Mark Twain was born shortly after the 1835 appearance of Halley’s Comet. He predicted that he would “go out with it,” too. And he did. Twain died the day after its 1910 return. Just a bit of trivia for Twain fans.
Noted for writing The Adventures of Tom Sawyer and Adventures of Huckleberry Finn, Twain was witty, sarcastic and befriended by presidents and royalty. In the early 1950s, a young 22-year-old actor named Hal Holbrook developed a show with his then wife Ruby; he would play famous historical people and she would interview him. From this early start was born the one-man play Mark Twain Tonight!, which has been performed more than 2,300 times.
Last year marked Holbrook’s 60th year portraying Mark Twain. Holbrook just turned 90, and for more than ten years now, the actor has been older than the character he plays. From the start, it was Holbrook’s decision to play the late-in-life version of Twain, complete with white hair, white suit, bushy eyebrows and cigars. Each show is different, since Holbrook pulls from more than 17 hours of material, improvising and choosing from the stories, humor and wit made famous by Twain. In a recent interview, Holbrook promised to introduce new material that draws parallels between today’s politics and the political corruption of post-Civil War America.
8 p.m. The Grand 1894 Opera House, 2020 Postoffice, Galveston. For information call 800-821-1894 or visit thegrand.com. $39 to $75.
Fri., Feb. 27, 8 p.m., 2015
This article appears in Feb 26 – Mar 4, 2015.
