William Hauptman News

Adapted for family audiences from the Tony Award-winning Broadway musical, BIG RIVER: The Adventures of Huckleberry Finn tells the story of Huck and his friend Jim, a slave, as they travel along the mighty Mississippi River. Huck tries to help Jim escape to freedom and reunite with his family.

The 1985 Broadway season might have been one of the weakest on record for musicals; in fact, only three shows were nominated for Best Musical at the Tony Awards that year. We had an Ellie Greenwich jukebox musical (Leader of the Pack), one of Harold Prince's big budget disasters (Grind), and a musical based on Mark Twain's The Adventures of Huckleberry Finn (Big River). Needless to say, at least in my opinion, Big River won the Tony Award for Best Musical and several other awards in part due to a lack of competition. Despite some catchy songs by Roger “King of the Road” Miller the show suffered, in my opinion anyhow, from there simply being too much of it. William Hauptman's book tried to focus on multiple stories as opposed to having Huck and his relationship with runaway slave Jim be the true heart.

Adventure Theatre MTC (ATMTC), after an extensive search for the most talented young actors in 5 counties across Washington, DC, announces the diverse cast of Huckleberry Finn's Big River. Huckleberry Finn's Big River is a revised version of the Tony Award winning musical Big River. With the support of over 100 consensus organizers (individuals and organizations serving the black community), this version, revised by the original Tony-Award Winning playwright William Hauptman, removes offensive language and expands the role of Jim, now the same age as Huckleberry, while capitalizing on the original music and lyrics by Roger Miller, winner of 11 Grammy Awards.

Adventure Theatre MTC (ATMTC), celebrating the glorious richness of our world by cultivating Equity, Diversity, and Inclusivity, seeks eight middle and high school students aged (11 - 18) for the roles of Huckleberry Finn, Jim, Mary Jane, and Alice in Huckleberry Finn's Big River, a world premiere Theatre For Young Audiences co-production with The Lyric Theatre of Oklahoma. In association with Rogers and Hammerstein Theatricals and First Stage, Milwaukee, Huckleberry Finn's Big River is based on the Tony Award Winning musical, Big River by William Hauptman and music and lyrics by Roger Miller. ATMTC will conduct auditions September 24- October 2, 2018, in Washington, DC, Montgomery County, Fairfax County, Prince George's County, and Frederick County. All interested teens should register for an audition timeslot at www.adventuretheatre-mtc.org. All actors will receive compensation for his or her role.

Nestled at 405 Main Street in North Little Rock, the Argenta Community Theater deserves its spot amongst the other 'artsy' venues and clubs taking residence in the Argenta district. Though it isn't a very big setting (not as small as a black box theater, but definitely not auditorium size), they impress this writer with their creative use of space. And the talent? It's surprising that these people are not professional actors, though I do take the liberty to prophesize that some of them very well may be in the near future. The Argenta family never disappoints.

Adventure Theatre MTC (ATMTC), recipient of 8 Helen Hayes awards, including its most recent win for Outstanding Original Play or Musical Adaptation, 2018, brings to the stage familiar friends, new and old, as they learn to navigate the world in its action-packed 67th season. A season of classic and beloved stories featuring the wonderful imaginations of children, this season promises to be one of Adventure Theatre MTC's biggest adventures yet.

SIMI VALLEY CULTURAL ARTS CENTER has announced its lineup of spring events. See the full lineup below! 

Mad Cow Theatre has announced its upcoming production of Big River: The Adventures of Huckleberry Finn, music and lyrics by Roger Miller, book by William Hauptman, presented in The Harriett Theatre September 22 as the first production of Mad Cow Theatre's Season 21.

Voyages of discovery - of places and people, of others and of self - will captivate, entertain and transform audiences in Mad Cow Theatre's Season 21, which downtown Orlando's resident professional theatre company will open Sept. 22, 2017 in Mad Cow's home at 54 W. Church St., Orlando.

Big River: The Adventures of Huckleberry Finn opened to a packed house at Theatre at the Center on Sunday night. Audience members leapt to their feet at the end of the performance of the now Jeff-Recommended production. Actors James Romney in the role of Huck and Jonathan Butler-Duplessis in the role of Jim lead the cast in the musical that continues through October 15.

Mad Cow Theatre has announced its upcoming production of Big River: The Adventures of Huckleberry Finn, music and lyrics by Roger Miller, book by William Hauptman, presented in The Harriett Theatre September 22 as the first production of Mad Cow Theatre's Season 21.

Actors James Romney in the role of Huck and Jonathan Butler-Duplessis in the role of Jim lead the cast of Theatre at the Center's Big River: The Adventures of Huckleberry Finn. The musical begins previews Sept. 14 with opening night on September 17 for a run that continues through Oct. 15.  

As part of its opening week celebrations for the 2017 season, the Utah Shakespeare Festival on July 7 announced its 2018 season. The fifty-seventh season, which will run from June 28 to October 20, will include eight plays in three theatres.

American singer-songwriter and the winner of NBC TV's first season of The Voice, Javier Colon, will star in Unquowa Repertory Theatre's inaugural production of Big River: The Adventures of Huckleberry Finn. Big River in concert, led by theatre veterans Kirby and Beverly Ward, will hit Fairfield Theatre Company's StageOne for a limited run of four performances, June 15-17, 2017. BroadwayWorld has a sneak peek at the company in rehearsal in the videos below!

American singer-songwriter and the winner of NBC TV's first season of The Voice, Javier Colon, will star in Unquowa Repertory Theatre's inaugural production of Big River: The Adventures of Huckleberry Finn. Big River in concert, led by theatre veterans Kirby and Beverly Ward, will hit Fairfield Theatre Company's StageOne for a limited run of four performances, June 15-17, 2017.

Voyages of discovery - of places and people, of others and of self - will captivate, entertain and transform audiences in Mad Cow Theatre's Season 21, which downtown Orlando's resident professional theatre company will open Sept. 22, 2017 in Mad Cow's home at 54 W. Church St., Orlando.

One would assume that Mark Twain would have been amused that his 1884 novel condemning America's history of enslavement of Africans, 'Adventures of Huckleberry Finn,' has occasionally been condemned itself as racist literature for its realistic use of a certain slur.

First up in Encores! 2017 season is Big River: The Adventures of Huckleberry Finn, the Tony Award-winning musical based on Mark Twain's classic American novel. Big River will star Nicholas Barasch, Patrice Covington, Andrew Cristi, Wayne Duvall, Mike Evariste, Charlie Franklin, Annie Golden, Katherine A. Guy, Megan Masako Haley, Adrianna Hicks, Zachary Infante, Gizel Jimenez, Andrew Kruep, John-Michael Lyles, Cass Morgan, Tom Nelis, David Pittu, Tom Alan Robbins, Horace V. Rogers, Kyle Scatliffe, Christopher Sieber, and Lauren Worsham.

Encores! Artistic Director Jack Viertel today announced casting for the Encores! production of Big River: The Adventures of Huckleberry Finn, the Tony Award-winning musical based on Mark Twain's classic American novel.

South Florida's acclaimed Slow Burn Theatre Company has announced its upcoming 2016-17 season, featuring four blockbuster musicals that will be presented exclusively at the Broward Center for the Performing Arts.