Mark Twain Tonight Tickets

Great show - truly a piece of Americana. Hal Holbrook is a treasure.

Although set in 1905 it was as relevant as if it was set in 2011. While it was both entertaining and thought provoking it revolved mainly around political satire (or political reality) due to this, it may not hold the interest for those under 12. Mr. Holbrook’s performance was great!

Brilliant, and moving. Astounding that Holbrook has been playing Mark Twian longer than Samuel Adams. A wonderful evening, worth the wait, and the influx of cameras filming the show for a future event. Very exquisite timing for Holbook, as Twain's autobiography, the first volume, has just been released.

Hal Holbrook has performed "Mark Twain Tonight" for 57 years and he is as good as he ever was. The show starts with a good deal of levity and thought; invoking frequent laughter and applause from the audience. An intermission gives the audience a "opportunity to leave" if they're so inclined. The second half of the performance is a bit more serious, and at times somber. A standing ovation is typical with Hal Holbrook and this evening didn't disappoint. A must see event for those interested in a thought provoking and humorous performance. Hal Holbrook is 86 years old and hopefully there are many more performances to come.

I'm sure some people really enjoyed this one-man act based on the laughter. I found it boring and couldn't wait for it to end.

I'm sure Holbrook did an excellent acting job but I found the show boring. It's one thing to be in the presence of a great intellect, someone with a tremendous sense of humor (i.e., Mark Twain himself, if he was still alive) but to experience the man second-hand, well, it lacked spontaneity and was, frankly, boring. The after-intermission portion focused on war, war in the name of religion, the machines of war (all the material is directly quoted from M. Twain) and listening to this monologue on the same day we took offensive action against Libya, it was too much for me: I walked out midway thru the second act. More than once, I wanted to stand up and gently ask the slow-moving Holbrook to just get on with it already.

The show was a good balance of hilarious and pathetic observations of human nature. Incisive.

I've wanted to see this performance for a long time, so I jumped at tickets when I saw it was available, and the place was completely sold out. I am a fan of Hal Holbrook and of Mark Twain. So, perhaps I had built up too high of an expectation. Don't get me wrong, it was good, but not great. There were times when Holbrook seemed to lose his place. I guessed that was part of the performance and that he was mimicking what he had read about Mark Twain's appearances, but my wife thought he was just being absent minded himself. Some of the material was hilariously funny, but some of the themes became annoyingly redundant. I laughed the first ten times that he compared Congress to criminals. It was interesting to see how well one-hundred year-old themes stood up to today, but I'm an optimist so the picture I got was that is was a lot worse back then than it is now. A few of the points seemed to get very serious, and the audience grew quiet or tittered nervously. I am not sure if that was intended, but it certainly may have been.

I've seen Mark Twain Tonight half a dozen times since 1973. Each time I come away more impressed with Hal Holbrook's talent. Again, he left me feeling I'd spent an evening with our greatest author!

Minnesota audience was not sure what to make of Hal Holbrook's brilliant impersonation of Mark Twain. I've seen the show three times, over a thirty-year span, and the illusion was achieved each time--you think you are watching Mark Twain. In person. By now, Mr. Holbrook is 83 years old . . . but this performance, although seemingly sort of tentative at times before the intermission, really took off, and culminated in a recitation from Chapter 6 of Adventures of Huckleberry Finn which I thought equaled or exceeded anything I recall from previous shows. But dead silence greeted this tour de force rather than the applause I'd have liked to hear for it. I think there was a problem with the audience at times. They seemed willing to laugh at somewhat hackneyed jokes made at the expense of Congress and "the French," but were confused or put off by satirical jabs at Wall Street, and at other less-familiar material. Holbrook rolled out "The War Prayer" exactly as I would have pictured Mark Twain doing it . . . but Americans are inured now to to the outrages and atrocities of warfare, and comfortable with our complicity in it, judging by the muted response to that piece. One can see why Twain embargoed a lot of his autobiographical comments for a hundred years after his death--because even after 100 years, it seemed that an audience composed of people who could afford those pricey tickets was also composed of people not able or willing to appreciate Mark Twain's more barbed remarks. Was Holbrook trying to impose his own slant onto Twain's material? I think not. I think he is so familiar with the man's work that he gave us exactly what Twain would have done, and in fact what Twain did do, with his century-long deferment of precisely those thrusts and jabs which weren't appreciated so much as they were deserved. The only critical comment I have to record is that in "An Encounter with an Interviewer," Holbrook changed "Aaron Burr" to "George Washington." It didn't work when I heard him make that switch 15 years ago and it still doesn't work. Mark Twain knew his art, and he knew he wanted Aaron Burr at that funeral, not George Washington. If modern audiences don't know who Aaron Burr was, then just skip the whole burlesque--there's lots more to choose from. I wouldn't end on a carping note, however. This was a terrific performance; the plain but aged Fitzgerald Theater was a venue appropriate for re-creating an illusion of the era. I wonder how Mark Twain will sound in another 100 years. I won't be around to find out--but I love it that Twain was sure enough of his own genius to suppose that there would be anyone listening 100 years after his demise. The show was sold out.

