By Joe Stead www.steadstylechicago.com

One of my favorite theatre memories was the original production of "Big River".  Librettist William Hauptman and Composer and Lyricist Roger Miller first took Mark Twain's immortal characters from "The Adventures of Huckleberry Finn" on their journey from the Mighty Mississippi to the Great White Way in 1985.  The year was one of the bleakest in Broadway history.  In fact, the only contenders for the Best musical category that year were the 1960's revue "Leader of the Pack" and the Hal Prince flop view of burlesque, "Grind".

I saw the first National Company of "Big River" shortly after it won the Tony.  One of the first stops on the tour was the Kennedy Center for Performing Arts in Washington, D.C., and I was mighty proud to be able to wrangle a pair of primo press comps to review this special opening.  I still vividly remember designer Heidi Landesman's glorious vision of the great river "winding some place just trying to find the sun" as the song says.  The score is a rousing and refreshing blend of American idioms, from folk and gospel to bluegrass and musical comedy vaudeville, all neatly wedded to Twain's unmistakable brand of humor. 

Joining Brian Lane Green as that irrepressible paragon of American youth and independence Huck Finn was none other than Tony winner Ron Richardson in his original role as runaway slave Jim.  Richardson's renditions of the spiritual "Free at Last" and his duets with Huck, "World Apart" and "Muddy Water" still leave me with chills.  And then there was old Mark Twain himself, or an actor made up to look like the real Samuel Clemens.  The front drop read "Persons attempting to find a motive in this narrative will be prosecuted; persons attempting to find a moral in it will be banished; persons attempting to find a plot in it will be shot." 

Chicago has had several regional stagings of the musical, including two at the Marriott Theatre and one at the now shuttered Apple Tree Theatre in Highland Park.  I was delighted to learn that this musical favorite is being revived this summer in Lancaster, Pennyslvania, where I will be journeying to bring you a full report.  The Dutch Apple is one of the few remaining professional dinner theatres in the country and it deserves credit for tackling some surprising and challenging fare. 

Earlier this year they had a smash hit production of "Rent," followed by "Meet Me in St. Louis," and later this season will present Rodgers and Hammerstein's chestnut "The King and I".  Talk about diversity!  If the dinner is as good as the play selection, I can promise this will be one audience member who will be whistling a happy tune.  Few theatre-goers in the Chicago area at any rate know or remember what a great entertainment package dinner theatre offers and since a number of Chicago's foremost talents have been making the jog east, I will be looking forward to sharing more of their work with you.  For more information, visit www.dutchapple.com.