[N.B.: The following book review was authored by Wesley Britton; I am
merely posting it on his behalf.  Thanks also to Kevin J. Bochynski for
facilitating its appearance on the Forum. --Taylor Roberts]

AUDIOTAPE REVIEW

     _The Adventures of Tom Sawyer_.  Performed and produced by Patrick
     Fraley.  Auburn, CA: Audio Partners Publishing Corp., 1995.
     Directed by Ronald A. Feinberg.  Associate producer: Nicholas
     Omana.  Music composed and performed by Noel Webb.  Time: 7 hours,
     42 minutes.  Unabridged.  5 cassettes.  $22.95.

     _Mark Twain: Wild Humorist of the West_.  Performed by McAvoy
     Layne.  Auburn, CA: Audio Partners Publishing Corp., 1995.
     Recorded live at Auburn, CA, 22-23 June 1995.  Time: 2 hours, 25
     minutes.  2 cassettes.  $16.95.

     _Mark Twain Tonight!_  Performed by Hal Holbrook.  Auburn, CA:
     Audio Partners Publishing Corp., 1995.  Originally produced by CBS
     on two record albums.  Time: 1 hour, 40 minutes.  2 cassettes.
     $16.95.

     _Mark Twain for President_.  Performed by Bill McLinn.  Washington,
     DC: Macklin/Clemens Corp., 1988.  Time: 1 hour, 18 minutes.  Order
     from: 1 3rd Street NE, Washington, DC 20002.

     (Subscribers of the Mark Twain Forum are entitled to a 20 percent
     discount on orders under $30, and a 40 percent discount on orders
     from $30-$150 (discount range calculated before the $5 flat
     shipping charge) on the Audio Partners tapes.  Order from: Keri
     Walker, Audio Partners Publishing Corp., 1133 High Street, P.O. Box
     6930, Auburn, CA 95604, Telephone (916) 888-7803, Fax (916) 888-
     7805.)


     Reviewed for the Mark Twain Forum by:

          Wesley Britton <[log in to unmask]>
          Grayson County College
          Sherman, TX

     Copyright (c) Mark Twain Forum, 1996.  This review may not be
     published or redistributed in any medium without permission.


Whenever a performer brings a Mark Twain text to audiotape, whether a
recording of a live performance or an in-studio reading, the listener
can always expect a good script.  What varies is the vocal
interpretation of Mark Twain's words, either enlivened by the
performer's art and personality, or more archival in less entertaining
tones.  In 1995, Audio Partners Publishing released three projects of
very different quality, and the difference has very much to do with the
readers' energy, enthusiasm, liveliness, and gift for acting.

Firstly, the audio event of 1995 was the long-awaited re-issue of Hal
Holbrook's first two Columbia record albums of his _Mark Twain Tonight_
impersonations.  Simply stated, the two-cassette set of _Mark Twain
Tonight_ and _More Mark Twain Tonight_ is pure classic gold, a nugget
not likely to be superseded by any other performer.

For four decades, these recordings have largely been available only on
scratchy vinyl records in personal collections, secondhand book stores,
or school libraries, and so the first great joy of the new recordings is
to hear them in clean audio, digitally re-channeled for stereo effect.
The experience is enhanced by the age of these recordings, still
carrying the cavernous echoes of small auditoriums electrified by
Holbrook and the interplay with his live audience.  No other performer
brings Mark Twain alive like Hal Holbrook; not for one moment does the
listener realize an actor is on stage.  You are in the presence of Mark
Twain from beginning to end, and the sound of the performance, still
carrying the ambience of 1960s primitive miking, lends an air of
authenticity to the sound.  These tapes sound old, authentic, timeless.

Holbrook's choice of material has set the standard for many subsequent
impersonators, from Twain's reminiscences about his experiences in the
West and Hawaii, to the rendering of "An Encounter With an Interviewer."
On both tapes, the tour de force is Holbrook reading from _Huckleberry
Finn_, playing a seventy-year-old man playing a young boy and the other
characters in the chosen passages.  This set is a delight not to be
missed.  We can hope that Audio Partners will also re-issue Holbrook's
third album, _Mark Twain Tonight (Highlights from the CBS Television
Special)_ in an augmented format, as the original length was dictated by
the limitations of vinyl recordings.  Better yet, we can hope for a
video of that special to complete the series, and hope Holbrook will
record further performances including such items as "The Golden Arm,"
which are part of his live shows but are not yet available on recorded
media.

On the other end of the spectrum is McAvoy Layne's _Mark Twain: Wild
Humorist of the West_, a two-cassette set that seemingly chronicles a
single performance longer than Holbrook's, but it is far less
satisfying.  The problem is not the material.  On side one, Layne works
from _The Autobiography_ and _Life on the Mississippi_.  Sides two and
three are drawn largely from _Roughing It_, and side four combines some
of Twain's somber essays with a question and answer session with the
audience.