A very impressive one man show by Hal Holbrook. This was expected, of course, given that he has won both an Emmy and a Tony for this show. It was thoroughly enjoyable and I couldn't help but admire an 85 year old actor who can hold an audience's attention for over two hours by the sheer force of his performance - and he was playing a younger man - Mark Twain at age 70. The material was great, as expected, and still relevant to today's political scene after 100 years.

This One Man Show by Hal Holbrook is tremendously entertatining and his portrayal of Mark Twain continues to be on target. He has given Mark Twain a voice along with his wit, also insights which were then and are as it is in the world today. It is as though Mr. Twain exists today with Mr Holbrooks insights on how Twain would view them. We thoroughly enjoyed the program from start to finish and will recommend others attend this event.

Experiencing this presentation was like seeing the World Series, Super Bowl and Academy Awards all rolled into one. Holbrook did an amazing job of bringing Mark Twain to life - if there has been any one-person show where the actor's presence disappears and the character being portrayed had taken over, this is it. a simple set and basic lighting let the makeup add further to the image of existence of Mark Twain on our stage at the Fitzgerald. With a blend of humor, irony, tenderness and satire, Holbrook selected passages of Twain's work that speak well yet even today. With the anniversary of Twain's death, perhaps it is time that we listen to this sage of the late 1800s and adjust accordingly.

Hal Holbrook captured Mark Twain and my heart at the Fitzgerald Theater! From the moment he entered the stage, I felt like I was stepping back in time to listen to Mark Twain comment about life. I knew it was going to be a special evening, but I had no idea Mr.Holbrook would take me on such an emotional ride. He was humorous, thoughtful and unforgettable in his emotional portrayal of Huck Finn, Huck's father and Jim. He had the entire audience captivated by his effortless movement between Mark Twain and these characters from his books. I felt very fortunate to be among the audience to experience this amazing and unforgettable show!

I came away with a greater appreciation of Mark Twain. Also very impressed with Hal Holbrook's virtuosity. I thought it was powerful, humorous, and believeable.

This was a wonderful opportunity to see one of America's greatest actors in his most original role. It was a fabulous evening.

47 years ago (junior in high school), I did a humorous interpretation speech for district, region and state competition, that imitated Hal doing Mark Twain. At that time, he was still in his thirties and doing off-broadway. It was fun to hear him use some of that same material in his presentation Sunday Night. Focusing in the past on only the humor of his Twain, and his roles on TV and in the movies, I didn't realize Hal's subtle poingnancy and range!

Over two hours on stage, 80+ year old Hal Holbrook nailed it! I bought tickets before I knew the Vikings would play, went to the Fitz a bit disappointed to be missing the game.... never thought of the Purple once during the show! As someone who taught Mark Twain's works for over 35 years, I'm always apprehensive to attend a portrayal of him; however, I saw Holbrook as Twain about 30 years ago - loved it - wanted to try again.This 2010 portrayal brought out the dark side of Twain and, appropriately, had the audience gasping that his assessment of American politics and religion still holds true today. Twain could have been talking about 21st century money drenched elections, the Christian right-wing, prejudice against all persons "different," and the manipulative media. Interspersed throughout the "darkness" was Twain's wonderfully ironic humor. I would see this again in a minute.

Extremely relevant, especially just before an election! Biting, satirical political humor that had the audience laughing most of the evening. Should be required viewing for every office seeker and voter. Not much seems to have changed since 1905 except the names. Holbrook nailed the performance, but then again, he's only done it more than 2000 times since 1954.

Hal Holbrook is a legend in his own right and plays a legend - he was Mark Twain for two hours - never breaking character. Mark Twain's viewpoints from his time are just a relevant to our world today