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Big River
| Show Dates: | September 8, 2000 through September 17, 2000 |
| Location: | Casa Maņana Theatre |
| 3101 W. Lancaster | |
| Fort Worth, Texas | |
| Ticket Prices: | $34.00 Adults |
| $28.00 Seniors | |
| $18.00 Children and Students |
September 2000
| Monday | Tuesday | Wednesday | Thursday | Friday | Saturday | Sunday |
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| 4 | 5 | 6 | 7 | 8 | 9 | 10 |
| 11 | 12 | 13 | 14 | 15 | 16 | 17 |
| 18 | 19 | 20 | 21 | 22 | 23 | 24 |
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The thrilling
adventures of Huckleberry Finn are a captivating chronicle of America’s quest for
freedom. Performances run September 8, 9, 10, 12, 13, 14, 15, 16, 17. |
| Left high and dry Casa Maņana's neglected 'Big River' worth a dip 09/10/2000 By Lawson Taitte / The Dallas Morning News FORT WORTH – Hey, folks! Is anybody listening? Casa Mañana opened Big River, the third of its summer family musicals at its original domed home, on Friday. This series has been the most dependable work on area stages this summer. Once again, Joel Ferrell directed. And once again, hardly anybody is showing up. It's enough to convince you that people pay lip service to family entertainment. But what they really want is something titillating like The Best Little Whorehouse in Texas – especially when performed at the more glamorous Bass Performance Hall. True, the shows at Casa proper have been high-mileage vehicles. Big River isn't a great musical, either – though it has one of the most effective librettos ever, since it sticks closely to Mark Twain's Huckleberry Finn. (Caution: Like that great American novel, it uses words that some parents might not want to reach children's tender ears.) William Hauptman's book focuses tightly on Huck's moral dilemma. Raised in a slave state, the lad believes he's doing wrong by helping the slave Jim escape down a raft on the Mississippi River. But his heart keeps teaching him that Jim is a human being of greater worth than almost any other he encounters. Country-pop singer Roger Miller's score decorates more than it advances the plot. Despite the nice touches of folk, country and gospel sounds, it never rises above the utilitarian. But in the mouths of performers like those in Mr. Ferrell's uniformly wonderful cast, it sounds fine. Even more important, the actors bring the novel's characters to vibrant life. Jim Poulos is too old – and too handsome – to be an ideal Huck Finn. But this two-year veteran of Broadway's Rent sweeps away all objections. He's terrifically natural and appealing, with a voice that sounds comfortable in all the score's musical styles. All the other performers are locals. David Coffee once again stands out, and not only for his often-exploited comic abilities as the charmingly sinister con man, the King. You'll never realize, unless you read your program very carefully, that it's also Mr. Coffee under the long hair and beard playing Huck's nasty father, Pap Finn. He looms above the stage, booming his scary song in a basso profundo few realize he possesses. It's hard to single others out; the excellence is uniform. Kevin Halliburton's dignified Jim, J. Brent Alford's deliciously hammy Duke and Allyson Turner's radiant Mary Jane Wilkes are all memorable. Performance information Big River, presented by Casa Mañana, 3101 W. Lancaster at University, Fort Worth, Tuesdays through Sundays through Sept. 17. Music and lyrics by Roger Miller. Book by William Hauptman. Directed and choreographed by Joel Ferrell. Sets by David Yates. Lighting by Jay Isham. Sound by Brian Branigan. Tickets $18 to $34. Call Ticketmaster at 214-631-ARTS or 817-467-ARTS.
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By Shirley Jinkins
FORT WORTH -- It would be almost impossible to run aground with Casa Mañana's production of `Big River,' the musical adaptation of Mark Twain's Huck Finn classic. The songs are masterworks by the late Roger Miller, the Fort Worth-born country music legend who won seven Tony awards for his labor.
Fans of both Miller and Twain will be pleased with `Big River.'
Star-Telegram Staff Writer
Despite the early scenes with Tom Sawyer (played with appropriate hauteur by John Patrick), in which the scruffy river boys plot imaginary murder and mayhem, this version of the Huck Finn story is mighty sensitive, if a little simplistic.
Jim Poulos' Huck is a gentler, less hayseedy version than usual, bringing a smudge-faced vulnerability and boyish baritone to the show's big solos, `Waitin' for the Light to Shine' and `River In the Rain.' Poulos is making his Casa debut after starring on Broadway in `Rent.'
But the musical highlights are the duets with Kevin Haliburton's barrel-chested Jim. They turn `Muddy Water' and `Worlds Apart' into soaring show-stoppers. This Jim, by the way, is no shuffle-footed slave with his his head hanging down. The dialog may hint at naivete, but Haliburton keeps Jim quick-thinking and unapologetic. Casa regulars will recall Haliburton's Teen Angel from `Grease.'
`Big River' benefits from the in-the-round staging and remote sets for secondary scenes. It's very easy to imagine yourself sitting on a riverbank, watching the raft (drifting as it is on a manufactured cloud of smoke) go by.
(The big stuffed fabric catfish, however, isn't so realistic.)
Naturally, Roger Miller's songs are accompanied sparingly by a small ensemble, including guitar, keyboards, sometimes harmonica and fiddle.
The closest thing to a production number, in the first half at least, is `When the Sun Goes Down in the South,' a fanciful romp that cements the comic- relief roles of flim-flam guys Duke and King.
J. Brent Alford is fabulously fussy as The Duke, an over-the- top thespian with an off-color cape and ever-present skull in hand.
David Coffee's dual roles of Pap and the King employ some salty language, an oversize fake bosom (`The Royal Nunesuch) and two bad hairpieces, but his ranting `Guv'ment' is almost scary.
Roger Miller fans will notice his influence the most in Tom Sawyer's quick tongued `A Hand for the Hog,' a clever wordplay reminiscent of Miller's quirky, early `Dang Me' style.
`Big River' runs through Sept. 17 at Casa Mañana Theatre, 3101 W. Lancaster Ave. Tickets cost $18-$34. Call the Casa box office at (817) 332-2272 or TicketMaster Arts Line (817) 467- 2787 or (214) 631-2787. Times are 8 p.m. Tuesday-Saturday; and 2 p.m. Thursday, Saturday and Sunday.
Shirley Jinkins, 548-5565
some more Big River links:
TheatreMania.com
GuideLive.com
Star-Telegram.com
