"Clowntown City Limits is loud and sloppy and profane... and hilarious"
"Dirty, dirty genius"
"Cathartic, grim, hilarious..."
"One of the most truly original evenings I have ever spent in the theatre"
"Twisted in the way life works - crazy, surreal and touching"
"Hell is other people, and these clowns are those people."
LA WEEKLY PICK OF THE WEEK!!
If you hate clowns you’ll love Clown Town, a darkly hilarious post modern vaudeville. Cathartic, grim, hilarious, there is something at the heart of the evening that is both lyrical and edifying in its treatment of work, devotion to craft and the industry it demands. Even after repeated viewing Clown Town is always made fresh by the imaginative re-invention of it’s principals: Jim Turner, Mark Fite, Craig Anton and Dave Gruber Allen. There is no better serious fun to be had in a program lasting no more than 80 minutes for such a very low ticket price. Go!
-Marlane Meyer
When I reluctantly drove all the way to the east end of Hollywood to the Steve Allen Theatre on a Sunday night, it was really a commitment to a relationship with Jim Turner that got me out of the house. I had no idea that I was about to see something so special, so wondrous, so brilliant and so hysterical. CLOWN TOWN CITY LIMITS is one of the most truly original evenings I have ever spent in the theatre. It is two months later, and I am still laughing at it. Jim, Turner, Mark Fite, Craig Anton and Dave (Guber) Allen along with the extraordinary music of Andy Paley and the boys are really on to something Unique. Hilarity with heart. Irreverence with a capital I. These are not the clowns of the Cirque du Soleil....... these are lowlifes that live on the fringe.... Birthday party Bozos........... throw in a little Godot and you have a show that has to be seen!!! I say to you, GO TO CLOWN TOWN CITY LIMITS....... You have never seen anything like it......... Run don't walk........... You will be glad that you did.
-Paul Linke
I felt like I was caught in a live mashup of Waiting For Godot and Dante's Inferno. This is one twisted show. But twisted in the way life works - crazy, surreal and touching. It's like getting sucked into a Fun House mirror, all dark, weird and funny. I recommend it. Highly. And yes, by "highly" I mean either on drugs or with the utmost consideration.
-Dale Goodson (a serious fan)
Clowntown City Limits is loud and sloppy and profane...and hilarious. This is not your mother's well-made play. It's a a laugh-out-loud Clown's Guide to Existential Hell, complete with hints of thievery and murder, all part of the fun. For folks who like their entertainments crude, sloppy and surreal, this once-a-month residency at the Steve Allen is a must-see. You'll be in the presence of some of LA's most talented funny guys, and you won't be disappointed. And all those reasons why you've always suspected that clowns should not be trusted will be confirmed.
-Dan Duling
This is my memory of the first time I saw Clown Town City Limits:
My lungs convulsed barking out cough-like laughter. I wanted to punch the knee of the person sitting next to me. It felt like someone was existentially tickling me. I did not want it to stop but I wanted to catch my breath. I was grinning broadly as if I were a Hunter S. Thompson character who had awakened in a full acid stupor watching a play co-written by Brecht, Herb Gardner and Jean Paul Sartre.
The performances were absurd and beautiful. The score a perfect calliope heightening the comic mayhem.
At any moment you expect Kierkegaard to crackle to life through a circus megaphone and announce to Lund “This is the truth that is true for me, this is the idea for which I can live and die”
Hell is other people, and these clowns are those people.
-David Koechner
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