Not All Clowns Are Bozos. Some Are Mimes.
Last night, a group of female physical theater performers set out to prove, as the title of their TOJ show plainly suggested, that Not All Clowns are Bozos. They succeded wildkly at their mission of proving that their corner of the artistic universe could be enjoyed by adults as well as kids. While the first half of the show was a little uneven (full disclosure: we arrived 20 minutes late after a leisurely supper at Maneki), the second half crackled, with hilarious solo and duo performers relieving one another well before any one sketch had the chance to get stale.
Here's the thing, though: none of these performers fit my definition of "clown." I'm sure the artists would argue that this was part of the point, and I'd get that point were it not for the fact that their mostly silent acts veered far, far closer to the supposedly moribund art of mime. After taking in this show, I'd submit that purebred whiteface pantomime is dead only because the people who possess the skills to be keep it alive don't want to anymore. Which is a fair choice, I guess, but still a little sad.
Before I forget, one awesome thing about Theatre Off Jackson is they sell Wells Banana Bread Beer, which sounds horrible but tastes heavenly. Another awesome thing is the availability of Arrested Development lapel buttons for $1 a pop. I bought one of Tobias Funke (David Cross) in fully-body Blue Man Group paint, announcing, as he did on the show: "I just blue myself."
2 comment(s)
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Cover Story: Critical Mass
c4 says:
interesting
Posted On: Tuesday, Jan. 20 2009 @ 3:27PM
Sarah says:
I recently came across your blog and have been reading along. I thought I would leave my first comment. I don't know what to say except that I have enjoyed reading. Nice blog. I will keep visiting this blog very often.
Sarah
http://www.lyricsdigs.com
Posted On: Tuesday, Mar. 10 2009 @ 2:16AM