ShawChicago to Present MARK TWAIN IN PERSON
By: Tyler Peterson
ShawChicago presents Jeff Award nominee Richard Henzel performing in his signature piece, Mark Twain In Person. This production will be at the Ruth Page Center for the Arts, 1016 N. Dearborn Street, Chicago, IL 60610 on June 20 at 7 PM. Dessert and wine reception will follow the performance.
Henzel discovered Twain's work through a public school summer reading program. "I read Tom Sawyer when I was like eleven and I said well that's me." Henzel's love for Twain developed into a one-man performance that, when it debuted, saw sold out houses for months. He toured throughout the states, performing at universities, on cruises, and eventually Canada and the United Kingdom. Clara Clemens even advised him on the production's improvement. "Mark Twain's daughter was standing in the wings," Henzel says. Mark Twain In Person was nominated for a Jeff Award.Richard Henzel (Mark Twain) recently appeared as Verner Conklin and Hugo Latymer in ShawChicago's production of Noel Coward in Two Keys. Other Chicago credits include: Of Mice And Men at Steppenwolf, Return of the Hip Messiah at The Second City, 1984 at Lookingglass; Rap Master Ronnie at The Theatre Building; Huck Finn at The Goodman; Affluenza and The Action Against Sol Schumann at Victory Gardens; 1776, Grover's Corners, A Funny Thing Happened on the Way to the Forum, The Pajama Game, and West Side Story at Marriott's Lincolnshire; and Patti LuPone's Gypsy at Ravinia. Regional: Death of a Salesman at Human Race; Copenhagen, A Walk in the Woods, and The Price at Madison Repertory; and Hanging Fire, A Murder, a Mystery, and a Marriage, and The Count at Florida Stage. Henzel has portrayed Mark Twain over a thousand times, touring in the U.S., Canada, and Great Britain. He is also narrator and publisher of The Mark Twain In Person Audio Library. Please visit www.richardhenzel.com.Videos