At New Rochelle High School last night we enjoyed a rollicking musical performance of Big River – The Adventures of Huckleberry Finn. A very strong cast of performers confidently and deftly sang song after song in this show based on the 1860 American classic by Mark Twain. The strongest performer was Huck Finn played by Isaac Assor who was utterly convincing as the vagabond boy. The entire group captured the audience with their first large cast number of the night “Do You Wanna Go to Heaven” with a strong music number choreographed with dozens of wooden spoons.
Even the overture was enjoyable with harmonica music and a wonderful violinist (student Sarah Kenner) playing Bluegrass riffs. The alcoholic dad was portrayed convincingly by Matt Moliterno, who takes his son away from two relatives who were raising him to live in a shack in the woods, all in an effort to take his sons money. Here is the boy in a difficult situation, forced to run away to protect his own welfare. Soon he hooks up with Jim, an escaped slave, played perfectly by Freedom Weekes, spot on. Jim and Huck Finn perform a duet “Muddy Waters” that captivated the audience. It was a perfect balance of song.
At New Rochelle High School there are two side stages which were utilized in this performance. Tom Sawyer and Huck Finn gather their gang in the right side stage, decorated as a cave. The boy tweens that I brought to the show enjoyed the characters planning to “murder and rob” at will, yet being scared to cut their fingers to become blood brothers. Great scene! It was a wonderful performance of Tom Sawyer by Zach Manley, perfectly cast!
The sparse staging was punctuated by a perfect raft that Jim and Huck are riding down the Mississippi as Jim seeks freedom. My group was trying to figure out how did they get that thing to move like that? It moved in a staggering, slow way down the river for a series of scenes. Well done. One particularly haunting scene was where a group of escaped slaves are traveling at night with babies. Beautiful voices, memorable image that does well to set the piece historically.
As supporting characters the King and Duke, played by David Cohan and Jacob Backer, play escaped prisoners always trying to con people out of their money. The pair are well matched and a strong addition to the cast. The pair give comic relief with a flamboyant presentation Shakespeare and other antics. The crowd ate it up.
One performer worth noting here is the Young Fool, played by Christopher Brown, who performs a solo called “Arkansas”. It was wonderfully performed, completely in-character and made the audience think, who could dream so much of going to Arkansas? Great job!
There were female characters in the show, too. All performed well, on cue, in character, sharp, clear and strong. In fact I was impressed that in this high school performance I noticed no strange lulls where lines are forgotten or entrances delayed, etc. The show ran really well.
Two female escaped slave characters, sang “Leavin’s Not the Only Way to Go” with a gospel singing style that captivated the audience and filled the room with atmosphere. It was wonderful and I wished they came back with an encore on that one.
All in all, great job to the entire group, including the Wilkes family characters and the cast during the funeral sequence and at the cemetary. Well done!
The show has two more performances, tonight (Saturday) at 8:00pm and a Sunday matinee at 2:00pm.
If your child is reading Tom Sawyer or Huck Finn for school, or even if he is not, it is a great way to spend three hours. It is $7 for students and seniors and $10 for adults. There is a snack bar for intermission, too.