In the beginning of his ribald and heartfelt solo comedy Ghetto Klown, John Leguizamo projects a subway map of New York onto a giant screen. "I'm from the scrotum of Queens, next to the penis of Manhattan," he explains, as a black magic marker suddenly reveals the uncanny anatomical resemblance heretofore hidden in our familiar subway map. "You'll never be able to look at the subway map the same way again," he adds, and the moment is representative of Ghetto Klown at its best: after seeing the city through Leguizamo's eyes, you can't help but take a little bit of his salty perspective with you out on the streets.
Following in the tradition of his previous solo shows (Mambo Mouth, Spic-O-Rama, Freak, and Sexaholix…a Love Story), Ghetto Klown is a largely autobiographical account of his unlikely journey from streetwise jester to playwright and famous actor. For two and a half ebullient hours, Leguizamo spins in and out of a dozen characters, starting with the people who influenced his adolescence in Queens, where he got his start as a performer by sneaking into the subway conductor's "boof" ("We were so ghetto we couldn't afford a 'th'.") and doing hackneyed impersonations. The gag not only got him arrested, but it also inflamed a bitter feud with his father that continued through his Broadway debut, and beyond.
Leguizamo's an immensely lovable performer, and he has the audience in his hip pocket and roaring with laughter throughout Ghetto Klown—anecdotes about movie set beefs with Kurt Russell and Steven Seagal are particularly hilarious. At times the show tilts a little toward self-aggrandizement, as when he frames his Broadway debut as a victory for Latinos everywhere. But his story is not always flattering—an unflinching account of his relationship troubles is leavened with humor ("I could never hit a woman, but I could hold her on the ground 'til the cops come.") but essentially unhappy. And his raw account of his father's refusal to accept his success is brutally intimate. Because Leguizamo doesn't edit out his life's miserable moments, the humorous beats are all the more enjoyable—like any good clown, he knows the best comedy comes out of honest pain.
