Hal Holbrook Brings Mark Twain Tonight!, a Treasure of the American Theater, to Eisenhower Auditorium April 4
March 21, 2007
Emmy- and Tony-winning actor Hal Holbrook continues to win over audiences and critics with his ever-evolving and funny performance in Mark Twain Tonight! Holbrook has been portraying the Missouri man of letters since his 1954 solo debut at Lock Haven University. The actor brings his acclaimed performance to Penn State at 7:30 p.m. Wednesday, April 4, in Eisenhower Auditorium.
Tickets for the Center for the Performing Arts presentation are $42 for an adult, $25 for a University Park student and $33 for a person 18 and younger. Buy tickets online at www.cpa.psu.edu or by phone at (814) 863-0255. Outside the local calling area, phone 1-800-ARTS-TIX. Tickets are also on sale at four State College locations: Eisenhower Auditorium and Bryce Jordan Center (8 a.m. to 5 p.m. weekdays), Penn State Tickets Downtown (10 a.m. to 6 p.m. Monday through Saturday) and HUB-Robeson Center (11 a.m. to 2 p.m. weekdays).
"Mark Twain Tonight! remains to this day the most admired of all one-man shows," writes a Wall Street Journal critic. "This is no museum piece–it is acting of the first order. From the moment Hal Holbrook steps on stage, you simply take for granted that Mark Twain himself is up there talking to you."
"The actor has gotten old but the act miraculously hasn't," writes a Washington Post reviewer. "Mark Twain Tonight! is set in a lecture hall almost 100 years ago, which is hard to believe because it often feels as if he's speaking directly to an audience of the 21st century. At times, his irritation with humanity is positively contemporary."
Holbrook, who has memorized more than 16 hours of Twain, chooses his material as he goes–so each performance is unique. As the times have changed, so have the angles of his spoken barbs.
"As politically of the moment as Al Franken and Bill Maher, Mr. Holbrook has tailored his Mark Twain handbook of quotes and set pieces to focus on the corruption and fabrications of politicians and journalists, subjects that alas seem excruciatingly relevant just now," notes a New York Times writer.
Holbrook has portrayed Twain each year throughout his career, amassing more than 2,100 performances. In 1966, Holbrook's second of four New York City engagements as Twain earned him a Tony.
"If Mark Twain were alive today, he'd probably have his own blog where he could spout cantankerous opinions on politics, religion and just about every controversial subject in-between," asserts an Associated Press writer. "Instead, Twain has something much better–Hal Holbrook."
Fred and Denise Wood sponsor the performance. WTAJ-TV 10 and 95.3 3WZ are the media sponsors. Artistic Viewpoints, an informal moderated discussion featuring Penn State Professor of Comparative Literature and German Tom Beebee, is offered in Eisenhower Auditorium one hour before the performance and is free for ticket holders. Artistic Viewpoints regularly fills to capacity. Seating is available on a first-arrival basis.
Contact: Laura Sullivan, 814-863-6379