Judy Richter

“John & Jen” (also written as “john & jen”), an intimate musical presented by Hillbarn Theatre, may be seen as an intriguing psychological study in family dynamics.

With just two characters, it covers 38 years in the life of a woman, Jen (Alicia Teeter), starting in 1952, when she’s 6 years old and welcoming her newborn brother, John (William Giammona), into the world. On Christmas Eve five years later, it’s apparent that their parents don’t get along and that their father is abusive.

Other transitions follow until Jen is 18 and goes off to college in 1964, leaving her despairing brother behind. In subsequent years, she becomes a hippie and peacenik, moving toCanadawith her draft-dodging boyfriend, while John becomes closer to their father. In 1970, when John is 18, he enlists in the Navy and is soon killed inVietnam, much to Jen’s sorrow.

Two years later, Jen has given birth to a son, whom she names John. Sometime after that, the boy’s father leaves. In the meantime, Jen seems determined to turn her son into her brother’s reincarnation. As he grows older, he resents those efforts, which impede his ability to follow his own path. Ultimately, she sees the light as he heads off to college.

With a book by Tom Greenwald and Andrew Lippa, much of the story is told through songs with music by Lippa and lyrics by Greenwald. It takes place on an uncluttered set created by Robert Broadfoot with lighting by Aya Matsutomo and sound by Alan Chang. The actors are onstage almost the entire two acts. Transitions from one year to another are achieved through slight changes of clothing (costumes by Mae Matos).

Director Jay Manley guides the two with intelligence and sensitivity. Although Teeter may seem to have the easier role because she’s the same person in both acts, she has some of the more demanding songs — well sung — and goes on a longer emotional journey. On the other hand, Giammona has the challenge of being an adult portraying a child or teenager. Both actors succeed.

The songs are all pleasant though not particularly memorable. Sitting on the side with a cellist and percussionist, Graham Sobelman serves as musical director and keyboardist.

“John & Jen” will continue at Hillbarn Theatre, 1285 E. Hillsdale Blvd., Foster City, through April 7. For tickets and information, call (650) 349-6411 or visit www.hillbarntheatre.org.

Judy Richter

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By Judy Richter

Ignorance and repression are a dangerous, sometimes tragic combination, as seen in “Spring Awakening,” presented by Foothill Music Theatre and the Foothill Theatre Arts Department.

Set in a provincial German town in the 1890s, this musical focuses on a group of young adolescent friends who have little understanding of the changes they’re undergoing. The adults in their lives often exacerbate the problem. The central characters are 14-year-old Wendla (Juliana Lustenader); her boyfriend, Melchior (Jason Rehklau); and his friend and schoolmate, Moritz (Ryan Mardesich). Of the three, only the scholarly Melchior knows about reproduction.

In the meantime, the boys and their friends are dealing with all sorts of sexual fantasies, and one of Wendla’s friends, Martha (Holly Smolik), suffers from her father’s beatings and sexual abuse. Tragedies ensue, but hope arises.

Based on a controversial 1891 German play by Frank Wedekind, “Spring Awakening” features music by Duncan Sheik with lyrics and book by Steven Sater. After itsNew Yorkpremiere in 2006, it went on to win eight Tony Awards, including Best Musical.

Although it’s billed as a rock musical, which could connote loud and raucous, many of its songs are calmer. Foothill’s seven-member orchestra, seated in a corner of the stage, includes a violin, viola and cello for a more refined sound. The musicians are led from the keyboard by musical director Mark Hanson.

Except for Caitlin Lawrence Papp and Justin Karr, who portray all of the adults, the cast is comprised mostly of college-age performers. Although they’re older than the characters they play, most of them still look young enough.

Director Milissa Carey, aided by choreographer Amanda Folena, has assembled an energetic, committed cast. The three principals — Lustenader as Wendla, Rehklau as Melchior and Mardesich as Moritz — are especially noteworthy. So, too, are Papp and Karr, who assume various personas as the adults. Beyond that, everyone in the cast deserves kudos for embodying adolescent angst.

