Feb. 8: Mark Twain, Live and in Person
Samuel Clemens, better known by his pen name, Mark Twain, was an American writer, humorist, entrepreneur, publisher and lecturer. He was lauded as the “greatest humorist this country has produced,” and William Faulkner called him “the father of American literature.”
At 7 p.m. Friday, Feb. 8, 2019, on the Renaissance Theater stage, George Frein, Ph.D., will appear as Twain, America’s most beloved humorist. Frein's performance will include a monologue, Q&A with Mr. Twain and an audience Q&A with the presenter. In this lecture, Frein will present some of Twain’s humor and his thinking behind it. If people in the audience can stop laughing long enough to hear him out, they will learn why he was not just a comic, but a genuine humorist.
Frein has been a scholar and performer since 1985. He is a retired professor from the University of North Dakota and continues to perform around the country in the character of some of the most influential and interesting figures in American history. Since he began to portray Twain in 1994, he has had to study constantly to keep up with all the new scholarship about him. “Twain keeps me busier than a retired person ought to be,” Frein said.
Twain’s humor is present in almost everything he wrote and in all his stage performances, but none of it was spontaneous. It was calculated. It was like what he said about extemporaneous speaking: “It takes three weeks to prepare an impromptu speech.”
Tickets to all Premier Lectures are $15 per person and may be purchased as of Oct. 1 online, before any Monday Morning Lecture, or at the LLL Center during office hours.
Page 1 of 4