Mark Twain Revisited
When
Occurs on
Friday April 5 2024
Approximate running time: 2 hours
Venue
Event Title Notes
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Parker Drew hails from Mountain Lakes, New Jersey, and was raised in La Grange, Illinois, and Green Bay, Wisconsin. He began classical training on clarinet at age six, winning the first of many awards in competition at age eight. Shortly thereafter the first of two major events occurred in the young musician’s life. Like millions of other “youngsters” Parker’s life would forever be changed the night The Beatles first appeared on The Ed Sullivan Show. In addition to his classical training on clarinet, he would now begin playing drums and guitar. The Fates would intervene a second time in 1968 when his improvised retelling of Mark Twain’s ghost story The Golden Arm won top prize in a junior high school speech competition. On the advice of English teacher (and lifelong friend) Michael J. Hermans, Parker expanded the Twain presentation, adding makeup and costuming to age nearly sixty years. The first performance of Mark Twain Revisited was May 8th, 1970. It was a resounding success, and at age fifteen he began performing at high schools throughout Wisconsin. At age sixteen he was granted special admission to the University of Wisconsin-Green Bay to study theater with Dr. Jack Frisch. Graduating with honors from Green Bay East High School, Parker continued his music and theater training at the Institute for Advanced Musical Studies in Switzerland, the University of Louisville School of Music, and St. Norbert College. During his senior year Mark Twain Revisited was signed to a major lecture bureau in New York City. Parker began touring nationwide in 1978 ultimately logging over 500 performances in 37 states and the US Virgin Islands. Partially scripted, and partially improvised at each performance, Mark Twain Revisited has delighted audiences for over fifty years. As a classical, jazz, and rock musician Parker has toured the United States and Europe, including performances at Carnegie Hall and the Montreux Jazz Festival. He has performed leading roles in over 75 plays and musicals and spent 34 years as a television and radio broadcaster in Wisconsin. He is perhaps best-known for the thirteen years he spent as statewide television host for the Wisconsin Lottery. Parker Drew is a co-founder of Play by Play Theatre, Green Bay’s first professional regional theater company.
parkerdrew.com
Media Sponsors: Express News, Wisconsin Public Radio
TICKETS
Tier 1 $27
Tier 2 $25
Tier 3 $22
Obstructed $20
Parker Drew hails from Mountain Lakes, New Jersey, and was raised in La Grange, Illinois, and Green Bay, Wisconsin. He began classical training on clarinet at age six, winning the first of many awards in competition at age eight. Shortly thereafter the first of two major events occurred in the young musician’s life. Like millions of other “youngsters” Parker’s life would forever be changed the night The Beatles first appeared on The Ed Sullivan Show. In addition to his classical training on clarinet, he would now begin playing drums and guitar. The Fates would intervene a second time in 1968 when his improvised retelling of Mark Twain’s ghost story The Golden Arm won top prize in a junior high school speech competition. On the advice of English teacher (and lifelong friend) Michael J. Hermans, Parker expanded the Twain presentation, adding makeup and costuming to age nearly sixty years. The first performance of Mark Twain Revisited was May 8th, 1970. It was a resounding success, and at age fifteen he began performing at high schools throughout Wisconsin. At age sixteen he was granted special admission to the University of Wisconsin-Green Bay to study theater with Dr. Jack Frisch. Graduating with honors from Green Bay East High School, Parker continued his music and theater training at the Institute for Advanced Musical Studies in Switzerland, the University of Louisville School of Music, and St. Norbert College. During his senior year Mark Twain Revisited was signed to a major lecture bureau in New York City. Parker began touring nationwide in 1978 ultimately logging over 500 performances in 37 states and the US Virgin Islands. Partially scripted, and partially improvised at each performance, Mark Twain Revisited has delighted audiences for over fifty years. As a classical, jazz, and rock musician Parker has toured the United States and Europe, including performances at Carnegie Hall and the Montreux Jazz Festival. He has performed leading roles in over 75 plays and musicals and spent 34 years as a television and radio broadcaster in Wisconsin. He is perhaps best-known for the thirteen years he spent as statewide television host for the Wisconsin Lottery. Parker Drew is a co-founder of Play by Play Theatre, Green Bay’s first professional regional theater company.
parkerdrew.com
Media Sponsors: Express News, Wisconsin Public Radio
TICKETS
Tier 1 $27
Tier 2 $25
Tier 3 $22
Obstructed $20