Actor Richard Thomas is set to bring his rendition of "Mark Twain Tonight!" to The Covey in Provo, Utah, marking his first performance in the city. Known for his extensive career, Thomas assumes the challenging role of Mark Twain in a performance that abandons the traditional scripted play format. The one-night-only show at The Covey on Nov. 14 is part of a highly selective tour schedule, with Provo as one of its few Utah stops, according to the City of Provo.
In an interview with BroadwayWorld.com, Thomas expressed his anticipation, saying, "I've never been to Provo or played in Provo before. I’ve played in Salt Lake many times and hosted a Christmas special with the Tabernacle Choir a few years ago. I’m excited to be here for the first time," as per the City of Provo. He steps into the shoes of Hal Holbrook, who famously encapsulated Twain's persona for more than four decades. "Hal spent 50 years accumulating and…curating all these things that Twain said and wrote and turned it into a program," said Thomas. The actor noted the need to carefully curate a mix of Twain's writings, injecting a blend of entertainment with substance into the 90-minute show.
The show's unconventional structure allows Thomas to pick from Twain's extensive writings, delivering a performance rooted in the renowned author's humor and incisive socio-political commentary. Mary Lincer of Broadway World commended Thomas's performance as underpinned by "great craft" that "yields great theatre." Thomas himself asserts the depth of Twain's character by explaining, Mark Twain was not only a real person, but a very complex and fascinating, and deep person. He emphasized the impact of Twain's personality imbued within his works as a core component of the performance.
