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Not Clown Hits Town
As you may have noticed, we've had a lot of nice things to say about Physical Plant Theater's production of Not Clown. Well...we're not done. We attended the preview on Wednesday night, and while the show had a few little preview kinks, the leaner, meaner Not Clown tops our list of shows you don't want to miss. Oh, and speaking of just that, consider yourself warned: you may want to see the show tomorrow, or you might not get to see it at all. It packed houses last time it ran, in 2004. Lots of people who didn't get to see it then are eager to see it now. In other words, the line for tickets is forming already, so grab your spot now, or risk missing out.
Perhaps you'd like to know a bit about the show first? It's a little hard to describe, but here's our rather pedestrian crack at a synopsis. Rebellious, neurotic Linda, expertly played by the beautiful Elizabeth Doss, is the daughter of Mother and Doctor. Robert Deike is hysterical as Mother -- what is it about Deike dressing up in women's clothing that always gets us? And why does he do it so frequently, anyway? Robert Pierson's Doctor is suave, handsome, and really really scary. But we'll get to that in a minute. Doctor wants Linda to be...a doctor, of course! Linda wants to be...a clown! Of course!! Trouble is, ever since the devastation of Flop Friday (cue ominous music), it's illegal to be a clown. Clowns are hunted down, tortured, and put out of their misery. And we can't say more than that about the plot. It would give too much away.
Accompanied by pre-show Klezmer music, Matt Hislope wanders the theatre as the septuagenarian Belmer, handing out programs. Hislope is a re-addition to the show after having been unavailable for the 2004 run. He mans the Foley for this production, and his return to the cast is a bonus. The show kicks off with Linda nervously setting the stage for us. Then the rest of the cast, in clown mode, tells her story in all of its frightening, clown-filled glory. Following a very brief pause, they tell it again -- only as characters, not clowns. The piece is a performance within a performance...within a performance. Yep. Three layers. Sound confusing? It's not. Rather, it's brilliant. And you'll love it.
The first half of the show, which is almost completely lazzi (short clown bits), flies by in a blur of red and white stripes. The clowning is very athletic, clever, and precise. In order for it to work, it must be executed with utter confidence, and many times the actors must blindly rely on each other for pratfalls and such. It's clear that the cast has worked together extensively. The clowning is creepy, funny, and totally convincing. We've mentioned Robert Pierson's Doctor: he is by far the scariest clown. Lee Eddy's Dimples is cute, funny, and probably the clown with the most personality, though they're all wonderful. As the tortured clown, Rommel Sulit has the most emotionally intense, serious clowning to do. Tall, lanky Josh Meyer is sweet and sensitive, and is the least likely candidate for being stuffed into a suitcase. So of course he's the perfect choice. Last but not least, Mark Stewart is George, the Doctor's goon and right-hand creep. Adept with an apple and a sharp blade (a real one), we think of him as Thug Clown.
One of the beauties of this work is that just as you become accustomed to the previously mentioned clowns, the actors shrug off those personae and become the clown's human halves. And yet each and every one of them makes it clear that they still are clowns. Either you're born a clown, or you're not, and if you are...then you can't not be one. This is where the poignant political allegory comes into play. And the way Not Clown is written, the allegory is carried off effortlessly.
We can't complete a review without making mention of the ramped up scenic, lighting, and sound design. The stage now makes use of four rows of colored curtains that add remarkable depth and interest. Our only complaint is that we'd have liked to see more use of them. The lighting is subtle and works well with the curtains. And the music & sound effects are more varied and richer than the previous production. All excellent additions.
In closing this longer-than-usual rave-fest (we just can't stop, we love it so much!), we have one pointed acting note we must make. We've seen Not Clown twice now, and the first time we weren't completely sure what to make of Elizabeth Doss's performance. Her character is key, but she gets less stage time than the clowns, and always at the slower paced moments of the show. However, without ruining anything, we feel compelled to say this much: without the commitment, skill, and finesse Doss brings to her character, the ending -- which we think is hysterical -- would not work. So kudos to this fine actress. All of the performances are outstanding, but because of its relative brevity, Doss's runs the risk of being under-celebrated, so we're noting it here.
As is already abundantly clear, we're fans of this work. We hope you get an opportunity to see it. If you miss the Austin run, then catch one of Jet Blue's three NYC dailies and check out the show there in two weeks. We think it would be worth the trip.
