For my own personal tastes, there are few things more beautiful on a stage than honesty. Honest emotion, honest action, and honest relationships are what makes some plays so thrilling to watch. And when it is done correctly, there are few things more honest than a great clown. Clowning is all about living in the moment, breathing in what the audience is giving you, and riding the waves of emotions that fill the theatre. A great clowning act is the kind of thing that can stick with you for years (I still remember the first Bill Irwin routine I ever saw), and what I saw with 500 Clown Trapped surely ranks among the kind of theatrical experiences that I will remember for a very long time.
Adrian Danzig, Timothy Heck, and Leah Urzendowski are three of the titular 500 clowns (and the only ones you actually see), and their main goal for the evening is to play some awesome music. Things go a little awry when a huge contraption in the middle of the stage swallows their instruments, then the clowns, then traps them with giant steel bars, and from there they try to figure their way out of the situation in ways that only clowns can conceive. The plot of a clown show doesn’t have to be extremely complex, really. The joy is seeing these performers solve problems in ways that you don’t expect, transitioning a thousand different times to a thousand different ideas, strung together only by the most sideways of connections.
In a show like this, it all comes down to the skill of the performers. Tim Heck (in his first appearance in 500 Clown) is brash, loud, bold, and more than willing to stick his neck out for a solid laugh. Leah Urzendowski is endearing and has fantastic comedic timing. And anyone who knows Adrian Danzig (full disclosure: he is a friend of mine and a former teacher) is not surprised at all by the fact that he’s a brilliant clown and performer. He is open and receptive and moves like he’s 20 years younger than he actually is. He is the leader of this show (as well as the designer of the brilliant set) and it’s obvious that some things can only be learned from doing them for a couple/few decades.
The Verdict If you’ve got kids, you absolutely need to take them to see this show. This is the kind of show that a kid will remember for the rest of their lives. And ten years down the line when they are headed off to acting school or training to join the circus (I promise parents, it’s actually a thing you would want to encourage), they will remember seeing three clowns on stage and being a part of the 497 others. And if you don’t have kids, go to this show, laugh your ass off, have a great time, and support one of the coolest things to come out of Chicago. This show gets high marks and a solid A from me.
For more information, check out the 500 Clown Website
