PD and former BJ entertainment critic Mark Dawidziak and actor Hal Holbrook, joined at the hip with their love for and admiration of author Mark Twain, had another reunion Sunday night, Oct. 11 in Toledo’s Valentine Theatre.

Holbrook, 90, was performing “Mark Twain Tonight,” his signature one-man show about the humorist from Hannibal, before a sellout crowd. Mark was there to applaud and hug Hal.

They’ve been together many times over the years, in venues around the country, including the Mark Twain House in Hartford, Connecticut and at Elmira (New York) College, the town that has Twain’s grave site. Dawidziak does Twain shows at the drop of the hat if there are three or more people standing on a street corner. And well.

Holbrook’s Twain production, which began in 1954 at Lock Haven State Teachers College in Pennsylvania, is the longest continuously running play in theater history.

Harold Rowe Holbrook, Jr. has starred in such movies as “Lincoln” and “All the President’s Men” (as Deep Throat, who provided tips to reporters Woodward and Bernstein that caused Richard Nixon to resign his presidency).

The role of Mark Twain got its start when Holbrook’s first wife, Ruby, would interview him portraying famous people onstage. When they had a child, Holbrook inquired about finding another actress to take over Ruby’s role, but it was suggested that he adapt the material for him to perform as a solo. Which he did, for more than 60 years.

Said Holbrook: “I always stay as Mark Twain in 1901.” No updating to make it more topical because Twain’s observations are just as on-the-money today as they were more than a century ago.

Twain, who lived from 1835 when he was Samuel Langhorne Clemmens to 1910, saw the impact of the Civil War and witnessed a time when the United States shifted from a farming society to one of growing industry. He routinely wrote about the absurdities of social and political norms.

Holbrook was born in Cleveland to vaudeville dancer Aileen Davenport Holbrook (1905-1987) and Harold Rowe Holbrook, Sr (1902-1982).

Holbrook married Ruby Holbrook in 1945 and they divorced in 1965. They had two children. He married Carol Eve Rossen in 1966 and they divorced in 1983. They had one child. His final marriage was to “Designing Women” actress Dixie Carter in 1984. They remained married until her death in 2010.

Holbrook’s film career ranges from “The Group” in 1966 to “Go With Me” in 2015.

 

Dawidziak came to the BJ from Tennessee in 1983 and grew up on New York City’s Long Island. His latest Twain tome is "Mark Twain's Guide to Diet, Exercise, Beauty, Fashion, Investment, Romance, Health and Happiness” which was preceded by “Mark Twain’s Ohio.”
 

Dawidziak is married to Sara Showman Dawidziak, who often performs with Mark when they’re not at their Cuyahoga Falls home.

 

Mark is Twain again Thursday

After traipsing around the country impersonating Mark Twain, PD and former BJ entertainment critic Mark Dawidziak will be at the Nordonia Hills Branch Library at 7 p.m. Thursday, Oct. 1 with wife Sara Showman doing their show based on the “Mark Twain’s Guide to Diet, Exercise, Beauty, Fashion, Investment, Romance, Health and Happiness” book that Mark wrote.

Mark will autograph that book and his “Mark Twain in Ohio” tome.

The Nordonia Hills library is at 9458 Olde Eight Road in Northfield.

Dawidziak adds Civil War to his repetoire

       PD and former BJ entertainment critic Mark Dawidziak and wife Sara Showman, who have toured the area with Largely Literary Theater Company productions about Mark Twain, Edgar Allan Poe and Charles Dickens, have added the Civil War to their presentations.



Sara Showman, Mark Dawidziak

        Company co-founders Sara and Mark will present their new touring show, “Shades of Blue and Gray: Ghosts of the Civil War,”  at the Nordonia Hills Branch of the Akron-Summit County Library and the Cuyahoga Falls Library.



Performed by Showman (from the South) and Dawidziak (from the North), this hour show blends literary selections with ghost stories from Ohio and other states. The literary interludes include poetry by Walt Whitman and Emily Dickinson, as well as a terror tale by Ohio native and Civil War veteran Ambrose Bierce. The show also features a special section about Abraham Lincoln.

