Mark Twain News

A frequent performer on and off Broadway, Connell was married to actress Jane Connell.

The Old Globe today announced further news about its 2016 Summer Season, which will feature new and familiar works directed by four major American stalwarts.

Theatre at the Center is announcing its first season under the leadership of new Artistic Director Linda Fortunato.   Theatre at the Center's 2017 season is comprised of a variety of works ranging from Broadway musicals to a Chicagoland premiere play and a holiday classic.  The season opens with My Way: A Musical Tribute to Frank Sinatra, followed by Kander and Ebb's Tony Award winning Cabaret.  Next will be the Chicagoland premiere of The Tin Woman by Sean Grennan, then Big River: The Adventures of Huckleberry Finn and closing the season is A Wonderful Life: The Musical.  Jeff award-winner Fortunato will direct three of the five productions.   William Underwood will serve as music director for the season.

Today, San Francisco Gay Men's Chorus (SFGMC) issued a statement of solidarity for those affected by this past weekend's mass shooting at the Pulse nightclub in Orlando, Florida. Read the statement below.

San Francisco Opera General Director David Gockley today announced the Company will present the world premiere commission of Girls of the Golden West, a new opera set during the 1850s California Gold Rush, by the internationally-renowned team of composer John Adams and director/librettist Peter Sellars. Presented at the War Memorial Opera House for seven performances opening November 2017, San Francisco Opera will announce casting, conductor, design team and ticket information in January 2017 as part of the Company's 2017–18 repertory season.

Legendary comedian, actor, writer, producer and musician Steve Martin will headline Contemporary Calgary's LOOK2016 - the premier fundraising event for the Calgary's new gallery for modern and contemporary art.

Little Theater of Manchester's Evenings@7 series continues on June 14, with a reading of the comedy COLONEL SELLERS: REANIMATOR by Mark Twain, William Dean Howells & Jacques Lamarre.

The John F. Kennedy Center for the Performing Arts will present the 19th annual Mark Twain Prize for American Humor to Bill Murray on October 23, 2016 in the Kennedy Center Concert Hall

Performers include Michele LaRue, who tours with several shows including 'Someone Must Wash the Dishes: An Anti-Suffrage Satire,' and whose late husband Warren Kliewer founded ELTC; James Rana, who plays a detective in the upcoming cable series 'Falling Waters' and Van Helsing in ELTC's 'Dracula;' Stephanie Garrett, who was in ELTC's 'Lost on the Natchez Trace' and 'Rain;' Lee O'Connor, Sherlock in ELTC's radio-style 'Holmes' Adventures;' Suzanne Longacre, who's performed throughout the country and in TV's 'Guiding Light;' and ELTC's artistic director, Gayle Stahlhuth.

Basketball Hall of Famer Dick Vitale, one of the sport's most influential and dynamic personality in the history of sports television, has agreed to a new contract extension with ESPN that will carry through the 2018-19 season.

An Evening of Classic Lily Tomlin brings the award-winning comedienne and one of the world's most beloved entertainers back to Segerstrom Center for the Arts for one night only on Saturday, October 22 at 7:30 p.m. in Segerstrom Hall. Tomlin, who is currently in production on the hit series, Grace and Frankie, co-starring Jane Fonda, returns to the Center in her solo show that features her hilarious brand of stand-up comedy and delves into some of the most iconic Tomlin roles from her extraordinary 40-year career. Immediately following her show, there will be a Question & Answer segment with the audience.

Author Marc Ashton was kidnapped at gunpoint in his longtime home of Port-au-Prince Haiti in 2001. 'The Spirit of Villarosa' tells this story, but even more captivating is the interwoven tale of Marc's deceased father, Horace Dade Ashton, a great adventurer known as 'The Real Indiana Jones', whose persevering spirit is the catalyst for his bold escape. Marc promised himself he would tell his father's story, if he made it out alive. 'The Spirit of Villarosa' gloriously delivers that promise. Spanning the globe and nearly a century, Horace Dade Ashton's adventures are seriously larger than life. All of the famous events he witnessed and fascinating people he met will literally astound readers. From being President Theodore Roosevelt's personal photographer to witnessing the Wright brother's first flight, to sleeping in the same room in a Tibetan monastery that Jesus did, to becoming indoctrinated in Voodoo, to meeting Rasputin and Mark Twain, to capturing snakes and bank robbers, and so much more. Horace did it all. Releasing on June 28, 2016, 'The Spirit of Villarosa' not only tells the tales of an adventurous father and a son's terrifying ordeal, but also illustrates the challenging truth of having such an illustrious father, whose beliefs and values often clash with his son's, and whose bold adventurous life choices create consequences for those around him. Beyond that, it is also a spiritual story of what human beings can accomplish when faced with the prospect of enlightening adventures, or their own violent deaths, and how these can be so similar.

One century ago, 200,000 New Yorkers mourned in the streets, representing the best-attended funeral procession in the history of the city to date. This May, the global Jewish community remembered Sholem Aleichem, for his centenarian yortsayt (Yiddish for "death anniversary").

CAROL BURNETT: An Evening of Laughter and Reflection comes to the SHN Orpheum Theatre for two performances, beginning today, June 3 and continuing tomorrow, Saturday, June 4 at 8pm. 

MTH (your source for all things Musical Theater in Kansas City) will present 20 performances of BIG RIVER, The Adventures of Huckleberry Finn, winner of 7 Tony Awards in 1985 including Best Musical and Best Original Score by Roger Miller(King of the Road). This unjustly forgotten masterpiece stands as a dazzling, heartwarming slice of musical Americana and the final crowning achievement in one of country music's most celebrated careers. Miller's music is a perfect fit toMark Twain's classic American story of Huckleberry Finn, adapted for the musical byWilliam Hauptman.

Hale Centre Theatre's production of BIG RIVER in West Valley is joyous and tender, with a literal rush of water that amazes. If you're a fan of Huck Finn's story and have never experienced this musical retelling, this BIG RIVER is worth taking a raft ride down.

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.

She's a legendary comedienne. She has been given some of the most prestigious honors in the industry, including the Hollywood Walk of Fame, Kennedy Center Honors, Television Hall of Fame, and many more. And she's touring to theatres across the US for an intimate night of conversation with local audiences.

Sharon Playhouse, under the leadership of Artistic Director John Simpkins and Managing Director Justin Ball, announces casting and creative teams for the 2016 summer season of musicals and plays Gypsy; Big River; Quartet; I Love You, You're Perfect, Now Change; and the new musical, Judge Jackie: Disorder in the Court.

Little Theater of Manchester's Evenings@7 series continues on June 14, with a reading of the comedy COLONEL SELLERS: REANIMATOR by Mark Twain, William Dean Howells & Jacques Lamarre.