Big River: In Concert | Director’s Note
Sean F. Edgecomb, PhD
Associate Professor, Visual and Performing Arts | Director, Arts Institute
“The life of the nation is secure only while the nation is honest, truthful, and virtuous.” -Frederick Douglass
When Mark Twain’s picaresque American novel, Adventures of Huckleberry Finn (1884), was first published, it was met with a deeply divided response. Some saw the book as racist and vulgar, with fellow New Englander, Louisa May Alcott, suggesting that Hartford resident Twain “had best stop writing.” Others praised the work for its mastery of American vernacular, regional descriptions, and its blatant, post-bellum critique of racism.
As Michael Ciavaglia and I sat down over a year ago to select a large-scale American musical to present at part of our America250 calendar at Fairfield University, Big River, Roger Miller and William Hauptman’s 1984 adaptation of Twain’s novel, came to mind for several reasons. First, the music (drawn from Black Spirituals, Bluegrass, Country, Folk, and more), is as deeply American as the story itself, celebrating the rich cultural diversity that has contributed to the formation of our national identity. Moreover, just as the response to Twain’s novel was discordant in the nineteenth century, we find ourselves at a cultural moment of national celebration where a sense of unity feels strangled by division. But what can Big River teach us about who we are today?
I hope that Big River teaches us that American identity is not forged through comfort or consensus, but through moral struggle, proximity, and choice. At its core, Big River—like Huckleberry Finn—refuses the fantasy of innocence. Huck’s journey is not toward purity or even solidarity, but toward responsibility. He is raised inside a racist moral system, and the musical makes clear that good intentions are not enough; what matters is the courage to act against inherited beliefs. In a moment when national discourse often seeks absolution through silence, symbolism, or nostalgia, Big River reminds us that progress comes from uncomfortable reckonings and from listening to voices long ignored. The great Mississippi becomes a metaphor for America itself: expansive, shared, and full of potential, but also shaped by currents of violence, inequality, and possible escape. Big River insists that our national story remains unfinished, and that the next chapter depends on our willingness to choose empathy over inheritance, justice over comfort, and action over nostalgia.
Ultimately, I believe that Big River can teach us that unity is not something to be declared during anniversaries or commemoration, like this one, rather, it is something we earn through moral courage. Huck’s famous choice to “go to hell” rather than betray Jim is not an act of rebellion for rebellion’s sake, it is an act of ethical clarity born from a mutual relationship grounded in love and compassion.
Twain’s novel, and this adaptation, are recognized for their use of often crude but historically accurate language, including racist slurs and tropes that scar both our past and our present. As director, and with the permission of Concord Theatricals, I have chosen not to include this language in our production. This decision is not an attempt to erase the very real violence and hatred embedded in these words, which continue to haunt this and the larger American story. Rather, it is an intentional act of civility. As a Jesuit institution and a place of learning, Fairfield University is committed to affirming “the God-given dignity of every human person.” Our production is likewise obligated to create a space in which all are made to feel welcome, respected, and seen.
Finally, Percival Everett’s pathbreaking novel James (2024)—a retelling of Adventures of Huckleberry Finn from Jim’s perspective—has been invaluable to my process of understanding and unpacking these complex characters. I encourage everyone to read it and to continue reflecting on why this story still resonates so deeply today.
Fairfield University will present Big River: In Concert, a staged musical celebrating America250, in collaboration with its Theatre Program, Glee Club, the Regina A. Quick Center for the Arts, and the Greater Bridgeport Symphony Orchestra, featuring professional Equity actors. Performances will take place April 17–18 at 7:30 p.m. at the Quick Center in Fairfield, Conn. Based on “The Adventures of Huckleberry Finn,” the production follows Huck Finn and Jim’s journey to freedom along the Mississippi, and brings together nearly 90 student singers, Broadway-caliber performers, and a full symphonic orchestra.
Tickets and event details: fairfield.edu/quickcenter.