Coulrophobia, or the fear of clowns, is a thing. So is the antipathy of the denizens of the Clown Bar toward their beige world patrons, as a clown named Petunia sings in the show’s opening number, “You’re Not Welcome.”
Don’t let Petunia scare you. “Clown Bar 2” at the Alliance for the Arts is the most immersive theater Southwest Florida audiences will experience, bar none.
“We’ve taken the Foulds Theatre and … removed almost all the seats,” explains Producing Artistic Director Bill Taylor. “There’s an actual bar in the theater that will be serving drinks 45 minutes before the show. It’s totally converted. It’s in the round. The clowns are kind of moving through the audience at times. We’re not pulling people up on stage. We’re not getting them involved in it, but they are in the bar when it’s taking place.”
With clowns to the left and jokers to the right, audiences will be treated to a classic clown noir whodunit.
“One of the clowns has been murdered, and two cops have come to clown bar to find out who the murderer is,” said Taylor.
Those cops are Mac and Gloria, played to the hilt by Giuseppe Anthony and Kelly Rivadulla.
In addition to Shelley Sanders’ Petunia, they encounter a clown alley dominated by an ax-wielding scene-stealer named Popo. Her parody of The Sound of Music’s “My Favorite Things” is one of the highlights of the entire show.
“It’s not a musical,” Taylor cautioned. “But there are songs in the show.”
The songs are delivered by Scott Thompson, who plays a snarky, troublemaking lounge singer named Musty.
“’Clown Bar’ is silly, goofy, crazy fun,” said Taylor. “It’s nothing like you’ve ever seen before.”
“Clown Bar 2” is at the Alliance for the Arts December 12-22.
MORE INFORMATION:
The Clown Bar is a Prohibition-style speakeasy where underground clown crime syndicates battle for top billing and a gunshot ends in a bleeding stream of confetti. The rules are strict, the jokes are dark, and the best way to serve a cocktail is to "make it funny."
When audience members enter, they’ll find tables and chairs interspersed throughout the theater, as well as a couple of rows of seats on the stage itself.
There are clowns everywhere, even on the walls in the form of clown murals and paintings. It’s all part of the offbeat ambiance that Taylor and crew have created for the performances.
The proprietor, a clown named Happy, has gone missing. Has he been offed by clown cowboy Brigham Bill or was it an inside job? A clown named Petunia calls in two cops who knew Happy when he was on the force to find out what happened. But because clowns don’t trust anyone from the “beige world,” never mind cops, they have to go undercover to get answers.
“Knowledge of the preceding show is not required to enjoy this sequel,” said Taylor. In the words of the playwright.
“Clown Bar 2” is loud and fun and bright, especially after a drink or two. Don’t expect nuance. The show is about as subtle as a thousand elephants in tutus dancing the merengue.
"Clown Bar 2" comes from the mind of Adam Szymkowicz. His plays have been produced throughout the U.S., and in Canada, England, Wales, The Isle of Man, The Netherlands, New Zealand, Australia, Germany, Greece, Mexico, Turkey, Switzerland, South Korea, Thailand, Sweden, Austria, Slovenia and Lithuania. His work has been presented or developed at such places as Portland Center Stage, MCC Theater, Ars Nova, South Coast Rep, Playwrights Horizons, LCT3, LAByrinth Theater Company, The Lark, Rattlestick Playwrights Theater, Primary Stages and The New Group, among others.
Szymkowicz is a two-time Lecomte du Nouy Prize winner, a member of the Dramatists Guild and Writer’s Guild of America, and was a member of Primary Stages’ Dorothy Strelsin New American Writer’s Group, the MCC Playwright’s Coalition and of the first Ars Nova Play Group.
He was the premiere resident playwright at The Chance Theater in Anaheim, California, and the first playwright to participate in Bloomington Playwrights Projects’ Square One Series. He has been to The Orchard Project, Green Gulch, and to JAW at Portland Center Stage, served twice as playwright in residence at the William Inge Center, and twice as a Dramatists Guild Fund’s Traveling Masters.
Szymkowicz received two grants from the CT Commission on Culture & Tourism, and has been commissioned by South Coast Rep, Rising Phoenix Rep, Texas State University, The NOLA Project, Single Carrot Theater, Majestic Rep, The Chance Theater and Flux Theater Ensemble.
He received a Playwright’s Diploma from The Juilliard School's Lila Acheson Wallace American Playwrights Program and an MFA from Columbia University, where he was the Dean’s Fellow.
"Clown Bar 2" was commissioned by Troy Heard, the Artistic Director of Las Vegas's Majestic Rep. It was set to premiere at the Majestic in May of 2020, but the performance was canceled due to ongoing lockdowns. It had its first full production at the Majestic in May of 2022.
