Mark Twain Presents: The Adventures of Tom Sawyer

By Mike Parker

When The Adventures of Tom Sawyer first appeared in 1876 it was a dismal failure, selling fewer than 24,000 copies during its first year on the market. It wasn't until Mark Twain published his masterpiece, The Adventures of Huckleberry Finn that Tom Sawyer truly gained an audience, perhaps due to the rapscallion's brief appearance in that novel.

Tom Sawyer, perhaps even more than Peter Pan, is the icon for eternal boyhood. Whether playing hooky from school, exploring the depths of a cavern, romancing a fair maiden, hunting for buried treasure or even attending his own funeral, Tom is an endearing composite of brash American confidence, unbridled enthusiasm and fresh-faced naivety, and he is certainly one of Mark Twain's most memorable characters.

Although Twain gained his initial reputation as a newspaper reporter, his was a storyteller at heart, winning fans with his sparkling wit and keen observations of human nature in such popular tales as The Celebrated Jumping Frog of Calaveras County and A Connecticut Yankee In King Arthur's Court. It is fitting that Twain himself should be a primary character in bringing Tom's story to life on the stage in playwright, Mike Parker's, delightful adaptation, Mark Twain Presents The Adventures of Tom Sawyer.

• Language: English
• Publisher: WordCrafts Press
• Release date: Apr 25, 2013
• ISBN: 9781301192533

Mike Parker

Mike Parker was born in England and has lived in Wales for half of his life. His other books include the bestseller Map Addict , The Wild Rover and On the Red Hill, which was shortlisted and Highly Commended for the 2020 Wainwright Prize for UK Nature Writing and won the non-fiction Wales Book of the Year Award.

Book preview

Mark Twain Presents

The Adventures of Tom Sawyer

by

Mike Parker

Published by WordCrafts Theatrical Press at Smashwords

Copyright © 2013 Mike Parker

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CAUTION: Professionals and amateurs are hereby warned that performance of Mark Twain Presents The Adventures of Tom Sawyer is subject to payment of a royalty. It is fully protected under the copyright laws of the United States of America, and of all countries covered by the International Copyright Union. All rights, including professional, amateur, motion picture, public reading, broadcast, and any other reproduction by means known or yet to be discovered are strictly reserved.

All rights are controlled exclusively by WordCrafts Theatrical Press, 912 East Lincoln Street, Tullahoma, Tennessee 37388. No performance of this play may be given without obtaining in advance the written permission of Wordcrafts Theatrical Press, and paying the requisite fee.

SPECIAL NOTE

Anyone receiving permission to produce Mark Twain Presents The Adventures of Tom Sawyer is required to give credit to the Author as the sole and exclusive Author of the Play on the title page of all programs distributed in connection with performances of the Play and in all instances in which the title of the Play appears for purposes of advertising, publicizing or otherwise exploiting the Play. The name of the Author must appear on a separate line, in which no other name appears, immediately beneath the title and in size of type equal to 50% of the size of the largest, most prominent letter used for the title of the Play. No person, firm or entity may receive credit larger or more prominent than that accorded the Author.

Playwright's Notes

Mark Twain Presents The Adventures of Tom Sawyer

Tom Sawyer, perhaps even more than Peter Pan, represents the quintessential spirit of boyhood. Tom, Huck, Becky, Aunt Polly, Sid and even Injun Joe are archetypal characters that resonate deeply in the American psyche. (It should be here noted that Injun Joe is a name, not a pejorative, in much the same as vein as Tex Ritter, Wild Bill Hickok or the Washington Redskins. It is the name assigned to the character by Mark Twain, and I have elected to maintain it as is.)

While it is entirely possible to produce this play using sumptuous sets, it is not necessary to do so. I've attempted to write the play so that it can be produced on a variety of stages by theatres with either large or small budgets. The original production by Middle Tennessee’s Lamplighter’s Theatre Company, used an innovated set designed by resident director, Nathan Owen, that employed nothing beyond plywood boxes of different sizes that could be rearranged in moments to create the different scenes.

I believe it is the responsibility of the playwright to write the play, and that it is the responsibility of the director to direct. As such, I have refrained from inserting many stage directions, leaving the director free to direct the show as he or she sees fit.

Cheers,

Mike Parker

CONTENTS

Cast of Characters

Act I

Act II

Act III

Characters

In Order of Appearance

Huckleberry Finn

Mark Twain

Aunt Polly

Tom Sawyer

Sid Sawyer

Ben Rogers

Amy Lawrence

Joe Harper

Mary Sawyer

Mr. Walters

Judge Thatcher

Mrs. Thatcher

Becky Thatcher

Muff Potter

Injun Joe

Dr. Robinson

Jeff Thatcher

Prosecutor

Mrs. Sereny Harper

Pard

Widow Douglas

ACT I

SETTING: An empty stage.

AT RISE: Actors in costume begin setting the stage with AUNT POLLY’S home. All except AUNT POLLY exit once the stage is set. HUCKLEBERRY FINN notices the audience and steps forward to address them. MARK TWAIN enters while HUCK is talking.

HUCK

Evenin’. My name is Huckleberry Finn. You don’t know about me without you have read a book by the name of The Adventures of Tom Sawyer. That book was made by Mr. Mark Twain, and he told the truth, mainly, although was some things which he stretched. Shoot, I ain’t never seen nobody but lied one time or ‘nother - without it was Aint Polly, or the Widder, or maybe Mary. Aint Polly, Tom’s Aint Polly that is, and Mary, and the Widder Douglas is all told about in that book, which is mostly a true book, with some stretchers thrown in, as I said before.

Now the way that book winds up is this: Tom and me found the money that the robbers hid in the cave, and it made us rich…

MARK TWAIN

Huckleberry. Don’t you have something that needs attending to?

HUCK

Oh, uh, yessir, Mr. Twain. I was just telling the folks how most of the time you told the truth and…

(Returns to help set the stage.)

MARK TWAIN

As my young friend said, most of the adventures recorded in this play really occurred; one or two were experiences of my own, the rest those of boys who were schoolmates of mine. Huck Finn is drawn from life; Tom Sawyer also, but not from an individual. He is a combination of the characteristics of three boys whom I knew, and therefore belongs to the composite order of architecture.

The odd superstitions touched upon in this story were all prevalent among children