beTwixt, beTween and beTwain: A Mark Twain Musical Comedy

Living on the fringe of Manhattan allows me to indulge my passion for theater on Broadway, Off Broadway and Off Off Broadway. Last evening, we had the sheer pleasure of attending beTwixt, beTween and beTwain, A Mark Twain Musical Comedy. A talented group of troubadours danced, sang and regaled us with the wit, poignant and humorous lyrics of Danny Ashkenasi. The Producer’s Club Crowne Theater is an auspicious destination up a narrow flight of stairs wedged between restaurants in the opposite direction from Patti Lupone’s Gypsy and the Broadway venues. And yet, the full theater experience is achieved with fellow theater patrons in the small 55-seat venue.

The cast of seven, energetic players and musicians take us back to the 1860s to the American West to a steamer ship sailing to Europe & the Near East. The tales are punctuated with Twain witticisms, local color and larger than life characters including Dan’l Webster the Calaveras Frog and Blue Jays with perfect diction. It is rare for a musical to sweep me away with the recent exception of South Pacific. However, Danny Ashkenasi’s lyrics and talent for combining actors with their instruments ala Director John Doyle’s revival of Sweeney Todd created a captivating evening of charm and humor.

The tour of Europe from the collapsed efforts of the Pilgrims to order wine in French to the destruction of Pompeii capture the essence of each international destination from the accent to the physical movement of the actors. Based on Twain’s Innocents Abroad, we are reminded of the subtle trials and tribulations of international travel in the 1860s. Imagine traveling via steamer ship after months of seasickness to be told you could not disembark at your destination due to quarantine. Such is the fate of our Pilgrims when they arrive at Athens---only to see the Acropolis is the distance.

When you leave the theater you wonder if there is a CD to listen to or an opportunity to purchase the sheet music to enjoy the melody of Remember Me and Over the Hills and a Far Far Away again and again. Hopefully there is!