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Date:
Tue, 4 Mar 2008 14:49:19 -0500
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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
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