Life on the Mississippi – Location, Tickets, Reviews
Life on the Mississippi explores the life of Sam Clemens, a boy who wanted to be a steamboat pilot and grew up to become Mark Twain, one of America’s greatest writers. It is based on Twain’s memoir of the same name.
The musical is set on the Paul Jones, a steamboat on the Mississippi River. Clemens (Andrew Hubacher), a starry-eyed lad, boards the boat with his younger brother Henry in the hopes of acquiring an apprenticeship with the vessel’s renowned pilot, Horace Bixby (Jeff Paul). Ultimately, Sam’s experience aboard the Paul Jones proves to be more emotional and eye-opening than he could have ever imagined.
Thanks to its assortment of emotive songs, witty asides, and innovative comic displays, Life on the Mississippi spans the full spectrum of human emotion. It’s a poignant story of loss, sacrifice, and ambition–a moving tale about what it takes to follow a dream.
Recommended if. . .
You like scruffy men and with southern accents (really, it’s an all male cast);
You enjoy old-fashioned stories set during the Civil War era;
You’re a fan of Mark Twain; or
You have a sweet spot for inspirational tales with melancholy endings.
LOCATION
WorkShop Theater Main Stage
312 West 36th Street
New York City
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RUNNING TIME
1 hour 30 minutes, no intermission
TICKETS
$15-$18 (click for tickets)
DATES
Performances through November 23, 2013
NEWS & REVIEWS
Reviews
New York Theatre
Philip W. Hall crafts a musical that stays true to the time period and location of Mark Twain’s adolescence. With a score full of banjos, violins, and beautiful harmonies, I felt I could close my eyes and drift off to sleep from time to time—that, of course, being a compliment.
TheaterPizzazz
Direction by Susana Frazer is sharp and quick. The play has moments of joy, vengefulness, and despair, and the character relationships are intricate. Choreography is tight without being too showy. It is smooth, brave, and articulate. It celebrates the best of musical theater, and it calls upon styles we know without being hokey.
CAST & CREW
(partial list)
Written by Philip Hall
Directed by Susanna Frazer
Featuring Dewy Cadell, Nathan Crocker, Max Demers, Richard Kent Green, Andrew Hubacher, Steven Louis Kane, Bill Nabel, and Jeff Paul