© 2026 NPR Illinois
For your right to be curious.
Play Live Radio
Next Up:
0:00
0:00
0:00 0:00
Available On Air Stations
NPR Illinois is seeking a full-time multimedia journalist to co-host/produce/edit/report for a new daily, regional radio news hour with Sean Crawford. Click to apply.

Community Voices: 'Big River' Explores Racial Misconceptions

"Big River" brings the story of Huckleberry Finn to the Hoogland stage. 

Huckleberry "Huck" Finn, a young boy from Missouri, joins a runaway slave, Jim, as he attempts to travel north to Canada to flee his life as a slave. During their time together, Huck finds that many of his beliefs about slaves in the United States are wrong. He is told by the adults around him that to help Jim escape is to sin against God. 

Huck decides that he would rather be a "sinner" than abandon his friend. 

The musical follows the episodic tale of the unlikely pair as they travel down the Mississippi River in an attempt to find freedom for Jim. 

Find more information here

Related Stories