Displaying items by tag: Mark Twain

Ever since my folks saw the Tony-winning production of Big River on Broadway when I was little and brought home the soundtrack on vinyl, the Roger Miller-penned musical has been my favorite. It not only acted as a gateway for young me to become a fan of Broadway, but it also introduced me at an early age to Miller’s and others’ classic songwriting, and to the story of Huckleberry Finn that I’d then revisit so many times in classrooms and libraries and pop culture. So, I’m always excited when there’s a production of the show, all these years later.

I was especially excited when, a few months back, I learned of Big River’s current production—now through June 11—at Mercury Theater, who have become one of my favorite companies in the past couple years, for their talent, for their show selection, and for the joy and heart that go into each of those shows. This production, by Mercury’s Artistic Director Christopher Chase Carter, did not disappoint.

The theater itself is always charming—a turn-of-the-century silent movie house ready to transport you someplace else. The set, 19^th-century Missouri on the banks of the Mississippi, by Jacqueline and Richard Penrod, completed the time travel. And as the show began, so did the narrators—Marcus Jackson (as charming as he was last year in Mercury’s Priscilla) as Mark Twain and newcomer Eric Amundson as Huck. The setting, Marquecia Jordan’s costumes, and the grounding that this is, in fact, an old-timey story do nothing to take away from said story’s timelessness or its lessons for today.

Quick note on Huck Finn’s datedness—one choice for any production of Big River is whether or not to incorporate Twain’s original language. This production does so, which was initially shocking. But, not to speak for the director’s intent, I think that was the point.

Amundson is a strong lead—his vocals stronger than many Hucks I’ve heard, especially on “Waitin’ for the Light to Shine”—and a charismatic Finn, boyish but in command of the stage. He harmonizes beautifully with Twain’s and Big River’s other protagonist…and as any great production of this show needs, it’s his friend Jim who’s the real star.

That star here is Curtis Bannister. Bannister truly takes command of the stage—most of the time on the raft the two share, or on various river islands along their journey—with his presence, but also with his voice. The orchestra, conducted by Marques Stewart, slows the tempo of the show’s songs just a touch, making them slightly more soulful and less showtuney than Miller’s original. This plays into Bannister’s singing strengths, letting him investigate and investigate each song’s melody.

And what songs they are— “Muddy Water,” “River in the Rain,” and “Worlds Apart” are duets he shares with Amundson where their voices seamlessly mix, while Jim’s “Free at Last” beautifully ends the show, accompanied by members of the ensemble playing those still enslaved, still seeking freedom.

Perhaps the vocal highlight of this show is by ensemble member Isis Elizabeth, who turns the schoolmarmish hymn “How Blest We Are” into funereal gospel. Perhaps the most timeless of the songs here is “Guv’ment,” a screed against everything that wouldn’t be out of place in right-wing or reactionary media. Huck’s Pap is played less over-the-top and boisterous, by David Stobbe, than any other Pap I’ve seen. He didn’t play for laughs as much as for sympathy—it worked for me—but he completely went for the laughs as the King, who, accompanied by Gabriel Fries’ Duke, gives the show some levity at its darkest moments, their malaprops and Shakespearean gobbledygook and medicine show shenanigans a lot of fun.

The rest of the ensemble is every bit as great as casts at the Mercury always are. Cynthia Carter—who I’ve long enjoyed in Chicago theater; seriously, if her name is on the playbill I know I’m in for a good show—provides beautiful vocals. McKinley Carter—last seen as Mrs. White in Mercury’s Clue—is a character, as always, as Miss Watson. Amanda Handegan’s Mary Jane brings heartbreak to her songs. Callan Roberts’s Tom Sawyer is the aw-shucks fun and adventure that Twain first explored in that boy’s book. And March Marren brings slapstick and charm to their roles as Jo and the Young Fool. As good an ensemble as you’ll find, which is what I’ve come to expect at the Mercury Theater.

And this production, overall, is what I’ve come to expect at the Mercury Theater—a new like at a classic work, featuring Chicago’s finest talents sharing their voices, their creativity, their joy, and their soul, which they will be doing from now through June 11.

