Huck Finn This Weekend

 Oddfellows Playhouse’s Junior Repertory Company will present Huck Finn by Eric Coble, Adapted from the novel The Adventures of Huckleberry Finn by Mark Twain. 

Huck Finn flees the claws of "civilization" for the freedom of the mighty Mississippi, only to find himself running from mobs, getting shot at, stealing gold, digging escape tunnels and dressing as a woman. And perhaps his greatest adventure: unexpectedly finding his own moral compass in a world of corruption and hypocrisy.  This highly-theatrical adaptation presented by the Junior Repertory Company and directed by Lorra Webb, is the second of Coble’s work produced at the Playhouse, following 2006’s Gold in the Bones.  This classic tale of adventure is great for families and students of all ages.

The production runs Thursday thru Saturday, November 29, 30 and December 1  All performances begin at 7:00 p.m.  Tickets are $15 for Adults and $8 for Students/Seniors.  Anyone bringing a canned food item for Amazing Grace Food Pantry will receive a $2 discount on their ticket.  Tickets are available online at www.oddfellows.org or by calling 860-347-6143. 

The production is made possible by major support from CT State Department of Education, Middlesex United Way, The Stare Fund, Pratt & Whitney, the Middletown Commission on the Arts, Eli Cannon’s Tap Room and Daphne Sebolt Culpeper Foundation.   Media support provided by Comcast and WESU 88.1FM. 

Twang at Twain

While at Broad Street Books last week, I noticed a poster advertising Mark Twain and "Classic Honky Tonk and Vintage Twang". The combination of two of my most favorite parts of American culture was irresistible, and enough to lead us to a wonderful twilight concert in Hartford on Tuesday.

Samuel Clemens' 1874 house on Farmington Avenue in Hartford has been restored and preserved beautifully as the The Mark Twain House and Museum. The house is on a small hill, with lawns sweeping down to a Farmington Avenue in the front, and to a well-laid out parking lot and beautiful bus stop in the back. The lawn in the back forms a natural amphitheater, a lovely spot for a summer concert, especially with a selection of cheeses and a pate' from The Fruitery.

Tuesday's band was Girl Howdy, a wonderful band fronted by three funky, dynamic women sporting western attire, performing the steel slide guitar, a honky tonk piano, and a guitar. Their music ranges from slow country ballads to striving honky-tonk, and includes covers of Webb Pierce (The King of the Honky Tonk), Connie Francis, and the two great Patsy's (Montana and Cline).

Paula Bradley, who also played the honky tonk piano, has a rich, deep alto voice that beautifully conveyed the heartache of Western ballads. Betsy-Dawn Williams played the rhythm guitar and provided the high energy for honky tonk dancing, and Rose Sinclair's steel guitar provided enough twang to satisfy even the most home-sick Westerner up from Middletown.

The next Twain at Twilight concert will feature Carolyn Adams and her cool Caribbean sounds, July 28th, at 6PM. Concerts are free.