Timber Lake Playhouse, 8215 Black Oak Road, rural Mount Carroll, IL, presents “Big River: The Adventures of Huckleberry Finn,” the musical adaptation of Mark Twain’s novel, through Sunday, August 23, 2013. The play is propelled by an award-winning score from Roger Miller, the king of country music. This journey down the mighty Mississippi provides a brilliantly theatrical celebration of pure Americana. The show is the final production of the playhouse’s 54th annual summer season.
“Big River” afternoon and evening performances continue Saturday, August 15, at 2:00 and 7:30; Sunday, August 16, at 2:00; Tuesday, August 18 at 7:30; Wednesday, August 19, at 2:00 and 7:30; Thursday, August 20, at 7:30; Friday, August 21, at 7:30; Saturday, August 22, at 7:30; Sunday, August 23, at 2:00.
Tickets for all TLP mainstage shows are $17 to $25 with discounts for Seniors, active duty military, and students. For reservations, call the box office at 815-244-2035 or visit www.timberlakeplayhouse.org.
Courtney Crouse returns to TLP to direct this modern classic that premiered in 1985. The story showcases actor-musicians to the sound of country, gospel, and bluegrass. Huck Finn (Grant Alexander Brown) helps his friend Jim, a slave (played by Charles
Benson), escape to freedom at the mouth of the Ohio River. Their adventures are alternately suspenseful, heartwarming, and hilarious.
Amelia Jo Parish is the Widow Douglas, and Paige ManWaring is her stern sister, Miss Watson. Matt W. Miles is the Duke, who may or may not be as harmless as he seems.
Chandler Smith plays Huck’s partner in crime, Tom Sawyer; John Chase is Huck’s drunken father, the sinister Pap Finn; Alexis Aker is the lovely Mary Jane Wilkes.
Crouse and music director Michael Uselmann have created a production that features guitar, mandolin, banjo, fiddle, accordion, and percussion played by the actors on stage. The concept gives the music an authentic country feel and showcases the virtuosity of TLP’s 2015 company. Additional offstage musicians fill out the sound. Musical staging is by Artistic Director James Beaudry.
Crouse said, “Bringing the music onto the stage creates a world that looks, feels, and sounds like the folk music traditions that exist up and down the Mississippi River. The play looks at a time when the Country was growing up, just like Huck does in the story. And the way the actors discover music and use it to create community really enriches the whole show.”
This program is partially sponsored by a grant from the Illinois Arts Council, a State agency.
Caption: The cast of Timber Lake Playhouse’s ‘Big River,’ opening Thursday,
August 13th.