Helping to set the stage are Bruce McLeod, production supervisor; Ken Kilen, sound; Rebecca Van De Vanter, lighting; Carlos Acevedo, scenery; and Julie Engelbrecht, costumes.

Although the show has obvious cachet for young people — who were the main demographic in the first Saturday performance — it’s definitely not suitable for younger children because of its sensitive, adult issues and occasional rough language. However, it can and does appeal to more mature audiences who appreciate an interesting plot, strong characters and solid production values.

“Spring Awakening” will continue at the Lohman Theater, Foothill, 12345 El Monte Road, Los Altos Hills, through March 10. For tickets and information, call (650) 949-7360 or go to www.foothillmusicals.com.

Judy Richter

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Three generations of women celebrate holidays at the family’s coastal cottage, watch birds, bicker and look ahead in Anthony Clarvoe’s “Our Practical Heaven,” being given its world premiere byBerkeley’s Aurora Theatre Company.

Clarvoe’s two-act play is the main stage anchor production ofAurora’s eighth annual Global Age Project, which fosters 21st century play development.

It features excellent acting thanks to such Bay Area treasures as Joy Carlin, who plays Vera, the family’s widowed matriarch; Anne Darragh, who plays Sasha, Vera’s daughter; and Julia Brothers, who plays Willa, whom Sasha considers an honorary sister.

With them are three young up-and-comers: Blythe Foster as Suze and Adrienne Walters as Leez, Sasha’s daughters; and Lauren Spencer as Magz, Willa’s daughter.

Perhaps because Sasha is so uptight, her daughters don’t especially like her. While sitting next to each other, they communicate their feelings about her via text messages, which are projected onto the back of Mikiko Uesugi’s set.

Willa, who overcame lowly beginnings to become a successful businesswoman, is mostly level-headed, but she’s deeply concerned about Magz, who has an autoimmune disorder that often leaves her in severe pain.

Despite the excellent acting and Allen McKelvey’s direction, the play can feel vague at times. It needs more background to help the audience understand why some of characters are the way they are. Some details seem sketchy, as do issues like the threat of global warming. Still, there are some lovely scenes, especially the one in which Carlin’s Vera talks to Leez about the specialized functions of feathers she has collected.

The production benefits from Callie Floor’s costumes, Michael Palumbo’s lighting and Clifford Caruthers’ sound. Chris Black served as dance consultant.

The play went through much work after being given a reading as part of the 2011 Global Age Project. Some more work is needed for it to reach its full promise.

“Our Practical Heaven” will continue at Aurora Theatre Company through March 3. For tickets and information, call (510) 843-4822 or visit www.auroratheatre.org.

Judy Richter

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The desire and subsequent decision to change one’s gender are fraught with emotional peril, but playwright Jane Anderson handles them with great sensitivity in “Looking forNormal,” staged by Palo Alto Players.

Director Marilyn Langbehn and her cast are equal to the delicate task of developing the complexities of each character’s emotional journey.

The plot focuses on Roy (Keith C. Marshall), a 45-year-old Midwesterner who has been happily married to his wife, Irma (Shannon Warrick), for 25 years. However, he has been having problems such as severe headaches. Because no physical cause has been found, he and Irma go to their pastor, Reverend Muncie (Dave Iverson), for counseling. That’s whenRoysays out loud for the first time that he was born in the wrong body. He should have been a woman, he says.

From there the action focuses on how each person in his immediate circle responds to his revelation. Irma is dumbfounded at first, wondering if she’s somehow at fault. Their 13-year-old daughter, Patty Ann (Samantha Gorjanc), seems curious about what physical changes will occur. Some of her reaction might stem from the fact that she’s a tomboy who might be questioning her sexuality. She’s also entering adolescence.

