The Connie Converse Universe Starring Hope Levy
A one-woman Americana musical folk tribute to a forgotten genius.
With Music by Elizabeth Eaton “Connie” Converse.
Directed by Tom Lavagnino
Everyone has, at one point, imagined disappearing.
Connie Converse actually did. But why?
In this 75 minute one-woman acoustic Americana cabaret, audiences are invited into the
life, music, and mystery of Connie Converse — the first modern-day female folk singer-
songwriter. Writing deeply personal songs in the 1950s that predated the folk revival of
the ’60s, Connie helped pave the way for artists like Joan Baez and Bob Dylan. Yet in
1974, she packed her belongings into a VW Bug and vanished without a trace.
Thirty-five years later, her original 1954 demos were rediscovered and released on CD in
2009. They quickly went viral on Spotify, igniting a renewed fascination with her work
and her mysterious disappearance.
In The Connie Converse Universe, singer-songwriter Hope Levy performs Connie’s
haunting songs, along with folk classics and original music of her own. Woven
throughout are personal stories that reveal why Hope feels called to share Connie’s
legacy — and how two artists, generations apart, become mysteriously connected.
From Connie’s early days as a scholar and editor to her quiet pioneering as a songwriter,
this musical journey explores creativity, identity, and the bittersweet fragility of being
an artist ahead of her time.
The show is both a tribute to a forgotten genius and a celebration of the enduring power
of music to outlive us — and find us again.