[ssba]
Clown Bar
Reviewed by Pauline Adamek
Pasadena Playhouse
Through Jan. 29.
Adam Szymkowicz’s noir comedy is set in a place of his invention — the clown underworld. Here the clowns are not those funny, entertaining party creatures but criminals with damaged psyches. Sure, there are red noses, silly wigs, painted faces and colorful costumes, but that’s almost as far as the actual clowning stretches.
Though Szymkowicz’s play is itself problematic, Jaime Robledo’s immersive staging is even more so. (Robledo sets the play in an actual bar.)
Things start engagingly enough, with half an hour of cabaret, performed by sad-sack clown and lounge singer Dusty (Amir Levi) accompanied by another clown tinkling away on piano. After a short intermission, the play itself commences while the audience drinks and dines throughout the rest of the evening. In addition to the cabaret-style opening, there are several song breaks throughout the play featuring clever lyrics.
Former clown-turned-cop Happy Mahoney (Shawn Parsons) returns to his old stomping ground — a seedy, crime-world bar — to find the killer of his brother Timmy (Joe Fria, seen in flashbacks). There, Happy encounters his old pals, a roster of sleazy, corrupt clowns, as he tries to solve the murder.
Even with its short running time of just over one hour, it proves to be a convoluted whodunnit. There are too many characters — all clowns except for hard-boiled Happy — and that makes it tough to follow the muddled storyline. Additionally, the clown metaphor proves to be little more than a gimmick, since the conceit is not fully explored. They all look and dress like clowns, but almost none of the characters does any actual clowning – one notable exception: during a brief interlude, an angry clown named Popo (Mandi Moss) gives an animal-balloon demonstration. One animal turns out to be a machine gun that Popo then uses to mimes strafing the audience. Echoes of Charlie Hebdo? Here, the hostility is more gratuitous than emblematic.
Setting the play in an actual bar makes perfect sense, but presenting it as “immersive” dinner theater is a recipe for trouble, because of the distractions. The long, narrow venue has a piano and small stage at one end and a kitchen at the other, while the audience flanks each side of the performance area within. The $60 ticket includes a delicious and nicely prepared prix fixe meal. Consequently the performers find themselves competing with scurrying waiters serving three courses and orders being shouted in the open kitchen.
The cast is thoroughly committed and all give convincing performances that suit the crime genre. Erin Holt is a standout as Petunia, the gangster’s moll with the baby-doll, cutesy voice tinted with a working girl Brooklyn accent (think Billie Holliday in Born Yesterday or Vivian Blaine as Miss Adelaide in the movie version of Guys and Dolls). Emily Goss is equally good as Happy’s sexy stripper ex-girlfriend Blinky Fatale. Joe Fria is exceptional as Happy’s junkie brother and murder victim, investing his performance with pathos and nihilism. Bruno Oliver could have been more menacing as the clown underworld’s “Mr. Big” Bobo but perhaps he thought his (serial killer) John Wayne Gacy clown makeup was a shortcut to intimidation?
Contrasted against Robledo’s 2012 staging of Adam Szymkowicz’s comic-book-inspired satire Hearts Like Fists at Theatre of Note, this second collaboration disappoints. One nice touch, however, has clowns “bleeding” when gunned down, via an explosion of red confetti.
Linda Muggeridge has designed some truly gorgeous, ornate costumes, and the uncredited makeup is also excellent.
Pasadena Playhouse (redwhite+bluezz bar), 37 S. El Molino Avenue, Pasadena; Thurs., 7:30 p.m.; through Jan. 29. (800) 838-3006, https://www.brownpapertickets.com/event/1090501