The free “Shades of Blue and Gray” performance at the Nordonia Hills Branch Library at 9458 Olde Eight Road in Northfield will be 7 p.m. Thursday, Oct. 10. For additional information, contact the library at 330-467-8595 or go to nordoniahillsbranch.akronlibrary.org. 



The free performance at the Cuyahoga Falls Library  at  2015 Third Street  will be 7 p.m. Thursday, Oct. 17. For information, contact the library at 330-928-2117 or go to cuyahogafallslibrary.org.

Another stop for “Shades of Blue and Gray” will be the historic Kelton House in Columbus on Sunday, Oct. 20.



The duo also is touring “Ghosts By the Tale,”  its two-part presentation that opens with Showman telling a romantic ghost tale and a not-so-romantic ghost tale – two looks at relationships from a supernatural point of view. Showman’s segment ends with a cautionary tale about three old witches who selfishly deny aid to a stranger – and live to regret it.  Dawidziak shifts to personal stories about spirits connected to Akron-area locations.  



 Specializing in faithful adaptations of great literary works, the Largely Literary Theater Company was founded in 2001 to promote literacy, literature and live theater. The troupe also performs “Twain By Three,” a two-act adaptation of humorous sketches by Mark Twain;  “The Tell-Tale Play,” a two-act collection of poems and stories by Edgar Allan Poe; and its version of Charles Dickens’ “A Christmas Carol.” 



The company’s managing director, Showman performs several storytelling programs, including “Animal Tales,” “Earth Tales” and “Holiday Stories with Mrs. Santa Claus,” at area schools and libraries. She performs “Eve’s Diary” and portrays other characters in “Twain By Three.”  She plays 15 roles in “A Christmas Carol”  and performs “The Masque of the Red Death,” “The Bells” and “Alone” in “The Tell-Tale Play.” 



The company’s artistic director, Dawidziak plays Mark Twain and Charles Dickens in Largely Literary productions. He has been the television critic at the Cleveland Plain Dealer since July 1999. During his fifteen years at the Akron Beacon Journal, he held such posts as TV columnist, movie critic and critic-at-large.



Also an author and playwright, his books include the 1994 horror novel “Grave Secrets” and two histories of landmark TV series: “The Columbo Phile: A Casebook” (1989) and “The Night Stalker Companion” (1997). The author of “The Bedside, Bathtub & Armchair Companion to Dracula” (2008), Dawidziak teaches the Vampires on Film and Television course at Kent State University. He edited and contributed essays to the 2006 collection “Bloodlines: Richard Matheson’s Dracula,” “I A Legend” and “Other Vampire Stories”. And he has penned horror short stories and comic book scripts.

 For information about bookings and other shows, call 330-923-8350 or go to largelyliterary.com.

 



Mark Dawidziak is raising the Dickens again

Former Beacon Journal television critic Mark Dawidziak will be resurrecting his in-costume and in-character portrayal of author Charles Dickens at 7 p.m. Tuesday, April 24 at the Cuyahoga Falls Library, 2015 Third Street,

Dawidziak, currently the Plain Dealer's television critic, also will be presenting this program at 2:30 p.m. Sunday, April 22, in meeting room A and B of the Lee Road Branch of the Cleveland Heights-University Heights Public Library, 2345 Lee Road, Cleveland Heights.

This is the 200th anniversary year of Dickens' birth -- Feb. 7, 1812. Dawidziak has been portraying Dickens for more than a decade.

After the free Cuyahoga Falls performance, Dawidziak will take questions about Dickens’ life and career. For more information, call 330-928-2117 or visit cuyahogafallslibrary.org.

Registration is required for the Cleveland Heights performance. Call 216-932-3600 or visit heightslibrary.org.

Dawidziak is artistic director and co-founder with wife Sara Showman of the Largely Literary Theater Company which has done Dickens, Edgar Allan Poe and Mark Twain portrayals and plays over the years.