Clockwise: Judy Garland as Dorothy Gale; Woody Guthrie; Mary Martin and children from the Broadway production of "The Soundof Music" photo by Toni Frissell (Library of Congress)
Save when you purchase all 3 sessions of the Stories from the American Songbook series!
Some songs are so familiar they seem part of us. We dance and romance to them, come together, and dream of somewhere over the rainbow. Yet each of their creators had no idea their song would live forever. Using a medley of film clips and talk, writer and documentary filmmaker Sara Lukinson traces how some of our favorites from the American songbook came to be and then as reimagined by different artists, unexpected arrangements, and changing national moods were transformed into something more.
Lukinson, who has won three Emmys and seven Writer’s Guild Awards, now teaches at NYU and the 92nd Street Y. Her personal essays have appeared in the New York Times, Washington Post, and Intima: A Journal of Narrative Medicine.
Session Information
A Simple Song and a Soaring Anthem: This Land Is Your Land and Bridge Over Troubled Water
These songs written by guitar-playing singer-songwriters took the country by storm to become unofficial anthems. One we sing together like a folk tune, and the other we take comfort in hearing, a quiet song given wings by strings, angelic voices, and soaring harmonies.
Additional Sessions
If you are interested in additional American Songbook sessions, view the upcoming schedule:
Patron Information
- If you register multiple individuals, you will be asked to supply individual names and email addresses so they can receive a Zoom link email. Please note that if there is a change in program schedule or a cancellation, we will notify you via email, and it will be your responsibility to notify other registrants in your group.
- Unless otherwise noted, registration for streaming programs typically closes two hours prior to the start time on the date of the program.
- Once registered, patrons should receive an automatic email confirmation from CustomerService@SmithsonianAssociates.org.
- Separate Zoom link information will be emailed closer to the date of the program. If you do not receive your Zoom link information 24 hours prior to the start of the program, please email Customer Service for assistance.
- View Common FAQs about our Streaming Programs on Zoom.
