• April 23, 2007

  Musical wins Iowa State graduate student national honor

• Joe Hynek has been described as a Renaissance man. You might know the Iowa State University Ph.D. candidate in mechanical engineering for his "Solarjo Power Purse," a purse that recharges the batteries in your portable electronic devices.
  
  That invention has been mentioned in newspapers and magazines around the world.
  
  Even Miss Rhode Island got into the act, requesting a copy of the solar purse, which she displayed along with former Vice President Al Gore at a recent gathering.
  
  But Hynek now has another claim to fame. A musical that he wrote with his mother, Angie, has won second place and a $1000 cash prize in the National Kennedy Center/American College Theatre Festival playwright competition. He was recognized for both the book and music he wrote for "Farmer Song," a musical about life on the farm during the Farm Crisis of the 1980s.
  
  "Writing the musical was my way of giving up farming and going in a different direction," he said.
  
  "Farmer Song" was premiered last spring in two performances at the Maintenance Shop of the Memorial Union. Hynek, who plays the lead role in the show, and he and the rest of the cast performed it two nights last summer at the Iowa State Fair as well as additional performances in Radcliffe, Iowa.
  
  This summer Hynek and his family will play songs from the musical during the Farmer Song Festival on their farm near Ellston, Iowa on Memorial Day weekend. Information on the festival is available at www.farmersongfest.com.
  
  Hynek says he had four or five songs that were "related to my experience growing up on the farm." He and his family had formed a band and would play the songs but "farmer songs by themselves don't sell too much. The songs didn't carry themselves as individual performance pieces."
  
  With the help of his mother Angie, the two put the songs into a musical play. After it was completed, they went to Jane Cox, ISU Theatre professor, who made some suggestions. They also attended the Iowa Writer's Workshop to get additional advice.
  
  Hynek was surprised by the audience reaction to the musical. Many farmers affected by the Farm Crisis were moved because "Farmer Song" had finally given them a voice that explained how even thought they tried everything the Crisis wasn't their fault.
  
  "I'm very pleased with the final product," Hynek said. "I'm hopeful that we can get the sheet music from the show published and get a more professional recording."
  
  And he would also like to see "Farmer Song" performed again. That's tough, but he's hopeful his award from the Kennedy Center will change that.
  
  "Musical theatre is a really small community," he says. "I'm looking to get 'Farmer Song' published. I wrote the play with the idea that it could be done by community theater groups." Hynek has posted music samples, pictures, and background information about the show at www.farmersong.com.
  
  "I would love it if 'Farmer Song' would take off like the solar purse has."

Scenes and CD cover "Farmer Song"