'Mark Twain's Blues' To Come To Off-Bway On 4/2

Cinna Productions announced that its well-received production of Mark Twain's Blues, the new play with music--with book and music by Walt Stepp and lyrics by Mr. Stepp and Mark Twain--will transfer to the DR2 Theatre for an extended 6 week off-Broadway run. Directed by Tom Herman with Music Direction by David Wolfson and Choreography by James Beaudry, the production will run from April 2nd through May 10th with an opening scheduled for Sunday, April 13th at DR2 Theatre, 103 East 15th St. The performance schedule is Wednesdays through Saturdays at 8:00 PM, with matinees on Wednesdays at 2:00 PM and on Saturdays and Sundays at 4:00 PM. Tickets are $40 and are available from Telecharge at (212) 239-6200 or via the web at www.Telecharge.com. For more information, please log onto the production's website at www.MarkTwainsBlues.com.
 
Mark Twains Blues opens with the 65-year-old Mark Twain preparing for another of his frequent humorous lectures. But this one will be different, because soon after Twain begins to speak, he is surprised by a voice from the audience: it's Huckleberry Finn, now a full 20 years older than he was in Twain's book. He's soon joined by escaped slave Jim--now 50 years old--and together the two accuse their creator of betraying the truth of their lives in order to boost book sales. Determined to set the record straight once and for all, Huck and Jim reennact some of the scenes in Twain's book...but this time, the way they should have happened. 
 
Continuing in the production are actors Bonne Kramer, Lance Olds, Barry Phillips and Bill Tatum as Mark Twain.
 
The New York Times wrote "The music is entertaining, from ballads to blues to spirituals and even an anthem. An energetic cast... Lance Olds, as Huck, and Bonne Kramer, in five different roles, bring enthusiasm to the enterprise." TheatreOnline called the show "engaging and entertaining. A multi-talented cast, under the steady and often inventive direction of Tom Herman, transports the audience back to the worlds of the "real" Mark Twain and several of his fictional characters. Transports one on an artistic journey which is musical, literary, historical and extremely enjoyable."