Today in theatre history: Mark Twain's seminal 1884 novel Adventures of Huckleberry Finn got the Broadway musical treatment in 1985 with Big River, a musical with a book by William Hauptman and a score by singer-songwriter Roger Miller. The show, which opened April 25, 1985 at the Eugene O'Neill Theatre, celebrates its 40th anniversary today.
The musical and Twain's novel follow its title character, a southern child who finds himself floating down the Mississippi River with an enslaved Black man named Joe, a scheme set in motion in an attempt to escape his alcoholic father. In a 1980s Broadway dominated by British megamusicals (like Cats, Les Mis茅rables, and The Phantom of the Opera) Big River stood out as one of the rare successful American stage musicals of its era. The musical won seven 1985 Tony Awards, including Best Musical, and ran for more than two years and 1,005 performances.
The Broadway bow followed a 1984 world premiere at La Jolla Playhouse, where director-choreographer Des McAnuff was artistic director. When the show came to the Main Stem, it boasted a cast that included Daniel Jenkins as Huckleberry Finn, Ron Richardson as Jim, Ren茅 Auberjonois as The Duke, Bob Gunton as The King, Patti Cohenour as Mary Jane Wilkes, Susan Browning as Widow Douglas, Jennifer Leigh Warren as Alice's Daughter, and, making his Broadway debut before becoming a TV star in Roseanne, John Goodman as Huck's Pap Finn.
Big River has remained a popular title since its Broadway premiere, coming back to the Main Stem in 2003 in a new production from California's Deaf West Theatre鈥攖hat revival featured both deaf and hearing actors performing together, merging theatrical choreography with American Sign Language. Jenkins starred in the revival, too, as narrator Twain and the voice of Huck, who was physically played by Tyrone Giordano.
A feature film adaptation is currently in the works, being written by Chicken and Biscuits playwright Douglas Lyons.
Take a look back at the original Broadway production of Big River in the gallery below:.
