Clown Bar, a clown noir

by Adam Szymkowicz

FULL LENGTH, PUBLISHED. Long ago Happy left the Clown Bar and the organized clown crime world to work for the good guys. Now his junkie brother Timmy has been murdered and Happy returns to his old life to ask a few questions. But can he go home again without getting sucked into the seedy clown underbelly of vice and violence? Can he survive the gun toting clowns who used to be his friends or Blinky, the lady...

FULL LENGTH, PUBLISHED. Long ago Happy left the Clown Bar and the organized clown crime world to work for the good guys. Now his junkie brother Timmy has been murdered and Happy returns to his old life to ask a few questions. But can he go home again without getting sucked into the seedy clown underbelly of vice and violence? Can he survive the gun toting clowns who used to be his friends or Blinky, the lady clown he left behind.

This play is published. Rights: http://www.samuelfrench.com/p/16741/clown-bar

Adam Szymkowicz’s script is unabashedly funny but also shrewd.” – Ken Jaworowski, New York Times Critics Pick

“…hilarious and ebullient…devastating and pitch-perfect.” - Julia Hochner, New York Theatre Review

“…a perfect storm of ridiculousness…it’s weird how well this works.” - - Regina Robinns, Theatre is Easy

“…the team responsible…should be hired by everyone for everything all the time immediately.” - Mary Notari, nytheatre.com

"Clown Bar...[does] things with [its] genre that I have never seen on stage before." - HowlRound

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Clown Bar, a clown noir

Recommended by

  • D.W. Gregory: Clown Bar, a clown noir by Adam Szymkowicz
    “

    Just picked this up recently and couldn't stop laughing. Such a wild conceit, so clever and sharp. Brings new meaning to the word 'parody.' It's beyond parody. A world unto itself. Comic genius at work.

    Just picked this up recently and couldn't stop laughing. Such a wild conceit, so clever and sharp. Brings new meaning to the word 'parody.' It's beyond parody. A world unto itself. Comic genius at work.

    ”
  • Brenton Kniess: Clown Bar, a clown noir by Adam Szymkowicz
    “

    A masterclass in comedy!

    A masterclass in comedy!

    ”
  • Chelsea Frandsen: Clown Bar, a clown noir by Adam Szymkowicz
    “

    I *finally* got my hands on a copy of this script and was not disappointed. Adam Szymkowicz has taken all the pulp and noir fiction archetypes and put them into the bodies of clowns to tell a story that is darkly comic and beautifully done(Bobo in particular freaks me the heck out!). Perfect not just for Halloween but for any time of the year.

    I *finally* got my hands on a copy of this script and was not disappointed. Adam Szymkowicz has taken all the pulp and noir fiction archetypes and put them into the bodies of clowns to tell a story that is darkly comic and beautifully done(Bobo in particular freaks me the heck out!). Perfect not just for Halloween but for any time of the year.

    ”
View all 8 recommendations
Cast of Characters:

The clowns:
GIGGLES
SHOTGUN MCGHEE
DUSTY
TIMMY
TWINKLES

The former clown:
HAPPY MAHONEY

The lady clowns:
PETUNIA
POPO
BLINKY FATALE

The clown boss:
BOBO


Setting:

The Clown Bar. A bar full of clowns set up like a cabaret. Action takes place in various audience areas and also on the small stage. Audience members are encouraged to dress like clowns. If possible, hand out clown noses to the audience along with their programs. Actors, stagehands, ushers, etc are all dressed in full clown makeup with bright hair and clown noses. Their outfits could be clowney or like gangsters from the 30’s or more recent gangsters. Feel free to make guns as colorful as the clowns. Clowns may hold cliplights to illuminate scenes. On the floor is a chalk outline like at a crime scene.

Time:

Right fucking now.

Development History

  • Commission, Rising Phoenix Rep, 2011

Production History

  • Professional, 63 Productions to date, 2024