Twain’s Tales includes five short stories by the master American storyteller — “The Celebrated Jumping Frog of Calaveras County,” “Science vs. Luck,” “The Joke That Made Ed’s Fortune,” “The Belated Russian Passport” and “Is He Living or Is He Dead?”  — as well as the fence-painting chapter from The Adventures of Tom Sawyer. 

The play takes place on the front porch of a general store in what could be Hannibal, Missouri in the late 1800s.  The five locals — the storekeeper and his wife, a printer, a reporter, and a riverboat pilot — spend the morning entertaining each other by seeing who can spin the tallest tale.  In his own lifetime, Samuel Clemens held all four of these occupations, and his ability as a storyteller may very well have been born while listening to such individuals spinning their yarns at the general store. 

As the narratives unfold, the storytellers, written in the tradition of story theatre, become the characters in the tales.  Or, if you prefer, you may modify the script to have Twain’s story characters played by separate actors to accommodate your larger cast. 

No matter how you choose to stage it, Twain’s razor-sharp wit and ability to expose our human foibles make this play more than just entertainment.