Their 22-year-old son, Wayne (Thomas Toland), who’s on the road with a rock band, is angry and disbelieving. Likewise,Roy’s mother, Em (Jackie O’Keefe), is dismayed upon readingRoy’s letter and decides not to share it with Roy Sr. (Jack Penkethman). He’s a retired farmer who was harsh onRoywhen he was growing up, but now he’s declining physically and mentally.

Frank (Vic Prosak),Roy’s boss at the John Deere plant and a longtime family friend, is mainly supportive of Irma. Reverend Muncie searches for answers in the Bible and on the Internet.

The play’s other character is Grandmother Ruth (Billie Harris), Roy’s deceased paternal grandmother who left her family and went to Europe when Roy Sr. was 4 years old. Wearing a tuxedo, she appears at various times to talk frankly and happily about all of her adventures and lovers, both male and female, throughout her life.

The set design by Patrick Klein is relatively simple with the family kitchen on one side andRoyand Irma’s bedroom on the other. Costumes are by Lisa Claybaugh with lighting by Selina Young and sound by George Mauro. Fight choreography is by Michael Daw.

After premiering in 2001, the play was made into an HBO film, “Normal,” starring Jessica Lange and Tom Wilkinson.

Speaking to thePalo Altoaudience after a recent performance, playwright Anderson said, “The play is not about transsexualism. It’s about a marriage … a meditation on what commitment really means.”

She set the play in theMidwestbecause “No matter what happens, they just get back on the plow. … People in theMidwesthave the gift for normalcy.” They just go on, she said.

In the case of Roy and Irma, they do go on because, in the long run, they love each other no matter what. Even thoughMarshallwas quite hoarse, it didn’t seem to affect his creation of a gentle, loving man who’s pained by the reactions of those around him but who’s even more pained to remain male.

Warrick’s Irma has perhaps the most difficult emotional arc. “How do you redefine a relationship in the face of staggering pressure, or do you just end it?” Langbehn asks in a series of questions in her director’s note.

“This play is a study in soul love, or marital love,”Andersonsaid after the performance. Warrick’s Irma andMarshall’s Roy shows how powerful such love can be.

“This is an extraordinary piece of theater,” Langbehn concluded. It’s well worth seeing.

It continues at the Lucie Stern Theater, 1305 Middlefield Road, Palo Alto, through Feb. 3. For tickets and information, call (650) 329-0891 or go to www.paplayers.org.

Judy Richter

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Mistaken identities, chases and a closet for hiding all contribute to the laughs in “See How They Run,” a 1940s British farce presented by Hillbarn Theatre  in Foster City.

Playwright Philip King set the play (later made into a movie) in the vicarage of the fictional village of Merton-cum-Middlewick. The action takes place over the course of one afternoon and evening, starting with the arrival of the village gossip, Miss Skillon (Helen Laroche), who’s complaining to the Rev. Lionel Toop (Taylor J. Smith) about the conduct of his wife, former actress Penelope Toop (Maureen O’Neill). In short order, Penelope herself appears, as does the couple’s Cockney maid, Ida (Lauren Rhodes).

After her husband leaves for the evening, Penelope receives an unexpected visitor, Cpl. Clive Winton (Adam Magill), an American soldier stationed nearby. The two are old friends, having appeared together in a long-running production of “Private Lives.”

They decide to go see a performance of the Noel Coward play at a nearby village, but Clive can’t be seen there in his uniform. Therefore, he changes into one of Lionel’s suits, complete with clerical collar.

By the time the play ends, there are four men in clerical garb, including Clive, Lionel, the visiting Rev. Arthur Humphrey (Scott Solomon), and an escaped Russian spy (Dominic J. Falletti). Trying to restore order are Penelope’s uncle, the Bishop of Lax (Scott Stanley), and a police officer, Sgt. Towers (Robert James Fairless).

There’s far more reason for hilarity and confusion what with Miss Skillon getting drunk on cooking sherry and Lionel running around in his underwear, but suffice it to say that all gets sorted out at the end.

Ron Lopez Jr. has assembled a talented group of actors who create believable characters while going through their paces with sharp comic timing. This latter quality is especially notable since the reviewed performance was the preview, which usually is the last best chance for the cast and crew to make sure everything’s running smoothly.

