SAVANNAH, GA – Storyteller, songwriter and performer Ryan McCurdy will bring his one-man musical Whiterock Cliff to Savannah for a special one-night-only performance at 7 p.m. on Friday, Aug. 28, at Asbury Memorial Church. The evening will serve as a fundraiser benefiting Asbury Memorial Church and the Savannah Performance Alliance.
Featuring special guest J.J. Collins – local singer, vocal coach and minister – Whiterock Cliff is a theatrical experience that blends autobiography, fiction, folk music and musical theater into a moving exploration of memory, resilience, creativity and the stories people tell to make sense of their lives.
Set against the backdrop of a future where society has collapsed and the Appalachian Trail has become America’s new superhighway, the production is both a fictional musical and a personal reflection on McCurdy’s own experiences.
In 2010, McCurdy began a thru-hike of the Appalachian Trail with friends before a devastating fall at Jones Falls in Tennessee abruptly ended the journey. Nearly a decade later, he and collaborator Ellie Pyle transformed elements of that experience into a fictional musical set at the end of the world. Then came 2020, when reality unexpectedly echoed many of the themes they had imagined.
The result is Whiterock Cliff — part biographical journey, part memory play and part jukebox musical featuring original folk songs by McCurdy. Audiences are invited into an intimate performance that explores mental health, the creative process, truth, memory and survival through music and storytelling.
“Whiterock Cliff weaves together memory, music, mental health, the creative process, the stories we tell ourselves and the ones we tell each other,” McCurdy said. “You get to tell any story you survive.”
The Savannah performance marks the launch of McCurdy’s Thru-Hike Tour, a yearlong journey bringing Whiterock Cliff to all 14 states along the Appalachian Trail, beginning in Georgia and traveling north. The tour is produced by Goode Productions.
All proceeds from the Savannah performance will directly benefit Asbury Memorial Church and the Savannah Performance Alliance, supporting their ongoing efforts to foster arts, culture and community engagement.
To purchase tickets, visit https://www.eventbrite.com/e/whiterock-cliff-the-thru-hike-tour-tickets-1996243394731.
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