hello everyone,

I thought I would share with you my experience of the latest play on 
Twain in NYC.



Mark Twain's Blues, the Play



My husband and I attended this play on Feb 23rd, 2008. We arrived 
early and were treated to free wine and apple cider as we waited for 
the curtains to open.  We enjoyed watching the actors and actress 
arrive and had the opportunity to talk to the writer of the play Walt Stepp!
When we went into the seating area the first thought I had was that 
Mark Twain would have loved the stage area.  It looked just like what 
he would have had, small and not complex with many items or scene 
changes.  Then the characters began to arrive on the stage and it was 
transformed into the time period in a flash.  As it progressed I felt 
as if this play was a missing chapter in the Mark Twain Drama!  I 
gained great insight into that section of Twain's book on Huck and 
the life of the African American slave on the verge of freedom.  You 
could tell that all the actors and actress researched their part and 
the writer did a fantastic job of incorporating events of the time to 
the story, i.e. the Temperance scene.  Bonnie Kramer, the only woman 
in the show, played four different characters, and she did an amazing 
job.  The only slight error I found was that when she was Clemens's 
mother, she called him "youth".  I believe that only his wife called 
him that. She also did a great job showing the little known side of 
Clara. Bonnie did an amazing job of changing clothes to fit the 
character she was playing.  Lance Olds as Huck was fantastic. He 
showed childlike frustration as an adult and as the play evolved, 
matured and become calmer and great friends with Twain and 
Jim.  Barry Phillips as Jim, was amazing!  His portrayal of that 
character was truly eye opening and extremely well done!  Last but 
not least was Bill Tatum who played Mark Twain. He also did a 
remarkable job with his outfit, mannerisms and portrayal of Twain's life.
I truly enjoyed the entire play, getting to talk to everyone 
afterward, and getting all of the autographs.  I hope that this play 
is picked up to be played on Broadway and other places.  It is truly 
one to be NOT missed!  Oh and one other thing! Walt Stepp did one 
thing very well that Twain failed at. He kept his characters to a 
minimum, and did an amazing job with it.

thank you,
Jules