The only problem during this performance was that some of the actors, including Magill as Clive and Smith as Lionel became too shrill. Since the director was in the audience taking notes for the cast, one assumes this problem will work itself out in subsequent outings.

The handsome set is by Robert Broadfoot, who also did the lighting. The period costumes are by Shannon Maxham with sound by Valerie Clear. Greg Sudmeier composed some of the music.

Nevertheless, the show was most enjoyable with lots of laughs. Even though it’s three acts with two 10-minute intermissions, the show clocked in at a crisp 135 minutes.

“See How They” run continues at Hillbarn Theatre, 1285 E. Hillsdale Blvd., Foster City, through Feb. 10. For tickets and information, call (650) 349-6411, or visit www.hillbarntheatre.org.

Judy Richter

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It’s 3 a.m. when a 21-year-old man arrives at his 91-year-old grandmother’sGreenwich Villageapartment. The incessant buzzer finally awakens her, and she opens the door to him and his heavily laden bicycle. He has just completed a cross country bicycle trip and hopes to stay for a day or two. Thus begins Amy Herzog’s award-winning 2011 play, “4000 Miles,” presented by American Conservatory Theater.

Often funny, this work looks at how ecoconscious Leo Joseph-Connell (Reggie Gowland), a bit of a New Ager, interacts with the feisty Vera Joseph (Susan Blommaert), who takes pride in having been a communist. Now, though, politics are less important than personal interactions.

When he arrives, the easy-going Leo is self-absorbed, mostly oblivious to how his actions have affected some of the people closest to him. In short, he’s a jerk.

Vera has lived alone since her husband’s death 10 years ago. She manages fairly well even though age is catching up with her. She wears dentures; she needs hearing aids; and she has a stooped walk, probably because of arthritis and/or osteoporosis. Most frustrating to her, though, is that it’s hard for her to find words she wants to use.

The only other characters are Bec (Julia Lawler), Leo’s girlfriend who’s breaking up with him; and Amanda (Camille Mana), a Chinese American woman he picks up one night probably for a fling, but that episode ends on a negative note. There are several unseen characters, though, including Leo’s adoptive sister, Lily, who’s also Chinese American; Micah, his best friend, who died on the bicycle trip; and Leo’s mother, from whom he’s estranged.

During the course of the one-act play, which runs about an hour and a half, Leo starts to confront his grief over Micah’s death. He also becomes more considerate of others’ feelings and realizes he needs to patch up relations with his immediate family inMinnesota. He’s finally beginning to grow up.

However, his departure leaves one wondering how Vera will manage. She’ll be OK for a while, but she has lost most of her immediate support system, and she’s becoming more fragile.

Director Mark Rucker and his capable cast make each character believable and the action natural. Blommaert as Vera ages herself 26 years from her true age of 65 through her demeanor and actions. It’s an impressive transformation.

Erik Flatmo has created the comfy apartment (lighted by Alexander V. Nichols) with, among other details, its shelves of books and a variety of art on the walls. The character-defining costumes are by Alex Jaeger with sound by Will McCandless.

Because so much information is revealed through conversation rather than action, one must listen carefully to learn more about the seen and unseen characters as well as a lot of background. Some of this was lost on opening night because the actors didn’t always pause long enough to allow laughter to subside after amusing lines.

Otherwise, this is a thought-provoking play by an up-and-coming playwright who based parts of it on her own family.

“4000 Miles” will continue through Feb. 10 at ACT’s Geary Theater, San Francisco. For tickets and information, call (415) 749-2228 or visit www.act-sf.org.

Judy Richter

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“We are a family of dreamers,” says the matriarch of a Puerto Rican immigrant family in “Somewhere,” the Matthew Lopez drama presented by TheatreWorks in its regional premiere. For the Candelaria family, the dreams revolve around show business, but reality keeps them in a tenement apartment onWest 66th StreetinNew York Cityin the summer of 1959.

