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Back in 1962, A Thousand Clowns made a refreshing plea to steer your own course, an idea that seems almost cliche now.
By JORGE SANCHEZ
© St. Petersburg Times, published May 11, 2001
A Thousand Clowns, a romantic drama in which an unemployed television writer seeks to change his lifestyle to satisfy two well-meaning social workers trying to break up his family, begins its run today as the season finale for the Citrus County Art League.
The play takes a somewhat dated and light-hearted look into bureaucratic intrusion, an unusual family and an unlikely romance.
A Thousand Clowns is the story about Murray Burns (Frank Hanshaw). Burns is a former childrens' television writer who now has a different calling. He wants to discard society's traditions and institutions in favor of the new ideas spreading through the nation.
"You have to own your days and name them, each one of them, or else the years go right by and none of them belong to you," Burns says in a memorable line.
When the play was written in 1962, such iconoclastic behavior seemed new and refreshing. Today, however, it appears a bit dated.
Burns takes his Camelot-era optimism and tries to impart his new knowledge upon his 12-year-old nephew, Nick Burns (David Bobola).
Murray's seize-the-day lifestyle comes to a crossroads when the state wants to put Nick in a foster home. The two social workers -- Albert Amundson (Brian Sewall) and Sandra Markowitz (Karin Neeld) decide that the Burns lifestyle is a bit too unconventional to make it a proper home.
Rounding out the cast are Bill Halavan as Leo Herman, who is Murray's ex-boss and John Chesnovitz as Arnold Burns, Murray's brother and agent. Peter Abrams is the director.
A Thousand Clowns was written in 1962, and the first Broadway production featured Judd Hirsch (Taxi, Independence Day) as Murray. A current national revival features Tom Selleck in the title role.
The drama/romance A Thousand Clowns opens tonight and runs weekends through May 27 at the Citrus County Art League, 2644 N Annapolis Ave., Hernando. Friday and Saturday performances are at 7:30 p.m. Sunday matinees at 2:30 p.m. Tickets are $8 in advance at the box office and $9 at the door. Box office hours are 1 to 4 p.m. Tuesdays through Fridays. For reservations, call Lee at 746-0648.