Mark Twain Tonight!

Mark Twain Tonight!
Written by	Mark Twain Hal Holbrook
Characters	Mark Twain
Date premiered	1954
Place premiered	Lock Haven University of Pennsylvania
Genre	Comedy, drama
Setting	United States

Mark Twain Tonight! is a one-man play devised by Hal Holbrook, in which he depicts Mark Twain giving a dramatic recitation selected from several of Twain's writings, with an emphasis on the comic ones.

The recitation's genesis was a show that Holbrook performed with his first wife Ruby in which she would interview him portraying famous people in history, including Twain. Holbrook revised the concept into a one-man show in the 1950s, first performing it at the Lock Haven State Teachers College in Pennsylvania in 1954. He made his first New York City appearance as Twain in the Off-Broadway engagement in 1959 and premiered it on Broadway in 1966. Holbrook's performance was first noticed by New York producer John Lotas at The Lambs Club in Manhattan. Lotas presented the show at the Forty-First Street Theatre, where it ran for 174 performances. He won a Tony Award for Best Performance by a Leading Actor in a Play for that appearance and an Emmy Award nomination for the 1967 television broadcast (which was produced by David Susskind) on CBS.

The last performance on Broadway was in 2006. Holbrook was known to alternate the material that he performed. The original program from the 1959 Off-Broadway engagement included the note “While Mr. Twain’s selections will come from the list below, we have been unable to pin him down as to which of them he will do. He claims this would cripple his inspiration. However, he has generously conceded to a printed program for those who are in distress and wish to fan themselves.” This appeared on programs for the show until Holbrook abruptly announced his retirement from the show in September 2017.

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