Sparse set carries loads of talent in Twain's classic tale

Theater Review |

Greenwood-based Taproot Theatre Company often shows great ingenuity in making the most of the physical limitations of its small stage.

For example, take the current staging of author William Hauptman's and the late Roger Miller's "Big River." On a plain, mostly symmetrical set consisting entirely of rough-hewed planks and a few 19th-century-style illustrations, the crowd-pleasing musical adaptation of Mark Twain's classic 1884 novel "The Adventures of Huckleberry Finn" comes vividly to life.

No muss, no fuss — just a warm, wooden platform, with pull-apart doors upstage, and you can envision the rest: the wide Mississippi, the threat of danger along its banks, and the river-rafting adventures of runaway Huck Finn (Robbie Fowler) and his best friend, the escaped slave Jim (Geoffery Simmons).

Who needs a Broadway production when the mind's eye — and a supremely talented company — can create an equally vivid sense of setting?

Of course, any "Big River" flows on the crucial casting of Twain's winning duo, and Taproot scores big with both roles. With his tousled red hair and country-boy charm, the perfectly cast Fowler could've stepped out of a Normal Rockwell rendition of Twain's novel (more on that later). And with his booming voice and proud bearing, Simmons is the heart and soul of this production: Neither Twain nor Miller and Hauptman could avoid the harshness of Deep South racism ("Big River" makes effectively off-putting use of the N-word in historical context), and Simmons never loses sight of the dignity and moral fortitude that empowers Jim to endure the barbs of bigotry.

Bolstered by 21 musical numbers ranging from hymns to hoedowns (a five-member band performs discreetly from the upstage balcony), Karen Lund's direction emphasizes brisk pacing and an infectious sense of fun. Solomon Davis matches that energy as Huck's lively pal Tom Sawyer, and plenty of surprises come from the rest of the cast, including the formidable singing of Bethany Russell and Faith Russell (to name just two worthy examples) and the scene-stealing comedy of David Anthony Lewis in the funniest of his five different roles.

Now, back to Rockwell: Taproot's delightful "Big River" is accompanied by an on-site display and online auction of signed, original Rockwell prints inspired by "Huckleberry Finn." Images and bidding instructions can be found online at www.taproot.cmarket.com.

Jeff Shannon: j.sh@verizon.net