Beautiful voices best part of 'River'

"BIG RIVER," Grand Theatre, through May 17 (957-3322 ), running time: 2 1/2 hours (one intermission)

This is Greg Boarden's first time performing at the Grand Theatre. As Jim in "Big River," he has a large role. He moves confidently on stage but glances down a lot. Sitting in the audience, you start to wonder if he's shy.

Or perhaps, you think, director Jim Christian wants Jim to appear diffident. Jim's a slave, of course, in this musical adaptation of "Huckleberry Finn," and being a slave means that mere children, if they are white, are his superiors.

But then Boarden begins to sing. His voice and his presence fill the hall. Jim becomes the central character every time the music starts.

In the end, the best things about this production are the songs. Anything Boarden sings is glorious, and there are other lovely voices as well.

Eb Madsen is delightful when he sings about Arkansas. Sean Carter has a beautiful voice, too. And the women have some nice harmonies.

Other enjoyable aspects of the production include the energy that Andrew Marshall and Joshua Black bring to their roles as Huck and Tom. Christian's choreography is good, also. And the set, by Marnie Sears with lighting by Jen Zornow, is simple and effective. The large blue backdrop can mean sky or river.

In the director's notes and in a little talk before the play begins, the Grand Theatre employees are careful to warn the audience about the "n-word." The racial slur was endemic at the time and is included in Mark Twain's book.

Sitting in the audience, you are well prepared for the n-word. Still Huck's and Tom's insensitivities go far beyond that one word. Both of them are so young and happy for adventure that they keep trying to make Jim part of their playacting. Thus they never recognize Jim as the adult he is.

It's not long before the audience begins to feel disengaged from all the themes of playacting. (At the end, Huck says he has forgotten Jim even has children. And this after Jim has told Huck he's losing sleep over what may have happened to them. The audience is put off by Huck's callousness.)

In this production, the subplots about playacting — with the Duke and the King — are unevenly acted, which makes it even more difficult for the audience to engage with those themes.

Still, the music makes this production well worth seeing. The live band includes Kevin Mathie, Alex Rowe, Dave Evanoff, Gar Ashby, Nate Olsen, Russell Wulsenstein, Dave Compton and Lou Squires.

Sensitivity rating: The racial slur is the most offensive part.

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E-mail: susan@desnews.com