Arizona Jewish Theatre Company's A Thousand Clowns at The Herberger Theatre Stage West
(out of 
)Mark S.P. Turvin
(home office) (602) 912-0117
I can be reached for comment via e-mail at: mspt@goldfishpublishers.com
Reviewed 5/22/99
(out of )For their final production of the season, Arizona Jewish Theatre Company has mounted an old chestnut, Herb Gardner's A Thousand Clowns. While it is irrevocably mired in the early '60s Camelot era, and comes off hopelessly dated in spots, it still retains a joie de vivre that allows audiences hurtling toward the new millennium to enjoy and even learn a bit from its carpe-diem-to-a-point message.
To attempt to update this fluffy-but-fun play is to kill it. Fortunately, Director Jim Linde has wisely allowed it to stay in its era, using many of its colloquialisms and images to keep this play historical, but still well-preserved. He has brought together a generally talented cast who have erred on the side of seriousness in their presentation, but still allowed for the impact of its bright and witty comedy. Mr. Linde's direction and many of the performances are more presentational in tone, but this does not hurt the piece. If anything, it allows what could be a farce to be more poignant than usually performed, and increases its effectiveness despite its dated feel.
At the center are Murray and Nick Burns. Murray is a former children's show writer who has embarked on a personal campaign to wake up the rest of the world, and Nick is his bright, 12-going-on-40 live-in nephew who tries to keep the craziness in check. When two New York City social workers come to assess Nick's welfare, one of them is forced to blow the whistle on what he suspects to be a dangerous environment for Nick's upbringing. Murray is then forced to decide between his quixotic-campaign against all things routine, and his love for his sister's son.
Much of this play resides on the shoulders of the precocious Nick. While he is not onstage as much as Murray and social worker Sandra, his presence must be felt throughout the production. To this extent, Mr. Linde has done a very good job in casting the just-13-year-old Donnie Benjamin as the middle-aged youngster. Mr. Benjamin presents many of his difficult lines in a realistic manner, and while he does have a tendency to look at the floor while speaking, he still pulls off a multi-layered character. Local favorite Ben Tyler also does a very good job as the excitable Murray, grasping the characters mania and desperation in equal measures.
The highlight of the show, though, is Martha Brooks as the uptight social worker who loves too much. This is another difficult character, a textual will-o-the-wisp with a barely plausible transformation. Ms. Brooks captures a perfect Jackie Kennedy styling that propels her Sandra through the rough spot with complete believability. Balancing this impressive performance, though, is the unimpressive portrayal of the emotionally handicapped social worker Albert stuttered by Michael Sherwin. Mr. Sherwin takes hesitancy to new depths, making Albert sound more like a robot in need of oil than a counterpoint to Murray's gift of non-sequitur imagination. Would that Messrs. Sherwin and Linde had given this Albert more of a fighting chance than setting him up too easily for a fall.
Better are Hamilton Mitchell as Murray's conforming brother and agent, Arnold, and Jon Gentry as Murray's one-time boss and kid's show host/catastrophe, Leo Herman. Mr. Mitchell takes a simple everyman, and makes him understandable, a feat in itself, and Mr. Gentry's maniacal presentation of Leo and his alter-ego, the shrill Chuckles the Chipmunk is just this side of hateful, a necessary choice.
Unfortunately, AJTC seems to have taken a step back in one major technical sense. While Michael J. Eddy's Lighting is impressive as always, Bill Osborne's Sound Design works to perfection, and David M. Anaya's Costumes are perfectly period, Gary Imel's Set Design and Audie Leah Gehring's Properties are not up to the level of recent AJTC productions. Mr. Imel's set is obvious in its use of flats, and simply looks slipshod, while Ms. Gehring's props are central to this show, and there's just not enough interesting and varied clutter to establish the mindset of the apartment's inhabitant.
Mr. Gardner's script is admittedly fraying around the edges, but it still packs in plenty of wit and poignancy. AJTC does a good job offering a modulated production with only a few small flaws.
Production Details:
A Thousand Clowns by Herb Gardner
Arizona Jewish Theatre Company
The Herberger Theatre
Stage West, Phoenix
(602) 252-8497
May 22 - June 6, 1999