Dean Holt, Ansa Akyea, and Reed Sigmund

Huck Finn, based on Mark Twain's "The Adventures of Huckleberry Finn," is both a children's tale and an adult novel, tracing the travails of adolescent Huck. Starting in the 1830s, in the fictional river town of St. Petersburg, Missouri, Huck, being without family of his own, is being raised by the Widow Douglas. Twain's "Adventures of Tom Sawyer" ended with Huck and his pal Tom splitting a large cash reward, with Huck's share being held in trust for him. Now, hearing about the money, Huck's brutal, alcoholic father shows up, making Huck a prisoner in his cabin until Huck will give him the money. Huck escapes to a Mississippi River island where he runs into an escaped slave named Jim. Jim and Huck team up, journeying down the river on a raft. To Jim's dismay, they miss their turn-off into the free states and float ever deeper into slave country.

Huck and Jim have a series of hardships and pleasures, including a run-in with two travelling scalawags who claim to be European royalty. Eventually, Huck and Jim are separated: Jim is captured and Huck is taken in by strangers. Huck reunites with Tom Sawyer and the two plot to rescue Jim. Free at last, Jim sets out to earn money to buy freedom for the rest of his enslaved family, Tom wants to live the high life, but Huck decides he had better head out west, avoiding attempts to civilize him. He takes leave, declaring that he's tried civilized living and it doesn't agree with him.

Twain's accomplishment was in creating both a boys' adventure story and a satiric portrait of the rules of gentility in a society that sanctioned slavery, that least gentile of institutions. Huck considers himself a sinner precisely because he does not turn Jim in to the authorities, even worse when he actually helps Jim to escape. This adaption by Greg Banks, written for children and youth theaters, focuses more on the adventure, but does not shy away from the moral dilemmas and contradictions Huck experiences.

The action plays out on a set of inter-connected, rough-hewn wooden platforms at differing heights, perfect for establishing the boundaries of the raft, Pap Finn's cabin, the island hide-out, and other locations. At the back of this space, Joe Cruz and Victor Zupanc welcome the audience with rousing, river-tinged music played on guitar and banjo. The music, composed by Zupanc, continues throughout the play, at times switching off to mandolin or harmonica. These grass roots sounds comprise an aural landscape that adds color and feeling to the unadorned setting. Through the music as well, as Paul Whitaker's lighting, the settings are completely known to us.

Dean Holt, a mainstay of the Children's Theatre Company, plays Huck with great gusto, limber and free-wheeling in his movement, sincerely perplexed by the social norms and expectations of his world, wishing no harm to anyone and wanting nothing from life but to experience it freely. Even as he confides his evil nature to us, he exudes pure goodness. Ansa Akyea portrays Jim, as well as a number of other characters. As Jim, he is convincing in his fears of being caught, his yearning for freedom, and his great affection for Huck, who has been an unlikely savior of sorts to him.

Reed Sigmund, another veteran of the Children's Theatre Company, takes on a vast array of roles, including Tom Sawyer, the Widow Douglas, Pap Finn, Mrs. Phelps, and the bogus King to Akyea's Duke. His comedic gifts and energetic movements make each character work. His Tom Sawyer is as boyishly bold as his Pap is fierce. Musicians Zupanc and Cruz even join in the storytelling, taking on the role of yapping dogs in pursuit of runaways.

I had the pleasure of attending a school matinee performance of Huck Finn, and the young audience around me was thoroughly engrossed in the storytelling, laughing and gasping as appropriate. I asked several leaving the theater how they liked it, and they had nothing but enthusiastic thumbs up. As an adult, I left thoroughly entertained, with an appreciation for the issues of justice and social hypocrisy, and admiration for the stagecraft on all levels. What a great opportunity for young people to experience those same things in a presentation that touches all levels of understanding.

Huck Finn continues at the Children's Theatre Company through April 4, 2015. 2400 Third Avenue South, Minneapolis, MN, 55404. Tickets: $10.00 - $58.00; lap tickets for children under 3: $5.00. Discounts available for groups of 10 or more. For tickets call 612- 874-0400 or go to childrenstheatre.org.

Adapter and Director: Greg Banks; Composer: Victor Zupanc; Scenic Designer: Joseph Stanley; Costume Designer: Mary Anna Culligan; Lighting Designer: Paul Whitaker; Dramaturg: Elissa Adams; Stage manager: Chris Schweiger; Assistant Stage Manager: Alyssa Stafne; Assistant Director: Haden Cadiz; Assistant Lighting Designer: Jake Kvanbeck

Photo: Dan Norman

Cast: Dean Holt (Huck), Ansa Akyea (Actor 2), Reed Sigmund (Actor 1)

Musicians: Joe Cruz, Victor Zupanc

- Arthur Dorman

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