Oscar E Moore

The not so secret life of fast talking, break-dancing, master ad-libber, sometimes short of breath, self described light skinned Latino maniac John Leguizamo is on display at the Lyceum Theatre in all his glory in his newest one man autobiographical show GHETTO KLOWN.  This guy is really funny.  A great story teller.  A great writer.  A great mimic.  With an even greater ego.  Ergo, a one man show.

For all those interested in having a wild and fun evening hearing about his family and friends, his highs and lows, the agents, the directors and co-stars, the drugs, the therapy, the depressions, the girl friends and his wife and kids make sure you don’t miss this hysterical show and tell production directed with great dexterity by Fisher Stevens.

The projections by Aaron Gonzalez add immensely to all the fun.  It’s too bad the screen is placed so far over on the right side of the stage that some people have obscured views.  However they have been smart enough to install smaller screens for those sitting on the right side of the theatre so that they can watch as though they were on a plane.

That complaint aside there really is nothing else to complain about.  Leguizamo delivers the goods and the dirt about such people as Brian De Palma, Al Pacino, Lee Strasberg, Sean Penn, Don Johnson, Kurt Russell, Steven Seagal and shares with us his odd yet seriously dysfunctional relationship with his mom and pop and granddad – hitting on them without mercy and mimicking them to a tee and then turning all serious and poignant.

The titles of his other shows – Mambo Mouth, Spic-O-Rama, Freak and Sexaholic…a love story kind of says it all.   Never having seen any of them and hearing that this show runs approximately two and half hours I wondered how could he possibly have enough material to keep our attention riveted on his performance and how many stories can he possibly tell that would keep us in stitches all evening long.  Well, he does.  And does it to perfection.

When he couldn’t find work or got parts that were meaningless he started to write and perform his life on stage.  We are the lucky recipients of for what is for him free therapy. One of the highlights is the recurring video of when he’s depressed which is priceless.  I refuse to give away any of his one-liners for that would ruin all the surprises you will have in store for you when you go visit John Leguizamo venting in Ghetto Klown.  Highly recommended.

www.ghettoklownonbroadway.com  Photo:  Carol Rosegg

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