Mark Twain returns to Marysville

Samuel Clements, also known as Mark Twain – first seen in Marysville in 1866 – is returning to visit the area this month at the Yuba Sutter Art’s Burrows Theater in Marysville.

Actor Chris Legate is portraying the writer in a “stand-up comedy” style used by Twain and his contemporaries during the late 19th century at 4 p.m. Feb. 24 at 630 E St.

Doors open at 3:30 p.m. Admission is $15, general; and $10 for seniors, students and military.

“We love our local history,” said David Read, executive director of the Yuba Sutter Arts Council, about the famous humorist.

“Twain’s” topics will range from his early life in Hannibal, Mo., his time as a riverboat pilot on the Mississippi, his brief stint as a Confederate soldier and his time out west, including Marysville.

In addition, Twain will get together with local historic figures Charles Boles, aka Black Bart, and Stephen J. Field in the second half of the program.

“As adults, their time overlapped,” Read said, though he can’t find that the characters ever met.

“(I thought) wouldn’t it be fun to have them in the same room with a question and answer with provocative questions?”

Black Bart, portrayed by Mike Moyers, lived from 1829-1888 and Stephen J. Field, portrayed by Chuck Smith, lived from 1816-1899. Field was Marysville’s first mayor and the first Supreme Court Justice from west of the Mississippi. Twain lived from 1835-1910.

Twain first visited Marysville on Oct. 15, 1866, as part of his western lecture tour. He gave his “Our Fellow Savages of the Sandwich Islands” (Hawaii) lecture which included a discussion of the islands’ geography, climate and customs and reports of cannibalism.

Actor Legate, based in Grass Valley, has been performing his one-man Mark Twain presentation since 1994 and has appeared throughout Northern California at county fairs, schools, and special events and at theaters in Nevada City, Sacramento and Eureka.

Tickets may be purchased at the door, or call 742-2787 for reservations.