Mark Twain Answers All Your Questions!

For fringereview.com One -man shows about Mark Twain are almost a genre of their own but this is a welcome addition to the stable. Ed Goodman’s Mark Twain was one of Edgar Allen Poe’s guests in last year’s Fringe hit “The Poe Show” and this might be considered his spin-off. Before the show audience members are invited to write questions for Mark Twain on cards, they can also write anonymous “Truths”. These are placed in two buckets onstage, and Goodman, as Twain, reads from the cards and riffs fluently and appropriately, while weaving in some well-researched biographical detail. But this show goes well beyond keeping the promise of its premise. Confident use of the audience continues throughout the show, leading to some meta complicati... full review

Highly recommend!!... full review

All my questions WERE answered! A hilarious, informative (sometimes misinformative) hour cleft in Twain by audience participation and TRUTH! The often combustible author will have you screaming with laughter and leaving the theatre knowing just a bit more than you ever really wanted to know. If you saw POE SHOW from the last Fringe, you get where this is headed. HIGHLY RECOMMENDED!!!... full review

Super fun!... full review

Serious....Ed is a comic force and he uniquely blends history and laughs in ways smart, satiric and totally accessible. And he burns up the stage better than most...see the show and find out what I mean. ... full review

Coming off of last year's fringe hit, The Poe Show, my expectations were pretty high for Mark Twain. Thankfully, and with no surprise, Ed Goodman (Mark Twain) delivers. Wildly informal and equal parts hilarious. Mr. Twain explains to us all the "rules" of a one-person show (Tell the truth, wallow in it, only one-person, etc.) and how is he is legally bound to comply with each of them throughout the performance. He uses these rules as a springboard for many great bits and jokes. There are a couple very funny short sketches in between answering questions (which are either shouted out from the audience or written by audience members (anonymously) before the show begins. Using improv, logic and brilliant comedic timing, Mark Twain Answ... full review

I saw the preview and laughed my fool head off - I know it will only get better and better - I'm going to see it again - so I'll see you there! ... full review

One-man show slash stand up routine slash history lesson slash self-help seminar - this thing veers around the stage like Mr. Toad's Wild Ride. I didn't know what to expect going in. Perhaps some UCB grad providing snarky answers in some homespun style? Instead, Twain bitch slaps you with solo sketch comedy, audience participation and some damn fine advice. Seemingly structureless, in retrospect this show is a brilliant Harold. Must See!... full review

Mark Twain Answers All Your Questions is an audience participation sport! This show is ridiculous in all of the best possible ways. No one can tell what's going to happen next, including Mr. Twain. Only one thing is for certain: he's not going to take off his pants...maybe.... full review

Ed Goodman continues his comic explorations of the artists and literary figures of the 19th Century by shining the big bright light on a very, very much alive Mark Twain. Goodman uses considerable ingenuity in an improvisational performance that hilariously deconstructs one person shows as it reconstructs the life of the Bard from the Mississippi River. The exhibition skips like a stone off a few historical points, then takes questions and truths from the audience and involves them in a multiple choice gameshow. So what if there might be a few factual inaccuracies. It's really not the point because, by the end, you'll come to realize that Twain is as much a character for our era as he was for his own.... full review