We had a great time Saturday, December 19, at Walnut Hill Country Club in East Lansing, where Chicago's own Richard Henzel performed in the one-man show Mark Twain in Person.
Henzel delighted his audience as he regaled everyone with stories and excerpts from speeches and essays written by Twain, including a reading from "Captain Stormfield's Visit to Heaven," after which Stormfield Theater is named. He also interspersed these animated recitations with ad libbed bits, all while in character.
Before the show, we all enjoyed a wonderful dinner at Walnut Hills, which was decked out in style for the holidays with wreaths, trees, lights, and other festive accessories.
The evening concluded with Henzel signing some of his CD recordings of him as Mark Twain reading from the author's works, both published and unpublished.
Thanks to all of you who showed up to support Stormfield and enjoy the show. After producing our first two programs in 2009, we are now looking forward to an exciting 2010 season!
See you next year, and Happy Holidays!
For more photos of the event, please visit www.MIentertainment.biz!
Though his name may not be familiar to you, you might recognize Richard Henzel's voice as that of the Rise and shine!! DJ which was the first thing Phil Connor (Bill Murray) heard every morning in the film Groundhog Day. And for over forty years he has been performing Mark Twain in Person, with runs in the Chicago area at the Steppenwolf, Body Politic, Second City, Bailiwick, American Theatre Company, Prop, and the Woodstock Opera House; as well as at the Cleveland Music Hall, The Irvine Barclay in California, the Des Moines Civic Center, and The Pabst Theatre in Milwaukee.
In 1983, Henzel appeared as Twain with the Hudson Valley Symphony at Brooklyn Center at Brooklyn College, for an evening of music and stories commemorating The Centennial Celebration of the Brooklyn Bridge. Mark Twain in Person has been performed over a thousand times, touring forty states, Canada, and Great Britain. Henzel has also appeared on stage at The Goodman, Steppenwolf, Second City, Lookingglass, Ravinia Music Festival, Victory Gardens, Marriott's Lincolnshire, Drury Lane Water Tower, and a score of other Chicago theatres, as well as at such regional theatres as Cincinnati Playhouse, Madison Repertory, Florida Stage, and the Irvine Barclay in Irvine, California. His roles have included Willy in Death of a Salesman, Bohr in Copenhagen, Botvinnik in A Walk in the Woods, Ben Franklin in 1776, President Reagan in Rap Master Ronnie, Editor Webb in the world premiere of the musical Grover's Corners, Pop/Kringelein in Patti LuPone's Gypsy, and Lord Buckley in the world premiere of The Return of the Hip Messiah at Chicago's Second City.
His
feature film credits include The Express, The Promotion, Henry 2, Butch
Camp, and The Blues Brothers. On the small screen he was seen
as FDR on The Untouchables and Ronald Reagan (as a guest) on The
Phil Donahue Show, and also guest starring on Early Edition, Missing
Persons, The Duke, The Mississippi, Tough Target, and Unsolved
Mysteries. And for the last six years he has been recording and publishing
the works of Mark Twain for his Mark Twain in Person Audiobook
Library. For more information, visit www.richardhenzel.com.