Long before the first chubby guy with long black sideburns stuffed himself into a white polyester jumpsuit or the first aspiring starlet dyed her hair platinum blonde and stood over a subway grate waiting for a puff of air to blow up her skirt, Hal Holbrook was putting on his cream-colored suit, gray wig and mustache to impersonate the late, great Mark Twain.
No, scratch that. Impersonate is not the right word. He is playing on a much higher level than any of the Elvis or Marilyn wannabes. With his wild hair, bushy mustache and ever-present cigar, Holbrook is Mark Twain. After 40 some-odd years of playing the role, surely he has almost as much right to claim ownership of the name as did Samuel Clemens.
The sold-out crowd at last night’s performance of “Mark Twain Tonight” at the Sangamon Auditorium would easily agree. They were with Holbrook from the start, laughing heartily at the stories and jokes, and enjoying the warm, easy presence of an artist who has been honing his skills over a lifetime.
Twain was a 19th century stand-up comedian, and through the impeccable timing of Mr. Holbrook, his “act” still shines today.
My favorite line? “I know that insanity is inherited....we get it from our children!”
After years of research, Holbrook premiered his show off-Broadway in 1959, finally reaching Broadway in 1966. He won the Tony Award and the Drama Critic’s Circle Award that year for his performance as Twain. He’s toured the show ever since, making four appearances at the Sangamon Auditorium since 1981.
But even with the passage of time, the material has not grown stale, nor has Holbrook’s performance. Quite the contrary, the writings are as fresh and meaningful today as they were when Twain first put pen to paper. We’re still dealing with crooked politicians, dishonest insurance companies, religious zealots and biased journalists, proving the old adage that the more things change, the more they stay the same.
As much a Twain scholar as an interpreter, Holbrook has amassed and memorized hundreds of pages of possible material (14 hours’ worth!). After each performance, he makes notes about what stories or anecdotes he used that evening. That way, when he plays the same theater again, he makes sure he doesn’t repeat himself.
He keeps a notebook on an on-stage podium, and casually leafs through it throughout the evening to help guide him through the particular speeches or stories he plans to use in a given performance.
At 77, Mr. Holbrook is now 2 years older than Twain was when he passed away. While it’s probably true that it doesn’t take him quite as long to get into the make-up now as it once did, there is no question that he is able to transform himself into an uncanny likeness of the man.
Incredibly at home on the stage, Holbrook isn’t acting so much as channeling the spirit of Clemens (and if that’s the case, John Edward of “Crossing Over” fame has met his match!). He has expert comic timing and the ability to get laughs with the simple task of lighting his cigar.
He is equally strong in the more somber moments, such as when he becomes young Huck Finn in a passage from Twain’s beloved book. Holbrook, like a fine wine, has aged gracefully into the role.
There is no set to speak of, just a chair, a podium, a table and a couple of rugs. There are no fancy lighting effects, either. It’s a very simple evening actually, just one man telling stories written by another man to a willing and appreciative audience.
A quick word about the audience - I was impressed by the mix of young and old in the sold-out crowd. Junior high school students seemed to be enjoying themselves as much as the more mature members of the audience. And why not? We were in the company of two masters: Twain and Holbrook.
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Gus Gordon is the chief meteorologist at NewsChannel 20 and a free lance arts reviewer. He can be reached at gusgordon00@lycos.com