The obvious problem is Layne's solemn, humorless voice and approach.
>From the outset, it is clear we are in the presence of an actor playing
Mark Twain.  We are never in the illusion Mark Twain himself is
speaking.  Layne makes this distance clear in several ways, one of which
occurs in the question and answer section when he responds to the query,
"Who are the three most important men in history?"  In true Twain
fashion, he admits himself to this circle, then claims Abraham Lincoln
(an unlikely choice for Twain), and finally Toni Morrison, author of
_Beloved_.  Whether this is a nod to political correctness or simply an
attempt to modernize Twain's opinions, this reference is clearly one of
Layne's own choice, not Twain's.

Throughout most of the live performance, Layne seems to be reading a
text rather than performing it, and the half-hearted audience response
underlines his lack of energy.  This is most obvious on side one as he
warms to his subject slowly.  He becomes more energetic in the _Roughing
It_ passages, but, again, Layne seems to be remembering his lines, not
acting them.  When he reads from Twain's essays on side four, his deep,
sonorous voice seems more attuned to these more solemn texts.

Somewhere between Holbrook and Layne is Patrick Fraley's unabridged
reading of _The Adventures of Tom Sawyer_, a fine five-cassette set
designed for (and appropriate for) any young, first-time reader of the
book.  Fraley's purpose is far different from the live impersonators' as
his production is entirely within a recording studio.  But his acting is
excellent, energetic, and enthusiastic, clearly conveying the enjoyment
he is having with the text.  Of particular interest is his rendering of
Ben Rogers' impersonation of a steamboat, the voices of Injun Joe and
Huck Finn, and the distinct intonations and dialect he gives each
character's voice.  Noel Webb's music, primarily brief violin solos at
the beginning of each chapter, are mostly time markers but often set the
tone for the ensuing chapter, occasionally humorously commenting on
them.

All in all, Fraley brings St. Petersburg to life convincingly, and
readers already well familiar with the book will find this set enjoyable
and entertaining, and will certainly want to pass it along to young
readers who haven't yet experienced the adventures without the modern
touches of Disney and the like.

Even though Twain impersonator Bill McLinn released _Mark Twain for
President_ in 1988, it is a topical tape Twainians might especially
enjoy this election year.  McLinn has a voice like Holbrook and Will
Geer--who read Twain's _Autobiography_ for Caedmon Records--craggy,
warm, wise, in character all the way.  In the live performance on side
one, he goes Holbrook one better by answering audience questions on
political issues in Twain's own words both credibly and in the rhythm of
a man familiar with his subject.  He mixes topical issues of his day,
building from his "anti-doughnut" political platform, with responses to
modern issues appropriate for Twain.  For example, when asked his
thoughts on abortion, McLinn/Twain responds that's not something he
thought about in his life, so he shouldn't comment on it now.  But his
comments on the political parties and economics seem timeless and
perceptive regarding more modern congressional conflicts.  The
interaction between performer and audience is lively, believable, and
very entertaining.

Side two contains a studio recording of excerpted readings from a series
of Twain's political essays, and McLinn here deserves credit for his
editing as well as his performance.  These passages are largely solemn
pieces on the political party system.  It's an interesting if not
profound selection, certainly material not available on other
audiomedia.  While Twain may not have been a political prophet, he
certainly reminds us that the more things change, the more they stay the
recycled same.

_Other media news_

Speaking of _Tom Sawyer_, chapter 16 of Charles Norton's 1983 _Writing
Tom Sawyer_ (McFarland and Co.) is a brief, four-page discussion of film
adaptations of the novel, emphasizing the early black-and-white versions
beginning in 1917.  The previous chapter discusses dramatic staging of
_Tom Sawyer_ during Twain's lifetime.

For those interested in Twain and nineteenth century drama, James S.
Moy's 1993 _Magical Sights: Staging the Chinese in America_ (U of Iowa
P) contains much useful discussions on Twain and Bret Harte's 1877 _Ah
Sin_.  Unfortunately not indexed, Moy's lengthy passages on _Ah Sin_
repeatedly intermingle with Moy's broader discussions of American
staging of the Chinese.

Andrew Hoffman's 1991 "The Unspendable Fortune" (_Connecticut Review_)
traces the development of "The One Million Pound Banknote" into _Trading
Places_, a 1983 John Landis comedy starring Eddie Murphy and Dan Akroyd.
Hoffman also discusses _Man With A Million_ (1954), a Gregory Peck film
directed by Ronald Neame, also based on Twain's story.  Hoffman
describes this film as being closer to Twain than _Trading Places_, and
notes MGM-UA has not issued the 1954 film on video, has destroyed most
of the prints, and that the film is only available on rare television
airings and 16mm non-theatrical releases available in film archives such
as the Pacific Film Archive in Berkeley, CA.  As this rare movie is of
special interest to Twainians, if anyone has a copy of _Man With A
Million_, please help distribute this film to Twainians via the _Mark
Twain Forum_ and to this reviewer in particular at the address above.