For 58 years, Hal Holbrook has been bringing his fine-tuned portrayal of Mark Twain to stages all over the world. The 86-year-old actor has logged more than 2,200 performances — he's had a longer run playing the Adventures of Huckleberry Finn author than the real Samuel Clemens himself. Audiences look to Holbrook as the actor who delivers the most historically accurate depiction of Twain on record today. Serious drama students are likely to have their own audio recordings of his live stage performances. For one night only, Holbrook re-creates his one-man show Mark Twain Tonight! for the “Spoken Word Series” at the new Valley Performing Arts Center. Even if you've seen it before, no two shows are the same. Like Twain, Holbrook is a keen observer of culture, so he's always changing up his act. Without set material, he gives himself the leeway to add and rotate his commentary to make it pertinent to the mercurial sociopolitical climate. Valley Performing Arts Center, California State University Northridge, 18111 Nordhoff Ave., Northridge; Sat., Feb. 4, 8 p.m. $25-$70. (818) 677-3000, valleyperformingartscenter.org.

Sat., Feb. 4, 8 p.m., 2012

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