hello everyone, I thought I would share with you my experience of the latest play on Twain in NYC. Sorry if you get this twice my computer went crazy. 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