Woody Guthrie’s Songs to Grow On
Inspired by an unpublished Woody Guthrie manuscript, the interactive production for children ages 2–5 features “Riding in My Car,” “Howdi Do” and “This Land Is Your Land”
Free performances begin September 26 at venues throughout New York City
NEW YORK, NY — This fall, New York City Children’s Theater invites the city’s youngest theatergoers and their families to hit the road with one of America’s most beloved musical storytellers in WOODY GUTHRIE’S SONGS TO GROW ON, an imaginative new production inspired by an unpublished manuscript by Woody Guthrie and his celebrated 1956 children’s album, Songs to Grow On for Mother and Child, with an original script by Frank Ruiz, directed by Susanna Brock.
Commissioned by New York City Children’s Theater for its 30th Anniversary Season, the interactive Theater for the Very Young production will travel to cultural institutions and community destinations throughout New York City beginning Saturday, September 26.
WOODY GUTHRIE’S SONGS TO GROW ON follows four-year-old Cathy Ann Guthrie, a curious child who has plenty of questions about the world—but is nervous about leaving home. When Cathy Ann’s parents take her on a cross-country road trip, she must find the courage to face her fears and explore everything waiting beyond her own front door. Retracing Woody Guthrie’s travels from California to “the New York Island,” the production invites children and their grown-ups to become part of the journey through live music, movement, imaginative play, and audience participation.
The production features some of Guthrie’s most enduring songs for young listeners, including “Riding in My Car,” “Howdi Do” and “This Land Is Your Land.”
The cast features Hannah Bakke, Becca Bernard, and Mike Lee as Woody Guthrie with understudies Lorenza Bernasconi and Colin Robertson.
Specially created for children ages 2–5 and their families, WOODY GUTHRIE’S SONGS TO GROW ON introduces young audiences to Guthrie’s music while encouraging curiosity, empathy, bravery and a sense of community. Each performance runs approximately 40 minutes and is followed by an optional 45-minute interactive engagement facilitated by the cast.
“Woody Guthrie’s music feels remarkably alive because he wrote about the things children instinctively understand — home, family, fairness, curiosity, adventure and belonging,” said Barbara Zinn Krieger, Founder and Artistic Director of New York City Children’s Theater. “His songs are playful and wonderfully accessible, but they also invite young people to look at the world around them and recognize that their voices matter. For children experiencing theater for the first time, Woody’s music is an ideal doorway: they can sing, move, laugh and participate, while beginning to discover empathy, courage and the joy of being part of a community.”
Photo credit: Andrew J. Mauney
PERFORMANCE SCHEDULE
MANHATTAN: Saturday, September 26 at 10:30 a.m.
The Village Trip Festival
BRONX: Sunday, September 27 at 3:00 p.m.
Bronx Music Hall
BROOKLYN: Saturday, October 10, 2026 at 1:00 p.m.
Brooklyn Public Library (Central Branch)
QUEENS: Saturday, October 17, 2026 at 11 a.m.
Queens Library (Central Branch)
QUEENS: Sunday, October 18 at 2:30 p.m.
Queens Museum
STATEN ISLAND: Saturday, October 24 at 2:30 p.m.
Staten Island Children’s Museum
MANHATTAN: Saturday, November 7 at 10:30 a.m.
Children’s Museum of Manhattan
All NYCCT touring performances are free; however, admission requirements vary by presenting venue. Families should confirm registration requirements, museum admission policies and final performance information directly with each partner organization before attending.
WOODY GUTHRIE’S SONGS TO GROW ON is used by permission of Woody Guthrie Publications, Inc.
ABOUT THE CREATIVE TEAM
FRANK RUIZ (Playwright and Music Director) is a Nicaraguan American educator, composer and playwright. He was named a 2024 TYA/USA Emerging Leader Fellow, which led to WOODY GUTHRIE’S SONGS TO GROW ON being commissioned for New York City Children’s Theater’s 30th Anniversary Season. As NYCCT’s Manager of Education Programs, Ruiz has presented the company’s work for the Arts in Education Roundtable, The Broadway League, Lincoln Center Education and numerous other organizations. In 2024, he received an LMCC Creative Learning grant for his protest-songwriting workshop, I’m Gonna Say It Now.
SUSANNA BROCK (Director) is a Swedish, New York-based theater maker, performer, director, arts administrator and educator who creates multisensory and interactive theater with and for young audiences. She has worked in Stockholm, Paris, Kampala, Nairobi and New York, where she has facilitated and performed in school- and community-based programs. She is part of the shared leadership group at Spellbound Theatre and has worked as a teaching artist and lecturer with ArtsConnection, the Children’s Museum of Manhattan, Brooklyn College and New York University.
NEW YORK CITY CHILDREN’S THEATER began in 1996 as Making Books Sing, a family theater and education program of the Tony Award-winning Vineyard Theatre. Guided by Founder and Artistic Director Barbara Zinn Krieger’s vision of making meaningful theatrical experiences accessible to young people of all backgrounds, NYCCT became an independent nonprofit organization in 2001.
Over the past 30 years, NYCCT’s professional productions and arts-in-education programs have served more than 485,000 children and adults across New York City and surrounding communities. The organization has created and premiered more than 40 original productions and provided more than 125,000 subsidized tickets to help ensure that children from underserved communities can experience live theater.
For additional information about WOODY GUTHRIE’S SONGS TO GROW ON and New York City Children’s Theater, visit www.nycchildrenstheater.org.
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