Big River

Monday, Wednesday Friday and Saturday at 8 p.m., September 30 - October 14, 2006. Sunday, October 15, 2006, at 2 p.m.:

Big River, The Adventures of Huckleberry Finn. Music and lyrics by Roger Miller. Book by William Hauptman. Adapted from the novel by Mark Twain. Produced by special arrangement with Rodgers and Hammerstein Theatre Library. Directed by Tommy Jackson.

Big River, The Adventures of Huckleberry Finn, is one of the greatest creations in American fiction. This tale of adventure and self-discovery begins on a raft on the Mississippi River in the 1840s, where Huck, escaping from his drunken father, meets up with Jim, a runaway slave. The story of their journey downstream is an American classic that captures the rhythms, sounds and spirit of life on the big river. Twain's timeless classic sweeps us down the mighty Mississippi as the irrepressible Huck Finn helps his friend Jim, a slave, escape to freedom at the mouth of the Ohio River. Their adventures along the way are hilarious, suspenseful and heartwarming, bringing to life your favorite characters from the novel: the Widow Douglas and her stern sister, Miss Watson; the uproarious King and Duke, who may or may not be as harmless as they seem; Huck's partner in crime, Tom Sawyer, and their rowdy gang of pals; Huck's drunken father, the sinister Pap Finn; the lovely Mary Jane Wilkes and her trusting family. Propelled by an award winning score from Roger Miller, the king of country music, this jaunty journey provides a brilliantly theatrical celebration of pure Americana.

The show is based on one of the greatest creations in American Fiction, Mark Twain’s classic The Adventures of Huckleberry Finn. The show opened to glowing reviews. Both attendance and income rose virtually every week. Big River received 13 Tony Award nominations and won seven. Powerful and majestic, the mighty Mississippi is the big river of Huck Finn and his adventures. It's the river that takes Huck and his friend Jim to the promise of freedom. Big River transforms Mark Twain's classic to the stage, blending music, voice, and dance in an unforgettable journey.

“NOTICE: Persons attempting to find a motive in this narrative will be prosecuted; persons attempting to find a moral in it will be banished; persons attempting to find a plot in it will be shot. By order of the author. Mark Twain.”

The action takes place in a variety of settings along the Mighty Mississippi River.

Musical Numbers:
ACT I
*Do Ya Wanna Go To Heaven?*		The Cast
*The Boys*		Tom and the Boys
*Waitin’ For The Light To Shine*		Huck
*Guv’ment*		Pap
*Hand For The Hog*		Tom
*I, Huckleberry, Me*		Huck
Muddy Water		Jim and Huck
The Crossing		Slaves
River In The Rain		Huck and Jim
*When The Sun Goes Down In The South*		Duke, King and Huck
15 Minute Intermission
ACT II
The Royal Nonesuch		Duke and the Cast
Worlds Apart		Jim and Huck
Arkansas		A Young Fool
How Blest We Are		Alice’s Daughter and the Cast
You Oughta Be Here With Me		Mary Jane, Susan and Joanna
How Blest We Are (reprise)		The Cast
Leavin’s Not The Only Way To Go		Huck, Mary Jane and Jim
Waitin’ For The Light To Shine (reprise)		Huck
Free At Last		Jim and Slaves
River In The Rain (reprise)		Huck and Jim
Muddy Water (reprise)		The Cast

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