There has never been a better Broadway marriage of story and storyteller – until Lin Manuel Miranda’s Hamilton, three decades later, anyway – than Mark Twain’s The Adventures of Huckleberry Finn and songsmith Roger Miller. Floating between aching country ballads, soulful slave spirituals, and the side-splitting novelty tunes that made Miller famous, Big River brought an American classic about century-old America into the 20th century, earning seven Tony Awards in the process. And now through October 15, Theatre at the Center in Munster, Indiana, ferries Huck, Jim, and their story of friendship and freedom to today’s audiences, showing that the stories and the struggles of America haven’t changed all that much.

While Twain’s tale is titled for its teller – the author’s most famous creation – Huck Finn was the original Nick Carraway, in that he is best when playing narrator for the other characters and their quandaries. And in TATC’s production of Big River, James Romney’s Huck is just such a narrator. Romney’s work is fine – his voice is strong, his acting is as well, and he’s got boyish charm galore – but it’s when he allows the rest of the cast to shine that he’s at his best, supporting each of the people we meet along the Mississippi as they spin their yarns, share their pain, and make us chuckle.

The first people we meet are the orchestra, led by pianist and musical director, Bill Underwood. Part of the simple but gorgeous set, the group fits right into the rural riverside, playing guitars, mandolins, accordion, harmonica, and even the jaw harp. Their accompaniment throughout is just the right balance of polished and down home; they’re part of the set and part of the spectacle, bringing the surroundings to life without stealing the show.

Huck’s fellow townsfolk enter as the opening overture plays, each dancing and playing percussion – washboard, shakers, the tambourine. Liz Chidester’s stern Miss Watson is a favorite, a spinsterly hoot. And Kyle Quinlivan’s Tom Sawyer, who will reappear throughout, starts us off expecting a comical adventure, more puckish even than Huck as he leads the local lads in the energetic “We Are the Boys.”

Another member of Huck’s St. Petersburg is town drunkard and the boy’s old man, Pap Finn, played by Bret Tuomi. His swaggering, staggering rendition of the bluesy “Guv’ment” is the first real showstopper. Tuomi later retakes the stage as the King, a conman whose partner in crime, the Duke played by Jason Richards, struts and preens and malaprops his way into the townspeople’s pockets and the audience’s hearts, a highlight being a ludicrous Shakespearean soliloquy. Seeing grifters hoodwink the general populace for their own gain has never been so much fun – or, sadly, so timely.

But even as the cast entertains, the darkest side of humanity is always present. The ensemble cast playing slaves – slaves in Huck’s hometown, and those enslaved on down the river – give the show gravitas not just with their singing, but by their mere presence. Adhana Reid delivers a lovely hymn, “How Blest We Are,” while Camille Robinson provides a highlight in the reprise of “Waitin’ for the Light to Shine.” But early on, as Jim and Huck hear voices from the other bank sing the lament, “The Crossing,” Jim knows these are escaped slaves who’ve been recaptured simply from the sound of their voices. And because Jim tells us, we know this, too. And we hurt right along with him.

Blessed with a big, beautiful voice, and an even bigger and more beautiful presence, Jonathan Butler-Duplessis, as Jim, is the heart of this production, just as Jim is the heart of the book and the musical. Whether cleaning a catfish or chained to a cabin, whether telling of his daughter’s scarlet fever or telling tall tales to Huck aboard their raft, we feel for and with and through Butler-Duplessis’ Jim. This culminates in his rendition of Roger Miller’s finest gospel tune – and perhaps the finest tune Miller ever wrote – “Free at Last.” Shackled there on center stage, Butler-Duplessis shows us the sorrow this man has seen and hints at the hope that freedom may bring.

But perhaps for this writer, the most powerful moment comes at the end of the first act. As Huck joins the shysters in plotting their latest scheme in “When the Sun Goes Down in the South,” Jim returns to the show’s main theme, the yearning, churning “Muddy Water.” Jonathan Butler-Deplessis’ solo soars over his raftmates’ shenanigans, in a plea for freedom, for justice, for life. In 1800's Missouri or in modern times, there is injustice and there are those who stand against it. Yesterday and today, there is good and there is evil. And in that moment, I sure got the shivers as TATC’s Big River allows the good to rise above.

Big River is being performed at Theatre at the Center in Munster, IN through October 15th. For more show information visit www.theatreatthecenter.com. A Wonderful Life: The Musical begins November 16th.