I have seen Mark Twain Tonight about once a decade since the 1950's. It was at the Warner Theater in Washington DC, however,  after the invasion of Iraq and while Congress was up to its usual partisan bickering that I was inspired to write my book about Mark Twain and Politics, Mark Twain's Tale of Today. Carefully selecting his material, Holbrook had the audience roaring in laughter at his comments about Congress and then you could hear a pin drop in stony silence when he spoke about American Imperialism and the occupation of foreign lands. Twain was as relevant that evening as any  contemporary Cable TV talking head.

I had an opportunity to talk to Holbrook after the opening of The Merchant of Venice at the Shakespeare Theatre in DC (he played Shylock). He said that doing Twain enabled him to earn a living so he could venture out into challenging stage acting.  He is an accomplished actor of many dimensions.

Don Bliss

-----Original Message-----
From: Mark Twain Forum [mailto:[log in to unmask]] On Behalf Of Alan Kitty
Sent: Wednesday, March 19, 2014 12:21 PM
To: [log in to unmask]
Subject: Re: A round of applause, please

amen
On Mar 19, 2014, at 12:09 PM, Mark Dawidziak wrote:

> Today marks the 60th anniversary of "Mark Twain Tonight!" The very =
first=20
> performance of this remarkable one-man show was on March 19, 1954, at=20=

> the State Teachers College in Lockhaven, Pennsylvania. At 89, the=20
> amazing Hal Holbrook still regularly performs the show that he=20
> constantly reshapes and revises to keep relevant.
>      Hal estimates that he has gone through about 16 hours of Twain=20
> material during these 60 years. Since 1975, I've seen "Mark Twain=20
> Tonight!" about 12 times, and I've never seen the same show twice. So, =
a=20
> round of applause, please, for one of the greatest achievements in=20
> theater history and one of the most important and influential slices =
of=20
> Mark Twain scholarship. I long ago lost count of how many Twain =
scholars=20
> and biographers have told me that they got fired up about Twain by=20
> seeing this show performed live or when CBS broadcast it on March 6,=20=

> 1967 (30 million people watched that night).
>     He always has been generous in crediting and celebrating the work=20=

> of Twain scholars. "You are the teachers," he told the assembled Twain=20=

> "family" in 2009. Let us be generous in recognizing how much his =
efforts=20
> have meant to us.
>=20
> ---
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Alan Kitty
908-310-2117
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www.marktwainslaststand.com