Legendary Folk Singer Arlo Guthrie Presents 'Alice's Restaurant'

CLEARWATER, FL -- Legendary folk music icon Arlo Guthrie returns to the Capitol Theatre on Thursday, Jan. 17 at 8 p.m. as part of his Alice's Restaurant Tour.

The tour commemorates the 50th anniversary of the 1969 film of the same name featuring Guthrie's legendary stories of life on the road.

The son of Woody Guthrie, Arlo Guthrie will carry on the family folk tradition by featuring his daughter, Sarah Lee Guthrie, as a special guest in the production.

Sarah Lee Guthrie, 39, is Arlo Guthrie's youngest daughter. She's made a name of her own as a singer and songwriter, performing with husband, Johnny Irion, great-nephew of "Grapes of Wrath" author John Steinbeck.

Arlo Guthrie released the song, "Alice’s Restaurant,” in 1967. A true story, the song is an 18-minute ballad based on events on Thanksgiving Day 1965 when Guthrie helped longtime friends Alice and Ray Brock clean out their Stockbridge, Massachusetts, home.

He met the couple while attending boarding school where Alice was a librarian and Ray taught carpentry. The Brocks went on to open a small restaurant in Stockbridge.

Presented in the "talking ballad" format made famous by his father, Guthrie's song tackles various social issues including bureaucratic red tape, the Vietnam War and questioning authority.

“We did a big 50th anniversary tour January 2015 to May 2016 celebrating the writing of the song--the biggest tour I’d ever done with special staging, lights, videos and all kinds of stuff," Guthrie said during an interview with Smithsonian magazine. "I loved every moment, and was sad to see it end. Then people started asking about the 50th anniversary of the record coming out, and the anniversary of the movie. So, we’ve decided to take that show out again.."

Tickets are $72. $52 and $42 and can be purchased by clicking here.

The Capitol Theatre is located at 405 Cleveland St. in downtown Clearwater.

Photo by Annie Guthrie

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