Tonight Penn State will be treated to an evening with one literary legend.

Emmy award-winning actor Hal Holbrook will perform his timeless act as American novelist Samuel Langhorne Clemens, better known as Mark Twain.

Holbrook, who has memorized more than 15 hours of documented interviews, lectures and monologues by Mark Twain, has been performing the act since 1954.

However, the performance promises to be fresh and unique by touching on many different topics that are still relevant and applicable in today's world.

Laura Sullivan, spokeswoman for the Center for the Performing Arts at Penn State, said Holbrook's performance would appeal to both a young and old audience because of its relevance.

"Students will be surprised at how topical the performance is. Holbrook as Twain touches on politics, corporate greed, racism and the media, and many other issues that reverberate today," she said.

Literary humor professor Thomas Beebee will be delivering the opening artistic viewpoint before Holbrook's performance.

Instead of focusing on background of Twain's life or Holbrook's act, Beebee wants to give the audience something to look for in Holbrook's performance.

His speech identifies Twain as the "trickster figure" in American literature.

"The trickster lives outside of normal standards of society," Beebee said.

Mark Twain is best known for his many American literary classics, among them The Adventures of Tom Sawyer and The Adventures of Huckleberry Finn, as well as his colorful quotations.