Purdue Convocations and Purdue Theatre to partner on National Theatre of Scotland performance

WEST LAFAYETTE, Ind. - Purdue Convocations and Purdue Theatre will present "Long Gone Lonesome" - a musical celebration of the life of Thomas Fraser on Jan. 27 and 28 at 8 p.m., and on Jan. 29 at 3 p.m., in the Mallett Theatre at Yue-Kong Pao Hall.

The performances will features songs, storytelling, 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.

Fraser (1927–1978) was a fisherman and crofter from the remote island of Burra, Shetland. Obsessed with American country and with blues records, he mastered the styles of his idols - such as 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 30 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 British blues invasion immersed themselves in American roots music. Come to hear the story and stay to dance with the band!

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.

Ticket information

Tickets are $25 for the general public and $20 Purdue students and Ivy Tech Lafayette students. Friends of Convocations can order tickets in advance beginning Monday (Dec. 12) through Dec. 14 at noon. Call 765-494-9712 for more details. Tickets go on sale to the general public at 10 a.m. Dec. 16 at the Elliott Hall of Music and Stewart Center box offices at 765-494-3933 or online through ticketmaster.com.

Initiated in 1902, Purdue Convocations is among the oldest collegiate professional performing arts presenters in the United States. Each year, Convocations offers the region 20 to 30 performances of widely varying genres: Broadway-style shows, theatre, dance, children's theatre, world music, jazz, and chamber music, along with rock, pop, country and comedy attractions. With a vision for connecting artists and audiences in artistic dialogue and for drawing in academic discourse, Purdue Convocations aims to promote frequent exposure to and familiarity with human cultural expression in a multitude of forms and media.

Source: Abby Eddy, (765) 494-5045, aeeddy@purdue.edu