Hats on Fire/Shoes on Fire
Klown: The Children’s Show
Christensen, and Alburt Williams Are Big Fat Idiots
The Chicago-based comedy troupe Die Hanswurste will doubtless go down in theater history for the hoax they pulled off two years ago, when they pretended to be a German company trained in the secrets of “German clown work” by a mysterious, publicity-shy director named Veidt. But given their success what could these guys do for an encore? Perpetrate another hoax? Who would believe them? Who would even dare cover them? Hedy Weiss of the Sun-Times, who fell for the trick when she reviewed Klown, ended up printing a correction several days later, admitting that she’d been fooled by the disinformation in the press materials. When do you think she’s going to go to another Hanswurste show? Soon after hell turns into a giant Slurpee is my guess, but I’ve been wrong before.
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How do you follow such a debut? Well, Die Hanswurste has created two shows. One is based on the idea of lying to the press, stirring up trouble, and generally acting like a bunch of spoiled, publicity-starved actors: Richard Roper, Richard Christensen, and Alburt Williams Are Big Fat Idiots. The other is based on the recognition that crying wolf is a trick you can pull off only once and that Klown was a success–it ended up running off and on for more than a year–not because it embarrassed anyone but because it was great comedy.
Jeske and Griffith test how well they know their comedy when they perform an expurgated version of Hats on Fire/Shoes on Fire at the Fringe festival, Klown: The Children’s Show. Though it’s performed without flaming footwear and other potentially dangerous items–like the routine in which Oper and Oste consume two bottles of liquor and get falling-down drunk–this kinder version of the show is nevertheless sophisticated enough to keep parents laughing even as it pleases the children.
Basically Richard Roper, Richard Christensen, and Alburt Williams Are Big Fat Idiots is just one more Second City-style comedy revue with two differences: no blackouts separate the scenes, and no laughter interrupts the hopeless material.
