Playhouse 'Clowns' Not Humorous

by Becky Kinder - Originally Published March 8, 2011

In its second year, Alive Theatre’s “Four Clowns,” now playing at the Long Beach Playhouse, follows each of its four characters through unconventional stages of life: childhood, adolescence, adulthood and death.

Clowning, a theatrical style used in many forms, can be traditionally painted faces, more natural characterizations like Bill Irwin uses and even religious outreach groups like “Clowns for Christ.” There are classes at universities and acting schools for movement and clowning, along with entire schools dedicated to learning the intricacies necessary to be a good clown.

Though there are memorable moments, a solid foundation in clowning is missing from the performances and overall conception of “Four Clowns.” Kevin Klein (Mischievous) and Raymond Lee (Angry, especially in one of the show’s most vivid moments where he’s holding a balloon) had their funny business at times, but Alexis Jones (Sad) and, most notably, Amir Levi (Nervous) were the most developed. The cast’s song and dance scenes had their delight at times as well.

The shortcomings seem to come from the script and direction of Jeremy Aluma. Noted in the program as being created by Aluma, the cast, and Quincy Newton, the production missed the mark in its integration of clowning and realism. With a narrow view of sex, processing difficult experiences, and of verbal expression to boot, the audience is bombarded with over the top sex scenes and cussing in misplaced attempts at being what we can relate to. Instead of a satire’s commentary on emoting, society, and the human experience, the clowns are mostly playing at emotions. Certain strong points of characterizations were found when the focus was more on the simplicity of bullying and the “Whatever!” attitude of teenagers, rather than trying so hard to make scenarios funny when they just are not.

The costume and make-up designs tapped into the vein of more traditional clown styles and the funky ties and exaggerated painted expressions were fun. Pianist Mario Granville was a decent player and added atmosphere, but his hammy expressions and periodic involvement in the action were distracting and annoying.

Props were minimal and the choices of what to mime and what to actually hold were a bit confounding. The set and lighting were also minimal and though the production did not have the need for a lot, it did have the need for a clearer direction in their designs and cues at times, such as a helpful variation in lighting to discern the moments of audience participation from the action that brought the scenes into the audience.

Those who were likely friends of the actors were on top of giving suggestions when prompted, but the audience members who were not fully aware of what they were in for were left stammering or mute. The cast was allowed to improvise, it seemed throughout, and given freedom to heckle those who tried to use the restroom during the show, providing bits of laughter, though still showing the need of more training for the actors.

While waiting in the lobby, I noted how many signs were posted as a warning to the “adult content” and that the play might offend; the only thing I found offensive was that the bulk of the material wasn’t adult content at all but was repetitive and self-indulgent.

The program’s tagline states, simply: “Laughter is the Best Medicine.” I get it, that you want us to find humor in even the tough moments of life, but working for us to laugh at it rather than allowing the moments to just happen so we can laugh with the characters through their experiences are two different things. The dead air pause after each death is painful rather than meaningful, as we feel little to no emotional connection to the characters’ stories; this show needs a few prescriptions for maximum health.

One audience member remarked that the show was “too weird for her” while another left saying that she “failed to see how this was supposed to be entertaining.” Now that’s not clowning around.

Alive Theatre’s production of “Four Clowns” plays through March 19th at the Long Beach Playhouse.