An emotional ride on "Big River"

Want to go?

What: Southeast Missouri State University's "Big River"

When: 7:30 p.m. today through Saturday; 2 p.m. Sunday

Where: Bedell Performance Hall, River Campus

Info: 651-2265

"Big River" wasn't chosen as the opening stage show in the Bedell Performance Hall for just one reason.

Dr. Kenn Stilson can tick off a long list at will: It's a musical, a theater form that's insanely popular with audiences local and elsewhere; it's based on a novel by one of the most famous Missourians in history; it's a good musical.

But when you watch the performance, one seems to stand out -- the very presence of the river just a short distance away. Anyone familiar with life near the river can easily visualize the adventures in "Big River," and easily imagine a time when towns like Cape Girardeau were little more than frontier communities.

As much as it's a story about defying social conventions and discovering that truly moral thought and action don't always jive with "the way things are," "Big River" is a story about the river and that very society its mighty waters made possible.

That river still defines life in Cape Girardeau. This is a production we can really connect with.

Through skillful, thoughtful execution and the use of a larger, newer facility, the Southeast Missouri State University Department of Theatre and Dance has brought to life one of the river's compelling stories, that of Mark Twain's Huckleberry Finn. The result is an emotional ride that hits the highs and lows, presented in a neat, professional package.

"Big River" is based on the famous, and oft-controversial, story "The Adventures of Huckleberry Finn." It tells the story of the runaway slave Jim and the mischievous, innocent Huck Finn as they both search for a new life, and forge a strong friendship.

The Tony Award winner first hit Broadway in 1985, with its music by country singer/songwriter Roger Miller.

Juniors Andrew Kruep (Huck) and Desmond Gray (Jim) both perform their lead parts admirably, with enough passion from Gray and boyish enthusiasm from Huck.A supporting cast led by seniors Stephen Fister and Andrew Tebo as the con men The Duke and The King adds drama, humor, and in some cases, dynamite singing (check out young Quitman McBride's solo).

They play against an elaborate backdrop of huge drawings from the pages of Twain's book, tromping all around a two-tiered cave complex, created under the direction of Jeff Luetkenhaus. And Twain himself, played by Lester Goodin, becomes part of that backdrop, an on-stage fixture throughout as he imagines the story that unfolds before him.

A combination ensemble of pit musicians and an onstage band of guitar, fiddle, mandolin, banjo and harmonica provide authentic sound to accompany the action.

All these parts add up to create a thrilling first experience in the Bedell that combines the quality expected of Southeast musicals and the theme of the university's new facilities.

"Big River" is a production that should go over well with the local audience, a add some depth to the first chapter of life at the River Campus.

msanders@semissourian.com

335-6611, extension 182