Las Vegas Regional Theater Group

What happens when you let three “clowns” loose to create their own show?

I’ll admit it – I’ve always disliked clowns. Maybe it was a childhood trauma. Who knows. I just never liked clowns. And then there are the Cirque clowns. Not the old slapstick, red rubber nose clowns, but more like a Greek chorus for the various tales told in the Cirque productions. Had these been the clowns I had seen as a kid, I probably would look more favorably on them.

Your New Best Friends at the Onyx Theater is a new production put together by three former and current Cirque performers, all from the franchise’s “clown” ranks. In fact, Franco Dragone (creator of the Cirque shows) calls them his “Anti-Clowns”. Daniel Passer, John Gilkey and Wayne Wilson have put together a raucous, and entertaining evening of fun filled with material that would never end up in a Cirque show. Their mix of slapstick physical comedy and excellent comedic timing combine for an entertaining 90 minutes.

One caveat – this is not a “family” show. Sometimes bawdy, with some mature language and themes, this show is definitely for the over-eighteen crowd. And if you’re easily offended – don’t go. But if you’ve got a sense of humor and want a bunch of laughs, then this is a show for you.

We attended on preview night, along with a supportive group of Cirque performers and Franco Dragone himself. From the start, the show shows promise, with some great physical comedy and some well-paced timing. Some of the pieces touch on local themes, such as babies doing their own version of the Bellagio fountains. Audience participation is a recurring theme in the show, and the small theater lends itself well to pulling audience members onto the stage.

There are some musical pieces worked into the show, and while some were funny and others obviously heartfelt, they slowed the pacing of the show, and might have been better if grouped together or worked better into the flow. One piece in particular had some rather pointed lyrics directed toward Steve Wynn – referred to as the “blind tyrant” - whose changes to the original Le Reve show have been unpopular with many performers. The numbers were original, but didn’t quite fit into the rhythm of the performance.

In a similar vein, there were some spots in the performance that didn’t quite make the mark. While the vast majority of the sketches featured exceptional comic timing, one in particular dragged on a bit long. After the fountain sketch mentioned above, three audience members were brought up on stage and put to work cleaning up. It’s unclear whether this bit went longer than planned, but it extended a little too long, losing its initial humor.

But these moments were exceptions in an otherwise highly entertaining piece. We laughed often and found all three performers to be engaging and versatile. Your New Best Friends is a fun, fast-paced and entertaining evening of comedy and music. Your New Best Friends plays on May 27 and June 3, 2008. Contact the Onyx Theater for tickets and more information.

This entry was posted on Friday, April 25th, 2008 at 11:27 pm and is filed under Reviews. You can follow any responses to this entry through the RSS 2.0 feed. You can leave a response, or trackback from your own site.