Still, everyone tries. The steely matriarch, Inez (Priscilla Lopez), does sewing for neighbors and works two jobs, including ushering at the Broadway theater where “West Side Story” is playing. Daughter Rebecca (Michelle Cabinian) also ushers and takes dance lessons. Son Francisco (Eddie Gutierrez) takes acting lessons. Son Alejandro (Michael Rosen) played one of the children in “The King and I” on Broadway, but now a burdensome secret has led him to abandon his dream and work 80 hours a week to help support the family. The long-absent family patriarch is inCubaworking as an entertainer.

Two catalysts set the plot in motion. The first is that choreographer Jerome Robbins is in town to film the dance prologue to the movie version of “West Side Story.” Inez and Jamie MacRea (Leo Ash Evens), a longtime family friend and an assistant to Robbins, urge Alejandro to try out.

The second is that the family must move in 30 days because their neighborhood is being razed to make way for theLincolnCenterfor the Performing Arts, but Inez refuses to go. She fears her husband won’t know where to find them. The end of Act 1 is fraught with peril as the three kids frantically pack while a wrecking ball whacks away at their building.

While the first act has some slow spots, especially in the middle, the second act is stronger as the family is settled in a larger, nicer apartment in aBrooklynhousing project a year later. By then, Inez is ushering for “Gypsy,” whose central character, Mama Rose, shares many of Inez’s characteristics. However, Act 2 ends anticlimactically after an Alejandro dance scene that might have worked better as the ending.

Because the play has several dance scenes well choreographed by Greg Graham, director Giovanna Sardelli needed a cast of skilled actors who also dance. She found them in this five-person ensemble, and she guides them well.

Scenic designer Andrea Bechert masters the challenge of changing the set from the Act 1 cramped brownstone apartment — complete with fire escape and laundry hanging outside — to the more spacious yet basic apartment of Act 2. Lighting by Steven B. Mannshardt and costumes by Cathleen Edwards serve the play well. Jeremy J. Lee’s sound design features music from the times as well as snatches of news broadcasts that give a sense of what’s happening outside the apartment.

Adding to the family feeling in “Somewhere,” playwright Lopez is the nephew of actress Lopez, who made such a powerful impression as Diana Morales in the original production of “A Chorus Line.” Candelaria was her mother’s maiden name, and in a sly aside, the family living downstairs in the play is named Lopez.

“Somewhere” had its premiere atSan Diego’s Old Globe Theatre in 2011. Besides being restaged from in-the-round to a proscenium, it was rewritten. Despite whatever changes may have been made, it still needs more work. Nevertheless, it’s worth seeing, especially for the dancing and acting.”

It continues at the Mountain ViewCenterfor the Performing Arts through Feb. 10. For tickets and information, call (650) 463-1960 or visit www.theatreworks.org.

Judy Richter

forallevents.com/reviews/

“We are a family of dreamers,” says the matriarch of a Puerto Rican immigrant family in “Somewhere,” the Matthew Lopez drama presented by TheatreWorks in its regional premiere. For the Candelaria family, the dreams revolve around show business, but reality keeps them in a tenement apartment onWest 66th StreetinNew York Cityin the summer of 1959.

Still, everyone tries. The steely matriarch, Inez (Priscilla Lopez), does sewing for neighbors and works two jobs, including ushering at the Broadway theater where “West Side Story” is playing. Daughter Rebecca (Michelle Cabinian) also ushers and takes dance lessons. Son Francisco (Eddie Gutierrez) takes acting lessons. Son Alejandro (Michael Rosen) played one of the children in “The King and I” on Broadway, but now a burdensome secret has led him to abandon his dream and work 80 hours a week to help support the family. The long-absent family patriarch is inCubaworking as an entertainer.

Two catalysts set the plot in motion. The first is that choreographer Jerome Robbins is in town to film the dance prologue to the movie version of “West Side Story.” Inez and Jamie MacRea (Leo Ash Evens), a longtime family friend and an assistant to Robbins, urge Alejandro to try out.

