Heading into Night: A clown show about . . . [forgetting]

Daniel Passer (Photo by Cooper Bates)

Reviewed by Molly McLean
Odyssey Theater Ensemble 
Thru Nov. 17

This review is part of the Stage Raw/Unusual Suspects Youth Journalism Fellowship

Heading into Night: A clown play about…[forgetting] explores what it is like to live with dementia through the use of clowning and comic gags. A clown protagonist tries to make sense of the world that confuses him.

Daniel Passer plays the clown. He also devised the piece, along with director Beth F. Milles. The clown tries different gags for the audience’s amusement. He starts out wishing to take the bus to an unspecified location for an unspecified reason. Then, he becomes distracted by the set dressing and gleefully interacts with them: the audience, and his memories. There is music throughout, but no linear plot to follow. It evokes a mood of forgetting, sadness, and joy — like pictures of a birthday party for a grandparent you never met.

The most effective moments involve the Mover played by Peter Mark, a character who interferes with the protagonist’s short gags. Sometimes, he stops him from dancing with audience members. Sometimes, he shakes his head and snatches away something from the protagonist. These moments are the most clear and rich, since the audience can see a familiar dynamic — a caretaker exhausted by their charge.

The lighting by Jackson Funke is effective in showing setting, mood, and adding to the overall comedic atmosphere of the piece. For example, a beautiful sequence in which the warm windows of an awaited bus pass over Passer’s falling face. The sound design by Passer is constant, but lacking coherence. It starts with standards from the 1940s, presumably the sounds of the protagonist’s childhood, evoking his lost self and cherished memories. All of a sudden, there is a pop song from the 1980s (sung by Annie Lennox), which interrupts the wistful tone. There are projections by Gabrieal Griego and Wei-Fang Chang that add to the sense of urgency and wonder. For example, a huge night sky and a large ticking timer representing the confusing, demanding external world. The near-constant stream of light and sound cues of this play leads to the main actor having to mind the cues instead of being present with the audience.

The set (presumably devised by Passer and Beth F. Milles; the program lists no set designer) is mostly a never-ending parade of banker’s boxes, piled up, knocked over, opened, and otherwise manipulated in fun and surprising ways. The mass of boxes is an effective motif: the protagonist is lost, looking for his mind in a changing world. His life is in limbo; a jumble of closed boxes. He is always on the move, and this makes him vulnerable and alone. This state of vulnerability makes him open and joyful. We rarely see him express negative feelings in a serious way.

In the end, the clown’s objective, relationship, and any other grounding circumstances are unclear. It is difficult to connect with the story. Yes, perhaps the clown is also lost; that may well be Passer and Mille’s intention. But it would help anchor the piece to have some solid ground on which we may rest and laugh. The play creates a pleasant environment to be in for an hour or so, but I wanted to know more about the protagonist. Who are you? Where are we? Then, we may journey together.

Odyssey Theater, 2055 S. Sepulveda Blvd., West Los Angeles; Fri.-Sat., 8 pm; Sun., 2 pm; thru November 17. Additional performances Wed., Oct. 16 & Wed., Nov. 17, 8 pm. https://OdysseyTheatre.com. Running time: 75 minutes with no intermission.