What is a man to profit if he gains a son but loses his soul?
It's a question that chases Murray Burns in Herb Gardner's "A Thousand Clowns." Live Theatre Workshop opened an uneven production of the dramedy to a full house on Saturday.
Murray is an out-of-work scriptwriter who spends his days in a leisurely fashion - shouting at the neighbors, chatting with the recorded weather message, and taking in triple and quadruple features at the cinema. It's infinitely preferable to writing for the inane "Chuckles the Chipmunk" kids show - a spirit-breaking gig he had and quit.
He has been guardian to his precocious, preteen nephew, Nick, since his sister dropped her young son off years before.
But social workers have gotten wind of their unconventional life in a one-room New York City apartment, and Murray's eccentric lifestyle and freewheeling ways are seriously threatened. He will lose custody of Nick if he doesn't find a job, and the only option open to him is on "Chuckles."
People are also reading…
Cliff Madison took on the difficult role of Murray. It's difficult not just because Jason Robards, who played the role in the 1962 Broadway show and in the movie two years later, will be forever identified with the role. It's also because Murray is a constant stage presence and is full of passion, conflicts and humor.
Madison embraced the delicious lines ("My sister communicates . . . entirely by rumor," he says of Nick's long-absent mother) and has a keen sense of timing.
But he also wraps his Murray in a cloak of insecurities. It is an ill-fitting cloak - the character is eccentric and wacky, but most certain about his life choices.
"You got to know what day it is. You got to know what's the name of the game and what the rules are with nobody else telling you," Murray says of why he lives the way he does.
"You have to own your days and name them, each one of them, or else the years go right by and none of them belong to you. And that ain't just for weekends."
That is the sentiment of a man who knows what he's doing. And it helps explain what he may need to give up in order to have custody of Nick.
Kyle Everly was a tad old for the clever Nick, but the teen showed an understanding of his character, and he knows his way around a funny line. Everly is young and has had limited stage experience, but he clearly has some acting chops that are sure to blossom.
Rounding out the cast are Shanna Brock and Andrew Wolverton as the threatening social workers; Rick Shipman as Arnold, Murray's agent and brother; and an over-the-top Michael F. Woodson as the dark, desperate Chuckles.
The solid cast, led by director Missie Scheffman, gave a rhythm and a relevance to the play, though it sputtered to an end, rather than with the necessary drama.
Clowns" is firmly entrenched in the '60s. This production managed not to feel dated while it provided plenty of laughs.
Review
• "A Thousand Clowns"
• Playwright: Herb Gardner.
• Director: Missie Scheffman.
• Presented by: Live Theatre Workshop.
• When: 7:30 p.m. Thursdays through Saturdays; 3 p.m. Sundays, through Aug. 29.
• Where: Live Theatre Workshop, 5317 E. Speedway.
• Tickets: $18, with discounts available.
• Reservations, information: 327-4242.
• Running time: About two hours, with one intermission.
Contact reporter Kathleen Allen at kallen@azstarnet.com or 573-4128.
