In the film festival, we saw the screens of Cluj. During the rest of the year, we have visited the three main theatres.
The Hungarian Theatre is showing an adaptation of “Tom Sawyer” toward the end of every night. Expats who saw the show on Halloween had many great things to say about it.
One viewer said that we “better not tell” his friend back home who loves musicals because she “Will me jealous.”
Another, who seemed extremely happy and satisfied after the show, claims to have visited all the areas where the story took place. “It was very interesting to see how they did this.” Her date also appreciated the appearance.
The English subtitles seemed easy to follow by everyone, but one viewer wished he could speak Hungarian so he could “follow the dance and the lyrics … at the same time.”
“It was a lot of fun,” another visitor said, “I’m glad,” that her tour guide showed her the theatre.
Other visitors to the play mentioned it upon leaving Cluj. Seeing the musical was one of the highlights of the visit (in addition to eating Papanas, seeing the old architecture, visiting museums, participating in the Steampunk experience, and learning about this history of the town.)
We were surprised by how many expats actually saw the show. We bumped into expats in other parts of town who had visited the show, and those who were on the way out of Cluj altogether who had enjoyed it.
The seating and temperature in the theatre were comfortable. Both the Hungarian theatre and the main theatre in Cluj have impressed visitors with the comfort of the seats, the visibility of the stage, and the general ambiance of the theatre. And, our recent visit to the Hungarian theatre means we can still recommend it.
One thing that has changed over the years is the price. The Hungarian theatre now costs 60 lei per seat.
So, what was the show like? It had many of the main events of the Adventures of Tom Sawyer and Huckleberry Finn. They witness the murder, hide in the cave, see their own funeral, paint the fence… and sing about it.
Some of the songs emphasize different parts of the story than merely the book might. A song dwells on one aspect.
Also, a little bit seems to be added to the story, the ghosts of women who were killed as witches, for instance. That fit perfectly for Halloween, although it was a little different from Mark Twain’s original writing.
There were subtitles in Romanian and English throughout, and for the songs, there were also subtitles in Hungarian. From the balcony we could see the subtitles perfectly well, although one viewer did say he had to strain to see the titles.
Anyway, it sounded like every expat who saw the play would recommend it to others, although perhaps there is an expat out there who hated the play so much that he is hiding out in a cave, or has taken a boat down the river to completely escape from society.
We haven’t yet spoken to any Romanian audience members. One advantage the play had over others was a younger mimum age. The average age of the audience for this play was much younger than other plays we have seen in Cluj, and we didn’t hear any of those children complain.
The people at the ticket desk and those who take you to your seats can communicate in English, Romanian and Hungarian. There is no intermission in this play, but you can buy drinks beforehand at the bar. (I think they speak English there too, because we saw some expats who had never been to Romania before get drinks there.)
The next showdates are:
29 November 2025
28 December 2025
24 January 2026
https://www.huntheater.ro/ro/bilete/informatii-bilete/