Purdue Convocations and Purdue Theatre present

LONG GONE LONESOME: A musical celebration of the life of Thomas Fraser

National Theatre of Scotland

Friday, January 27, 2012 / 8pm / Mallett Theatre at Yue-Kong Pao Hall

Saturday, January 28, 2012 / 8pm / Mallett Theatre

Sunday, January 29, 2012 / 3pm / Mallett Theatre

Written by Duncan McLean; Directed by Vicky Featherstone
Featuring the Lone Star Swing Band

U.S. Premiere Tour

You’re invited to an evening of song, story-telling, and dancing in the hands of Orcadian western swingers—The Lone Star Swing Band—to honor one of Scotland’s least known but most fascinating musical heroes, Thomas Fraser.

Fraser (1927–1978) was a fisherman and crofter from the remote island of Burra, Shet¬land. Obsessed with American country and with blues records, Fraser mastered the styles of his idols—like Jimmie Rodgers, Hank Williams, and Big Bill Broonzy—and made their songs his own. A shy, retiring man, he avoided public performance at nearly all costs, yet he would lovingly record his favorite songs and special requests for his family and friends on his prized possession: a reel-to-reel tape recorder. The self-deprecating Fraser would undoubtedly have laughed at the idea that the wider world might appreciate his talent. But thirty years after his untimely death, those precious, fragile tapes have been reissued on several CDs to international acclaim, and his fame has spread to Nashville.

Now, Long Gone Lonesome is Fraser’s story, told in a musical celebration led by writer, singer, and guitarist Duncan McLean and his Lone Star Swing Band. From country ballads to down-home Western swing, the band takes you back into a time before The Beatles, the Rolling Stones, and the guitarists of the Brit¬ish blues invasion immersed themselves in American roots music. Come to hear the story and stay to dance with the band!

New Partnership:This residency by the National Theatre of Scotland is part of an educational collaboration with the Purdue Theatre Department. Theatre students will participate in lighting, audio, and production master classes with the National Theatre of Scotland, as well as assist with production of the three public performances Jan. 27-29.