Sennett: Hello Mark Twain
Hal Holbrook has been seventy years old for the last sixty years. Holbrook’s two-hour, one-man show as Mark Twain began in 1954 when he was in college. Since then, he has not stopped. His show “Mark Twain Tonight!” went to Broadway and eventually toured the world. Last Sunday, Hal Holbrook took his legendary show to Toledo as part of sixty-first consecutive year — and I was there to see it.
At age ninety, Holbrook has memorized nearly 15 hours of Twain material. Each night, Holbrook walks onstage and transforms into the historical figure, without knowing what material he will recite. Instead, he bases his monologue off of the audience’s reaction, generating a unique show every night. His Mark Twain performances are an iconic piece of American theatre, but Holbrook’s portrayal of Twain is more than just an impression. It is a work of art and a living, breathing and ever-changing expression of American performing arts. Hal Holbrook is as close as we can get to seeing and hearing the real Mark Twain.
My biggest worry, going to the performance, was Hal Holbrook’s age. I wondered: could he still stand up for two hours straight, puff on a cigar and actually remember all of that material? Would Holbrook stand like he used to or sit in a chair the entire show? I figured this would be shorter than his traditional two hours and he would never puff on a cigar.
I was wrong.
A puff of smoke coming from off stage right signaled Twain’s arrival. Holbrook walked onstage to an instant standing ovation. With a wave of his hand, there was no doubting that the man before us was in fact, Mark Twain himself. Surprisingly, Twain roamed around the stage with the greatest of ease, rarely sitting down at all. A few funny stories about Congress made up his introduction. Everyone laughed at the famous quote, “Suppose you were an idiot. And suppose you were a member of Congress. But I repeat myself.” The rupture of laughter was only the beginning of a full two-hour set of material. It is interesting how quotes from over 100 years ago are still relevant today.
Then I got scared. Holbrook’s Mark Twain began to tell a story from the perspective of someone else (Twain’s stories often were anecdotes from different perspectives). As he narrated, he sat down in the chair on stage right for the first time. His words became groggy and he yawned several times. Then, his eyes closed. He was asleep! A soft murmur in the audience was whispering, “Is this supposed to happen?” and even, “Is he dead?” Mark Twain snored softly and then was immediately awakened, shouting with new energy, “And that was about the time he always fell asleep!”
The crowd cheered and applauded. Holbrook had fooled us. I had almost forgotten the man before us was Hal Holbrook, playing Mark Twain, playing another character. Holbrook captured Mark Twain so well, that at times, I thought Huckleberry Finn and Tom Sawyer were real people on stage as well.
As Twain narrated a scene from “The Adventures of Huckleberry Finn,” he became Huckleberry Finn. When Twain narrated a scene from his life, he became a younger version of himself. Holbrook powerfully brought to life fiction and brought the past to the present through the immortal vehicle of Mark Twain.
Hal Holbrook’s Mark Twain has been captivating the world for over the past sixty years. Picking up where the real Mark Twain left off, Holbrook has kept Twain’s persona alive for everyone to see. When it was time for him to leave, I was convinced I had been listening to the real Mark Twain, and was saddened to see the legend go. Toledo had been treated to a classic piece of American theatre.
Evan Sennett is a first-year majoring in film studies, and he is also an IC cartoonist.
This piece has been edited since the time of its print publication.
