The Adventures of Tom Sawyer is a musical comedy based on the 1876 novel by Mark Twain conceived and written by Ken Ludwig, with music and lyrics by Don Schlitz. The musical is the story of a fourteen-year-old boy growing up in the heartland of America. This Broadway musical version of Mark Twain's novel is set in 1840 in St. Petersburg, Missouri, a bustling town on the banks of the Mississippi River. In the course of the story, Tom matches wits with his stern Aunt Polly, falls in love with the beautiful, feisty Becky Thatcher, and goes on the adventure of his life with Becky and Huckleberry Finn. Along the way he meets a terrifying villain named Injun Joe, Tom's bratty half-brother Sid, and all the other boys and girls in the village.
Productions
The Adventures of Tom Sawyer opened on Broadway at the Minskoff Theater on April 26, 2001 and closed on May 13, 2001, after 21 performances and 34 previews. The musical was directed by Scott Ellis with choreography by David Marques, and featured Joshua Park as Tom Sawyer, Kristen Bell as Becky Thatcher, Jim Poulos as Huckleberry Finn, with Linda Purl (Aunt Polly), Tom Aldredge (Muff Potter), Stephen Lee Anderson (Doc Robinson/Pap), Jane Connell (Widow Douglas), John Dossett (Judge Thatcher) and Kevin Durand (Injun Joe).
Synopsis
Act One
In 1840, Tom Sawyer is fishing outside St. Petersburg, Missouri as his friends arrive, and the children play a game of Robin Hood ("Hey, Tom Sawyer"). Tom's Aunt Polly sends him to school, where he tricks the schoolmaster, Mr. Dobbins, into letting the class have the day off. Aunt Polly, Mr. Dobbins and the preacher, Reverend Sprague, lament that they "can’t do a thing about the boy."
That Saturday, Aunt Polly orders Tom to whitewash a fence in front of their house, and Tom's half-brother, Sid, is happy. Frustrated, Tom plans to run away ("Here's My Plan").
As Tom procrastinates, he meets beautiful newcomer Becky Thatcher, and they are mutually attracted. The town's outcast and Tom's best friend Huckleberry Finn appears and arranges for the two of them to meet at the local graveyard that night so that Huck can "cure his warts." Huck remarks that painting the fence looks like fun, and Tom then swindles his friends into painting the fence for him after having them trade their valuables. ("Smart Like That").
That night, Tom and Huck visit the local graveyard and see Doc Robinson, Muff Potter, and Injun Joe, a "half-breed" troublemaker, robbing a man's grave ("Hands All Clean"). After a scuffle about ownership of the dead man's watch, Joe murders Doc Robinson and frames Muff for it. The boys run away and swear in blood to "keep mum forever" about what they saw ("The Vow").
On the way to church, single parents Aunt Polly and Judge Thatcher lament about "Raising A Child By Yourself." In church, Tom tries to impress Becky by fooling Reverend Sprague into giving him the "Bible Prize" ("It’s In The Bible").
Tom tries to convince a fearful Huck to learn to read. When Huck saves old Widow Douglas from the advances of the town drunk, she offers to teach him to read and to live in her home. However, Huck declines ("It Just Ain’t Me").
That day in school, the girls are gossiping over a book of poetry that Becky found belonging to Mr. Dobbins, the teacher. When Mr. Dobbins enters, the girls panic and drop the book. When Mr. Dobbins is teaching, he discovers the book on the ground and angrily interrogates the students about who took it. When he is about to get Becky to confess, Tom lies and says he took the book. Before Tom can be punished, the Sheriff calls Dobbins away, needing a coroner after discovering Doc Robinson's body. Tom and Becky proclaim their undying love for each other ("To Hear You Say My Name").
Muff Potter is arrested for murder, and he pleads with Injun Joe to save him from hanging. Joe agrees to help, but in return, he wants a map that Muff has found: a map leading to a treasure, Murrell's Gold ("Murrel's Gold"). After Joe leaves and Muff is taken away, Tom expresses his wish to tell everyone what really happened in the graveyard, but Huck says that if he does, they'll both surely be killed by Injun Joe, and Tom would be breaking their vow ("Murrell's Gold (Reprise)").
At Muff Potter's trial, Tom go through with his plan to testify. He tells the truth and swears that Injun Joe committed the murder. Injun Joe yells "You are dead, boy!", throws a knife at Tom, and runs from the courtroom chased by the Sheriff ("The Testimony").