(NEW BRUNSWICK, NJ) -- State Theatre New Jersey presents Richard Thomas in Mark Twain Tonight! by Hal Holbrook from November 5-6, 2025. Emmy® Award-winning actor Richard Thomas will star in a new production of Mark Twain Tonight!. Richard is the first and only actor authorized to perform the play, written and originally performed by Hal Holbrook.
Mark Twain's wry humor and irreverent observations led to his being called "the nation's one true comic genius" (The New York Times). Millions have cheered for the legendary one-man show, bursting with Twain's "uproariously funny" and "pungently wise" (Time Magazine) commentary.
Most recently seen on Broadway in Our Town, on tour as "Atticus Finch" in To Kill a Mockingbird, and on Netflix's Ozark, and recently named as a 2025 Theater Hall of Fame Inductee, Richard Thomas is beloved to generations as John-Boy Walton.
Tickets start at $52 and are available for purchase online or buy calling State Theatre Guest Services at 732-246-SHOW (7469). State Theatre Guest Services, located at 15 Livingston Ave, New Brunswick NJ, is open by phone and email only, Tuesday through Friday from 11:00am to 5:00pm. For in-person purchases, Guest Services is open Tuesday through Friday from 12:00pm to 4:30pm. Additional ticket and transaction fees may apply.
Richard Thomas won an Emmy® Award and received multiple Golden Globe Award nominations for his starring role as "John-Boy Walton" in the television drama The Waltons. He is most recognizable to contemporary television audiences for his roles in the hit series Ozark, The Americans, Billions, and the original Stephen King mini-series It. His feature film performances include The Unforgivable, Wonder Boys, Last Summer, Red Sky at Morning, and Taking Woodstock.
He has been seen in acclaimed performances on stage including the revival of The Little Foxes, for which he received a Tony® Award nomination, Our Town, You Can't Take it With You, The Great Society, Race, Democracy, Incident at Vichy (Drama Desk Award nomination), The Stendhal Syndrome (Lucille Lortel Award nomination, Outer Critics Circle Award nomination), A Naked Girl on the Appian Way, An Enemy of the People, Tiny Alice, The Front Page, The Fifth of July, innumerable Shakespeare productions, and his professional debut at 8 years old in Sunrise at Campobello. Across the country, he has starred in the national tours of The Humans (Elliot Norton Award), Twelve Angry Men, and for three years as "Atticus Finch" in Aaron Sorkin's To Kill a Mockingbird. Thomas previously served as the Honorary Chair of the National Corporate Theatre Fund, a position also held by his predecessor Hal Holbrook. He is a 2025 inductee to the Theater Hall of Fame.
Facts about Mark Twain Tonight!
* Written and performed for more than six decades on Broadway, on tour, and on television by Hal Holbrook
* Over 2,300 performances played to an audience of more than 2 million people nationwide.
* Richard Thomas is the first and only actor authorized to perform the play, written and originally performed by Hal Holbrook.
* 2026 marks the 60th anniversary of the Broadway premiere
The creative team for Mark Twain Tonight! includes Michael Wilson, Creative Consultant; Brian Prather, Scenic Designer; Sam Fleming, Costume Designer; Anthony Pearson, Lighting Designer; Shannon Slaton, Sound Designer; Luc Verschueren for Campbell Young Associates, Hair & Wig Design. The production team includes Erin Albrecht, Production Supervisor, and Ryan Parliament, Company Manager. Hannah Rosenthal is Executive Producer.
After major renovations, State Theatre New Jersey celebrated its 100th Anniversary in December 2021 in a fully renovated theater. Originally built as a silent film and vaudeville palace, State Theatre's historic significance was honored by PBS by featuring it in its documentary series, Treasures of New Jersey, in the fall of 2018. "Treasures of New Jersey: State Theatre New Jersey" can be streamed online.
Today, State Theatre is the largest performing arts center in Central New Jersey and has welcomed more than six and a half million people through its doors since reopening as a nonprofit performing arts center in 1988. State Theatre New Jersey is a cornerstone of the cultural vitality of Middlesex County and averages a total economic impact on New Brunswick and the surrounding area of more than $18 million a year. The mainstage programs have featured high-caliber artists such as Diana Ross, Tom Jones, Kevin Hart, Ringo Starr, Melissa Etheridge, John Leguizamo, Harry Connick, Jr., Diana Krall, and Crosby, Stills & Nash. Program offerings include Broadway, orchestra, family, dance, comedy, rock/pop, jazz, Performances for Schools, and Sensory-Friendly Performances.
State Theatre New Jersey's programs are made possible by funds from the New Jersey State Council on the Arts, a partner agency of the National Endowment for the Arts. Grant funding has been provided by the Middlesex County Board of County Commissioners through a grant award from the Middlesex County Cultural and Arts Trust Fund. For information on events, go to MiddlesexCountyCulture.com.
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