It's a fair assesment to say that many clowns face an uphill battle in today's world.From Stephen King's It, Kramer's own admitted fear of clowns on Seinfeld to anyone who has ever passed the "beloved" face of Tilly in Asbury Park, NJ – people often draw their own conclusions that a clown's painted face and lack of language can be perceived as bit more creepy than cheerful.
However, put these fears away with the Gussy Charles Production's performance of Creation: A Clown Show.Created and directed by OBIE winner Orlando Pabotoy and produced by OBIE winner Ty Jones and producer Jill Jones, Creation: A Clown Show interprets the book of Genesis through the eyes of a clown.The performance breaks down the biblical explanation of the world's creation with simple props and settings which renders an appealing performance for adults and children alike.
Lucas Caleb Rooney (clown) enters the theater as the "understudy" who instantly yet unexpectedly must perform the show in front of the eagerly awaiting audience.While his overall "grunting" is used in place of the regular English language, he does somehow manage to convey his interpretation of the world's creation succinctly without the use of many actual words.Mundane props and lighting techniques are used to enhance the power of the clown's story, sprinkled all the while with a healthy dose of good old fashioned clown humor.Rooney, together with his producers and director, manages to find a good ratio of story to humor while respectfully honoring the acts of Harpo Marx and Bill Irwin to create his own unique character without imitation.
The clown takes his own spin on what went on during the seven days of Earth's creation.Rooney successfully steps away from his adult mind to think like a child, or perhaps a clown, to do so.Intricate theories such as the Big Bang are never even considered and the numerous religious interpretations of how the world was created never enter his head.Instead, he listens to how the Bible reads verbatim and acts out how the events happen.The clown truly represents the "blank slate" and the objective, perhaps naive, perspective to help the audience truly appreciate what he attempts to explain through his actions.A bottle of water and a handful of dirt represent the land and sea, while a pocketful of glitter thrown into the air explains the creation of the stars.But don't think that simplicity implies sappiness, because the clown after all, is a clown, and has to use some humor along the way.
When trying to act out the creation of the winged fowl, he nonchalantly pulls out a raw egg to demonstrate how the bird will fly.When the egg doesn't fly and instead cracks all over the floor, the clown prepares a "Plan B" to illustrate this important part of the creation story by opening up a cardboard egg carton filled with Peeps.
When the biblical story is finally complete, the clown's interpretation can be deemed successful.Although there were some "bumps along the way," the symbolism of this fact is not missed - the end result still effortlessly brings a smile to audiences' faces.When the narrator's voice from above says that "God saw everything he had made, and it was good…," the clown proudly stands by his work and implies – "Look at what a good job I've done…" – and the audience couldn't agree more.
Creation: A Clown Story is a little off beat and definitely a little quirky, but this only adds to the overall experience.The performance mixes in parts where adults are laughing hysterically and parts where children can't stop giggling.Creation: A Clown Story is performing Wednesdays – Saturdays and Mondays at 7 PM and Saturdays and Sundays at 2 PM at Theater Five on 311 West 43rd Street between 8th and 9th Avenues. Please call 212-868-4444 or visit www.SmartTix.com for tickets.
Photo Credits: Jill Jones