The second is that the family must move in 30 days because their neighborhood is being razed to make way for theLincolnCenterfor the Performing Arts, but Inez refuses to go. She fears her husband won’t know where to find them. The end of Act 1 is fraught with peril as the three kids frantically pack while a wrecking ball whacks away at their building.

While the first act has some slow spots, especially in the middle, the second act is stronger as the family is settled in a larger, nicer apartment in aBrooklynhousing project a year later. By then, Inez is ushering for “Gypsy,” whose central character, Mama Rose, shares many of Inez’s characteristics. However, Act 2 ends anticlimactically after an Alejandro dance scene that might have worked better as the ending.

Because the play has several dance scenes well choreographed by Greg Graham, director Giovanna Sardelli needed a cast of skilled actors who also dance. She found them in this five-person ensemble, and she guides them well.

Scenic designer Andrea Bechert masters the challenge of changing the set from the Act 1 cramped brownstone apartment — complete with fire escape and laundry hanging outside — to the more spacious yet basic apartment of Act 2. Lighting by Steven B. Mannshardt and costumes by Cathleen Edwards serve the play well. Jeremy J. Lee’s sound design features music from the times as well as snatches of news broadcasts that give a sense of what’s happening outside the apartment.

Adding to the family feeling in “Somewhere,” playwright Lopez is the nephew of actress Lopez, who made such a powerful impression as Diana Morales in the original production of “A Chorus Line.” Candelaria was her mother’s maiden name, and in a sly aside, the family living downstairs in the play is named Lopez.

“Somewhere” had its premiere atSan Diego’s Old Globe Theatre in 2011. Besides being restaged from in-the-round to a proscenium, it was rewritten. Despite whatever changes may have been made, it still needs more work. Nevertheless, it’s worth seeing, especially for the dancing and acting.”

It continues at the Mountain ViewCenterfor the Performing Arts through Feb. 10. For tickets and information, call (650) 463-1960 or visit www.theatreworks.org.

Judy Richter

forallevents.com/reviews/

Mom’s mental illness pervades “Nearly Normal”

     Mental illness hardly seems like a topic for musical theater, but it is in “Next to Normal,” and it’s quite affecting in the San Jose Repertory Theatre production co-produced by the Arizona Theatre Company.
     Although mental illness may afflict only one member of a family, it affects everyone else in the family. That’s the situation with Diana (Kendra Kassebaum), who has been dealing with bipolar disorder for some 16 years.
     Her loving, loyal husband, Dan (Joe Cassidy), has tried to help her in every way he can, taking her to doctor after doctor in hopes of at least stabilizing her.
     Their teenage daughter, Natalie (Andrea Ross), tries to get more than just cursory attention from her parents by being a perfectionist at school and in her classical piano-playing. Consequently, she’s stressed out.
     The family’s fourth member is son Gabe (Jonathan Shew), a constant presence in Diana’s life and a probable catalyst for her illness.
     In a stinging rebuke at some in the psychiatric profession, Dr. Fine (Mark Farrell), treats her with an array of drugs, all with unpleasant side effects but no psychological relief. She next sees Dr. Madden (Farrell again), who tries more conservative approaches like talk therapy and hypnotism before resorting to a more drastic series of electroconvulsive therapy sessions.
     In the meantime, Natalie acquires a boyfriend, Henry (A.J. Holmes), a genial stoner whose efforts to help her relax backfire as she raids her mother’s medicine cabinet. Ironically, Henry becomes a stable presence in her life. Their relationship is a kind of parallel to that between her parents. In their case, however, Dan’s unwavering love and support might keep Diana from becoming more independent.
     The conclusion is surprising and somewhat encouraging even though a happy ending is far from certain.
The book by Brian Yorkey, who also wrote the lyrics, is so strong that it could almost stand on its own. No doubt it played a major role in the show’s winning the 2010 Pulitzer Prize for Drama, along with three Tonys. Tom Kitt’s rock-flavored music is pleasant, serving mainly to allow the characters to express their emotions.
     The two-level set by John Ezell depicts the family’s home, but a few quick changes of furniture transform it into places like the doctors’ offices. Above it, what would be the sky appears to be cracked glass, indicating that all is not well beneath the roof.
     The six-person band, led by musical director Dolores Duran-Cefalu at the piano, sits upstage behind a scrim. The costumes are by Kish Finnegan, while the lighting and projections are by David Lee Cuthbert. The sound (too loud) is by Steve Schoenbeck.
     Director David Ira Goldstein, who also did the musical staging, keeps the action flowing smoothly and logically in this two-act work. He also has an excellent cast of singer-actors. The only caveat is that Kassebaum’s diction makes Diana’s lyrics hard to understand at times. Otherwise, she skillfully projects Diana’s vulnerability, anxiety and unpredictability. The others also make their characters believable and sympathetic.
     “Next to Normal” tackles a tough but important subject in an intelligent, adult manner, making for memorable theater.
     It continues at San Jose Repertory Theatre, 101 Paseo de San Antonio, through Feb. 3. For tickets and information, call (408) 367-7255 or go to www.sjrep.com.

