Date and Time
Saturday, November 15th, 2025
7:00 pm (Doors open at 6:30 pm)
Tickets
*1/2 price for students with an ID at the door
*Children 12 and under FREE
About the Play
Written by Beth Luey
Directed by Kiah Allaire
This play is a conversation between two old friends. Each man was highly successful in his own career. Mark Twain was perhaps the most famous writer of his time and traveled the world as a speaker, drawing sell-out crowds. Henry Rogers, a native of Fairhaven, was a self-made millionaire who invested in oil, railroads, and copper. Ruthless in business, he was one of the wealthiest men in the world.
The men were introduced by a mutual friend who hoped that Rogers, who admired Twain’s writing, could help rescue the writer from financial disaster. The play begins with their meeting and Rogers’ resolution of Twain’s pending bankruptcy. Although their financial dealings continued throughout their lives, the play focuses on their friendship and their families. There’s a lot of talk about the new mansion that Rogers is building, the buildings he donated to the town, and Fairhaven politics.
The dialogue is taken directly from their letters to each other. Since it’s by and about Mark Twain, it has a lot of humor. But it’s about real life, and both men experienced personal tragedies that they wrote about candidly and movingly.
The Cast & Crew
Allie Goodman
This is Allie’s first performance at the wonderful Shepherd Center. Her previous works include A Christmas Carol, The Importance of Being Earnest, These Shining Lives, and Baskerville: A Sherlock Holmes Mystery, all at the Marion Art Center. She is incredibly grateful to be performing again with her dear friends Ron and Gary as well as beyond proud of Kiah for her Directorial debut! It is a rare treat to take part in a production that interweaves the personal tribulations of a giant in American literature with the local history that surrounds us all today. Tonight’s story continually leaves her reflecting on the following two thoughts; one, that the connections separating us are much shorter than we realize and two, that even the mightiest among us are fallible. Oh, and protect your ham if Mark Twain comes around.
Gary Souza
“Gary Sousa, here. You may know me as Gary, but my students call me Mr. Sousa. I’m a teacher. I teach history and enjoy writing, so you can imagine how excited I am to be honoring the snarkiest writer of his time, Sam Clemens, aka Mark Twain. But like most teachers, I soon came to realize that there was more to Sam than his wit. He was a grateful friend and an adoring husband to boot. He also wrote in such a manner that makes his words near impossible to deliver from one’s mouth, so please have a little appreciation for what a person does.”
Ron
Biever
Ron Biever has dipped his toe in the acting world in These Shining Lives and Arsenic & Old Lace both at the Marion Art Center (MAC), along with The Brothers Grimm Spectaculathon at the Little Compton Community Center. He has also been involved with stage managing, set design and construction and tech. Ron is in his third act in life and has found great joy and satisfaction being part of the theater world through the MAC, Watermelon Alligator and now the Shepherd Center. When he is not acting or puttering around on a stage, he is enjoying life with his wife Marisa and their daughters and grandchildren or you can find him chasing a fish with his fly rod. “I am so excited to be part of a project that is a new play, and introduces a new playwright and a new director! Plus, I learned the unit of measurement for anacondas.”
Director – Kiah Allaire
Kiah Allaire is super excited for you to see this debut production of “Mark Twain and Henry Roger’s: In Their Own Words”. Kiah has previously assisted directed a production of “Arsenic and Old Lace” at the Marion Art Center and this show is her first independently directing! She is so thankful to be debuting this new play at The Shepherd Center. She would like to thank her cast and crew for putting in the hours of work they did and bearing with her crazy ideas. Also, she wants to thank her family for supporting her through every creative venture. A super big thank you to The Shepherd Center for being an outlet to the creatives of our community. Now sit back, relax and enjoy the story of these two gentlemen’s timeless friendship.
Stage Manager – Sophia Goodman
Sophia Goodman is in 8th grade at ORR Junior High School and is proud to be part of this amazing production. Sophia has previously performed in the Marion Art Center productions of A Christmas Carol and Peter Pan, ORRJHS’s Murder on the 518, as well as Newsies and SpongeBob the Musical with Stage Artistry Studios. This is Sophia’s first time as Stage Manager and she wants to thank Kiah for the invaluable learning opportunity.
Costume – Bethany Lamoureux
Bethany Lamoureux has designed costumes locally at the Marion Art Center for “The Glass Menagerie”, “Arsenic and Old Lace”, and “Baskerville”; as well as the world premiere of “Dreamsville” by Susan Lumenello at Cotuit Center for the Arts. When not creating costumes, she is usually still at her sewing machine or teaching sewing lessons and classes. She would like to thank Kiah for this opportunity to dress one of her all-time favorites, Mark Twain!
