New Experimental Opera at Hubbard Hall!

Sorry John Henry the song has no end

Join us for a FREE one night only event on Friday, August 18 at 7pm in the Freight Depot Studio (green building in the back of the Hubbard Hall campus in Cambridge NY).

Artist Ian Askew and company will spend this week at Hubbard Hall developing this new piece and you can hear parts of it – and hear from the artists -BEFORE it premieres in New York City! Join us!

Project Info

Sorry John Henry the song has no end is an experimental opera inspired by a 1940 Broadway production of John Henry which closed only 5 days after its New York premiere. The musical starred Paul Robeson in the title role alongside a notable cast including Ruby Elzy, Josh White, and Bayard Rustin. The project resurrects archival text, music, and images to reconsider stories of land, labor, and freedom that weave through the many renditions of the popular folk tale.

Director Ian Andrew Askew, along with project collaborators, will offer a presentation for the project still in development. Collaborators include Joshuah Brian Campbell, mace dent johnson, Dyani Douze, Eden Girma, Jasmine Wilson, Khari Lucas, Kiara Benn, and Cheyanne Williams. 

This week’s artist residency with Ian Askew and company is a continuation of our partnership with The Bushwick Starr in Brooklyn, NY and supported by a Support for Artists grant from the New York State Council on the Arts (NYSCA).

We thank Ian, all the artists involved, the Bushwick Starr and NYSCA for their participation and support as we continue to develop as a center for the development of new work while sustaining and developing the cultural life of our rural community.