Judy Richter

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By Judy Richter

Mark Twain’s “The Adventures of Huckleberry Finn” is considered one of the greatest novels in American literature. Its musical version, “Big River,” with the novel’s name as its subtitle, doesn’t reach an equivalent pinnacle, but it has its virtues.

They become apparent in the TheatreWorks production directed by artistic director-founder Robert Kelley. For one, the excellent cast produces some fine renditions of the music and lyrics by Roger Miller, who has created a score rife with country, blues and spirituals. For another, the cast has fun with some of the situations in the book by William Hauptman, who adapted his script from Twain’s novel.

Best of all, there’s James Monroe Iglehart, who plays Jim, a runaway slave who shares Huck’s adventures as their raft drifts down the Mississippi River from the fictional town of St. Petersburg, Mo. A fine singer, Iglehart is just back from three years in the Broadway production of “Memphis,” in which he continued to play the roleof Bobby, which he had originated in the world premiere at TheatreWorks. The imposing Iglehart imbues Jim with a dignity and integrity that surpass any other character in the show.

Therefore, the decision by Huck (Alex Goley ) to help him elude capture becomes both believable and inevitable even though Huck understands that in doing so, he’s breaking the law. After all, the action takes place in the early 1840s, when slavery was legal in many states and when slaves were regarded more as property than as human beings.

This theme comes through despite the shenanigans of other characters like Tom Sawyer (Scott Reardon), a decent fellow who nevertheless makes everything too complicated in the name of adventure. The script also spends too much time on two flimflam men, the King (Martin Rojas Dietrich) and the Duke (Jackson Davis), despite the comedic talents of both actors. Except for Iglehart and Goley, nearly everyone else in the large cast plays multiple characters.

While Jim is trying to reach a non-slave state and earn enough money to free his wife and children, from whom he has been separated for several years, Huck is trying to escape his drunken, murderous father, Pap (Gary S. Martinez). The two set off on a raft, drifting by night and sleeping in secluded spots during the day. In one of the more touching scenes, they spot a boat loaded with recaptured slaves, who sing “The Crossing,” a sad spiritual.

Music director William Liberatore conducts the singers and the six-member orchestra from the keyboard. The uncluttered set, featuring a backdrop of a winding river, is by Joe Ragey, with lighting by Pamila Z. Gray. The choreography is by Kikau Alvaro, while the costumes are by B Modern and the sound by Jeff Mockus.

“Big River,” which premiered on Broadway in 1985, won seven Tonys, including Best Musical, Best Score and Best Book. It does have much to commend it, but the source still has greater depth.

The show will continue at the Lucie Stern Theatre, 1305 Middlefield Road, Palo Alto, through Dec. 30. For tickets and information, cal (650) 463-1960 or visit www.theatreworks.org.

Judy Richter

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