Missouri resident Dave Ehlert will portray Mark Twain at Warsaw Community Public Library.
The event is May 9 at 6 p.m.
Register for this program at 574-267-6011 or online at www.warsawlibrary.org
Ehlert began performing in 1967 as Elvis in what has become the longest-running Elvis tribute show in the world.
He has performed in 33 states, Mexico and Canada as well as on a cruise ship in international waters.
Since 1994, he has operated the first theater ever built in Branson, Mo.
There, he widened his act to include tributes to many other characters including Tom Jones, Neil Diamond, Liberace, Willie Nelson, Conway Twitty, Johnny Cash, Roy Orbison, Nat King Cole, Ray Charles, Hank Williams and more.
In 2004, he was “drafted” into the role of Mark Twain when the scheduled performer was unable to make it.
He had one week to gather all the Twain background he could find and then walked on stage in full character, cigar in hand.
For the first time in more than 30 years, Ehlert felt something different on stage.
He performed six Twain programs a week for the first year in Branson and took his Twain portrayal on the road to theaters and libraries across the country in 30 states.
He said to prepare for portraying the role of Twain, he read several biographies. He read Twain’s autobiography, the first volume just released last year after being held back 100 years per his request.
He said to portray Twain he uses stories, events and humor to paint a picture of Twain’s impact on American literature, culture and politics.
“There were really two Mark Twains, the humorist and the philosopher,” Ehlert said. “My goal is to entertain them with some parts of the program and educate them in others without knowing which part is which.”
