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| Versatile Dan Wheetman (left), Tony Marcus and Chic Street Man play a variety of instruments in the show. |
The mighty Mississippi is celebrated in words and
song in “Mark Twain’s River of Song,” presented by TheatreWorks Silicon Valley.
Created by Randal Myler and Dan Wheetman, this
musical revue combines original songs by Wheetman along with traditional songs.
They’re interspersed with the words of Mark Twain (Dan Hiatt), who serves as a
sort of emcee, plus oral histories from lumbermen, farmers, dock workers and
slaves who all worked along the river.
These passages are quite effective, describing these
people’s relationship with the river. The
slaves’ words are most interesting because they describe the lives of several
slaves and recount their efforts to escape to the north and freedom via the
river.
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| Dan Hiatt personifies Mark Twain. |
There’s not much of a story, although Twain does
talk about his boyhood in Hannibal, Mo., on the banks of the river and his
desire to become a river boat pilot. He ran away at age 14, got a river boat
job and eventually did become a pilot before embarking on his literary career.
This six-person version of the play is a revision
from a three-person show that premiered earlier this year. At times it feels
like a work in progress, especially in the first act. Also indicative of a work
in progress is that the order of songs performed doesn’t always match the
program.
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| Jim (Rondrell McCormick, left) and Huck (Valisia LeKae ) guide their raft down the river. |
The second act is more interesting, especially when
it features long passages from Twain’s masterpiece, “The Adventures of
Huckleberry Finn.” It’s set on a raft where Huck (Valisia LeKae) and Jim (Rondrell McCormick), an escaped slave, are making their way along the river.
The songs are performed well on a variety of
instruments by LeKae, McCormick, composer Wheetman, Tony Marcus and Chic Street
Man. Hiatt is engaging as Twain.
Besides serving as composer and performer, Wheetman
is the show’s musical director, while co-creator Myler is the director.
Adding great interest to the show is the large map
of the country before the Civil War plus the projected period photographs that
create ambience for each scene. David Lee Cuthbert is responsible for these
media designs along with the set.
Also contributing to the show are costumes by Jill
C. Bowers, lighting by Steven B. Mannshardt and sound by Jeff Mockus.
Overall, the show is competently performed.
Running under an hour and 40 minutes with one
intermission, “Mark Twain’s River of Song” will continue through Oct. 27 at the
Mountain View Center for the Performing Arts, 500 Castro St., Mountain View.
Photos by Kevin Berne
