CLOWNING AROUND (AFTER HOURS) puts the ‘variety ’ variety showcase. As MC and producer Faith Pasch explains at the top of the night, CLOWNING AROUND is an amuse-bouche of performances from Pasch and an ensemble of artists who moonlight as birthday clowns to get by. 8 short acts, split unevenly between three short plays and five musical
performances, highlight the talents of Pasch and company as artists trying to hack it in the big city.
So how did they do?
The three short plays are, most generously, not finished. ‘The Road Often Traveled by’ (Writer Parker Jenkins), ‘Megan’s Nightmare’ (Writer Anton Burek), and ‘By Candles light’ (also by Jenkins) are very rough around the edges. Narratively each one is just fine, but the dialogue drags on painfully and stiff direction does little in the way of harm reduction. Interestingly
enough, there’s no actual director listed in the program, in a very unusual Allen Smithee turn.
The musical performances, on the other hand, were very much the highlight of the evening.
Pasch, along with James Suarz and Amy Segal, work through a sampler of musical theater classics with all the gusto of young artists who are all desperate to prove themselves. The final
showstopper, a duet with both Pasch and Suarez, would have otherwise been a killer end to the night if we didn’t veer headlong into a final 1-act for the night.
CLOWNING AROUND (AFTER HOURS) was a variety showcase with a wide variety of both style and enjoyability. Knockout musical performances all around, but if the final verdict needs to include the 1-acts as well 50% isn’t exactly a passing grade.
The Independent Artists movement 