In 1895, Mark Twain performed in Australia as part of his worldwide tour. From June 22 through 24, he returns to the United States in the form of Chris Wallace, who will present his one-man show, ‘The Mark Twain You Don’t Know,’ at the Pierson Playhouse, 941 Temescal Canyon Rd. In his dramatic reading, Wallace includes posthumously published and largely unknown stories, taking on all the various narrative tones of Mark Twain. The stories attack hypocrisy with a blend of skepticism and mockery. ‘Letters From the Earth’ offers an ironic conversation between God and his archangels on the human ‘experiment.’ Wallace’s clear gift for character acting is best displayed when he acts out dialogues from the early parts of ‘Huckleberry Finn.’ The American-born Wallace has lived in Australia since 1994. Before he left Los Angeles, a psychic friend said, ‘I want you to be Mark Twain in Australia.’ Wallace says that he had always had an interest in Twain, so when she said that, it took him aback. ‘Around 2003, I started thinking about what she said and ploughed through some of my Mark Twain books,’ Wallace says. ‘This show is the result.’ Performances on June 22, 23 and 24 begin at 8 p.m. Tickets ($20-$18): call 310-454-1970 or visit the box office between 3:30 and 6 p.m., Wednesday through Saturday.
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