammercomes to BAM on December 2. Context is everything, so get even closer to the production with this curated selection of articles and videos related to the show. After you've attended the show, let us know what you thought below and by posting on social media using #SteelHammer.
Program Notes
Steel Hammer (PDF)
Read
Interview
BAM Blog Questionnaire: It Takes a Village (BAM Blog)
Two singers, a stage manager, and two playwrights describe the multitiered process that brought Steel Hammer to life.
Article
“So Many John Henrys” (BAM Blog)BAM Blog Questionnaire: It Takes a Village (BAM Blog)
Two singers, a stage manager, and two playwrights describe the multitiered process that brought Steel Hammer to life.
Article
Julia Wolfe’s libretto “celebrates proliferation and pluralism—an American crazy quilt of contested, telephone-gamed fact.”
Article
“Who Was John Henry?” (TheBluegrassSituation.com)
A convict and ex-Union soldier? A slave? Or just a myth? A writer investigates.
Interview
Julia Wolfe (NPR)
Wolfe recently won the Pulitzer Prize for another work born from the Appalachian south.
Blog
Who Was John Henry? (SITI.org)
Read about the coming to be of SITI Company’s theatrical contribution to Steel Hammer.
Watch & Listen
Video
Excerpt from Steel Hammer (YouTube)John Henry was from West Virginia. And North Carolina. And South Carolina…
Audio
Spotify Playlist: John Henry (Spotify.com)
A sampling of John Henrys, from Furry Lewis and Mississippi John Hurt to Bruce Springsteen Johnny Cash.
Now your turn...
What did you think? Has the John Henry legend been suitably turned inside out? Who is John Henry to you? Tell us what's on your mind in the comments below and on social media using #SteelHammer.
