Mark Twain

We went to a little community theatre in town last night, to see a one-man show called Mark Twain. The man who plays Mr. Twain is a former New York stage actor who has been in numerous Broadway plays, and has written a musical review about Cole Porter that still plays around the country from time to time. This actor was the picture-image of Mark Twain, complete with the white hair, the thick mustache, the pocket watch and cigar.

As a true Twain fan, he gave a stunning performance, as well as a reading from Huckleberry Finn. I had no idea that Mark Twain had been so popular around the country for his live readings, speeches, and dialogues. His humor is still very current and funny-- especially the political topics. Twain's views on politicians and government is as cynical and as on-target now as it must have been decades ago.

The theatre itself is very small, with only about 125 seats. We were told that there is a second (even smaller) stage in another part of the theatre, but we didn't see that last night. Everyone in the theatre is there on a volunteer basis, and they're always looking for volunteers for everything from selling tickets out front to showing people to their seats to shopping the town for stage props. We might look into volunteering there during the summer months or the next theatre season, but for now, we intend to go back and see more of the plays. "Camelot" and "On Golden Pond" is on the show list between now and the summer.

The volunteers last night were also handing out small advertisements for a play to be shown at the local college. Its title is "Church Basement Ladies," and it sounds very country, very Texan, and very funny. It has played in other states, and I'm wondering if it is touring the country, going from west to east, before they take it to Broadway. We have made note of that play as well, and we'll probably go see that one when it comes into town.

We miss the downtown Houston area, with the museums and theatres and ethnic restaurants, but we don't miss the traffic and congestion there. "Life in the slow lane," as my husband calls this part of the Hill Country.