On January 27, Bass Performance Hall will host a singular theatrical event: Richard Thomas performing Hal Holbrook’s Mark Twain Tonight! marking the first time the iconic one-man show has been performed by anyone other than its creator since its Broadway debut in 1966.
Thomas, who holds the distinction of being the first and only actor authorized to perform the work, takes on a production that Holbrook maintained for more than six decades, delivering over 2,300 performances to more than two million people across Broadway, television, and national tours. The show’s endurance speaks to both Mark Twain’s lasting cultural resonance and Holbrook’s skill in channeling the 19th-century humorist’s voice, a legacy Thomas now inherits.
For Fort Worth audiences, Thomas is a familiar presence. He appeared at Bass Hall in 2023 as Atticus Finch in Aaron Sorkin’s adaptation of To Kill a Mockingbird, a role he performed in the production’s three-year national tour. His theatrical range extends from Shakespeare to contemporary drama, including Tony-nominated work in The Little Foxes and acclaimed performances in Our Town, The Great Society, and Democracy. A 2025 inductee to the Theater Hall of Fame, Thomas remains best known to television audiences as John-Boy Walton, a role that earned him an Emmy and multiple Golden Globe nominations, though more recent appearances in Ozark, The Americans, and Billions have introduced him to younger viewers.
Mark Twain Tonight! distills the satirist’s commentary into a single evening, drawing from lectures, essays, and asides that established Twain as a literary genius. The material moves between humor and pointed social observation, qualities that have kept the show relevant across decades of American cultural shifts.
The January 27 performance is part of the Irwin Steel Popular Entertainment Series and follows an educational matinee earlier that day through Performing Arts Fort Worth’s Student Matinee program. Tickets start at $62 and are available through basshall.com or by calling 817-212-4280.