My Shows
News on your favorite shows, specials & more!

Richard Thomas in MARK TWAIN TONIGHT! Comes to State Theatre New Jersey

Performances are on Wednesday, November 5 at 7:30pm and Thursday, November 6 at 7:30pm. 

By:
Richard Thomas in MARK TWAIN TONIGHT! Comes to State Theatre New Jersey

State Theatre New Jersey will present Richard Thomas in Mark Twain Tonight! By Hal Holbrook on Wednesday, November 5 at 7:30pm and Thursday, November 6 at 7:30pm. Tickets start at $52.

Emmy® Award-winning actor Richard Thomas will star in a new production of Mark Twain Tonight! coming to State Theatre New Jersey. Richard Thomas is the first and only actor authorized to perform the play, written and originally performed by Hal Holbrook.

Mark Twain’s wry humor and irreverent observations led to his being called “the nation’s one true comic genius” (The New York Times). Millions have cheered for the legendary one-man show, bursting with Twain’s “uproariously funny” and “pungently wise” (Time Magazine) commentary.

Most recently seen on Broadway in Our Town, on tour as “Atticus Finch” in To Kill a Mockingbird, and on Netflix’s Ozark, and recently named as a 2025 Theater Hall of Fame Inductee, Richard Thomas is beloved to generations as John-Boy Walton.

Richard Thomas won an Emmy Award and received multiple Golden Globe Award nominations for his starring role as “John-Boy Walton” in the television drama The Waltons. He is most recognizable to contemporary television audiences for his roles in the hit series Ozark, The Americans, Billions, and the original Stephen King mini-series It. His feature film performances include The Unforgivable, Wonder Boys, Last Summer, Red Sky at Morning, and Taking Woodstock. He has been seen in acclaimed performances on stage including the revival of The Little Foxes, for which he received a Tony® Award nomination, Our Town, You Can’t Take it With You, The Great Society, Race, Democracy, Incident at Vichy (Drama Desk Award nomination), The Stendhal Syndrome (Lucille Lortel Award nomination, Outer Critics Circle Award nomination), A Naked Girl on the Appian Way, An Enemy of the People, Tiny Alice, The Front Page, The Fifth of July, innumerable Shakespeare productions, and his professional debut at 8 years old in Sunrise at Campobello. Across the country, he has starred in the national tours of The Humans (Elliot Norton Award), Twelve Angry Men, and for three years as “Atticus Finch” in Aaron Sorkin’s To Kill a Mockingbird. Thomas previously served as the Honorary Chair of the National Corporate Theatre Fund, a position also held by his predecessor Hal Holbrook. He is a 2025 inductee to the Theater Hall of Fame.

The creative team for Mark Twain Tonight! includes Michael Wilson, Creative Consultant; Brian Prather, Scenic Designer; Sam Fleming, Costume Designer; Anthony Pearson, Lighting Designer; Shannon Slaton, Sound Designer; Luc Verschueren for Campbell Young Associates, Hair & Wig Design. The production team includes Erin Albrecht, Production Supervisor, and Ryan Parliament, Company Manager. Hannah Rosenthal is Executive Producer.



Theater Fans' Choice Awards
2026 Theater Fans' Choice Awards - Live Stats
Best Lead Performer in a Play - Top 3
1. Daniel Radcliffe - Every Brilliant Thing
28.1% of votes
2. Nathan Lane - Death of a Salesman
12.9% of votes
3. Ayo Edebiri - Proof
6.4% of votes

Need more New Jersey Theatre News in your life?
Sign up for all the news on the Spring season, discounts & more...


Videos


Not the Right Mom Written & Performed by Megan Dolan in New Jersey Not the Right Mom Written & Performed by Megan Dolan
Avenel Performing Arts Center (5/30-5/30) PHOTOS VIDEOS
Hey! I Heard You're Black in New Jersey Hey! I Heard You're Black
Unidentified Stages (6/05-6/06)
Together Off-Broadway: Merman & Martin in Concert in New Jersey Together Off-Broadway: Merman & Martin in Concert
Robert Shackleton Playhouse (7/04-7/10)
Sondra Radvonovsky with Victor Starsky & the PSO  in New Jersey Sondra Radvonovsky with Victor Starsky & the PSO
Morven Musuem & Garden (6/06-6/06)
Pygmalion in New Jersey Pygmalion
The Lord Stirling Theater Company (5/29-6/07)
One Thousand and One Nights in New Jersey One Thousand and One Nights
NJ Festival Orchestra (5/30-5/31)
Frozen in New Jersey Frozen
Hackensack Meridian Health Theatre at the Count Basie Center (2/12-2/14)
Oliver in New Jersey Oliver
Algonquin Arts Theatre (10/25-10/25)
Mean Girls, The Musical in New Jersey Mean Girls, The Musical
The Actors Studio of New Jersey (9/11-9/20)
Married, Single, and a Baby in New Jersey Married, Single, and a Baby
Robert Shackleton Playhouse (9/27-9/27)