An Older (and Calmer) Tom Sawyer
Bruce WeberApril 27, 2001: The original ''Adventures of Tom Sawyer'' is fundamentally a children's story, but it is a story viewed from the distance of adulthood by a sly and skeptical adult. In their new musical version of the novel, Ken Ludwig and Don Schlitz mean, I think, to honor this split personality. But instead of being a layered work with appeal for both children and grown-ups, the tame, middle-of-the-road show that opened on Broadway at the Minskoff Theater yesterday feels muddled and torn.
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