[2] Holbrook revised the concept into a one-man show in the 1950s, debuting it at the Lock Haven State Teachers College in Pennsylvania in 1954.

The original program from the 1959 Off-Broadway engagement included the note, "While Mr. Twain’s selections will come from the list below, we have been unable to pin him down as to which of them he will do.

I knew that in the first act I had to overcome that natural reluctance, so my biggest desire was to make them laugh their asses off at the start, so they'd go out at intermission and say, 'Hey, this guy's funny.'

"[6] Holbrook adapted to concerns that presenting Mark Twain as on an 1890s lecture circuit would use racial slurs acceptable in that era, but unacceptable to modern audiences.

Challenging the critics, Holbrook often chose to read a passage from "Huckleberry Finn" where the orphaned, pipe-smoking, uneducated youngster, Huck, faces a poignant moral dilemma.

Audiences have embraced this presentation as the boy ultimately rejects the legal, societal and even religious ramifications in favor of helping the runaway on his quest for freedom.

[citation needed] On the occasion of Clemens' 175th birthday (November 30, 2010), Holbrook performed Mark Twain Tonight!