Who Was Mark Twain? A Dramatic Production of Eli Siegel’s Lecture on Huckleberry Finn

• Performing Arts

The Aesthetic Realism Theatre Company will present “Who Was Mark Twain?”  This is a dramatic presentation—performed with many scenes from Twain’s novel—of the thrilling 1951 lecture by poet and critic Eli Siegel, founder of Aesthetic Realism, on Huckleberry Finn. It is a keen, kind, moving comprehension of Twain himself and of his unforgettable characters and what they mean to us: the malevolence of Pap Finn, the pain of the enslaved person Jim, the hopes and fears of Huckleberry Finn and Tom Sawyer. Mr. Siegel says:

“Huckleberry Finn represents a question which is always around: how to be spontaneous, seemingly natural, oneself, and yet go along with what other people seem to ask of you.  That is a very hard question, because in satisfying these two demands, it is so easy to get troubled, angry, and so easy to be wrong.”

What an honoring this will be of Twain’s rollicking and ever so deep novel—and the self of everyone! Incidental music will be performed by Barbara Allen, flute, and Edward Green, piano.