Herb Garfdner’s play A Thousand Clowns appeared on Broadway in1962 with a fine sense of timing. The main character Murray Burns is a free-spirited, antiestablishment,  mocking figure anticipating what we were soon to think of as a person of the ’60s. The other characters around him still have the ‘50s clinging to them.

Murray has gotten fed up with his job writing comedy for a mind-numbing children’s television program and quit. Now with lots of free time he can do what he  wants to do with it, wander around New York, stand on Park Avenue in the dawn’s early light and holler, “All right, all you rich people, everybody out in the street for volleyball!” 

When a couple from the city’s Social Services Bureau appear at his apartment because the school attended by his precocious nephew that Murray is trying to raise reports questions about Murray’s unconventional ways, he must have a job again or the nephew could be taken from him as an unfit parent.

At the Theatre Guild of Webster Groves, Mike Clay’s Murray enjoys his unconventional ways, as do we in the audience. As both his brother and his agent, Matthew Lindquist is Murray’s opposite, a conventional businessman who defends and celebrates his way of life and encourages Murray to make enough sacrifice of his principles to keep his nephew with him. Jason Martin plays one of the social workers with the same opinions as Murray’s brother but is much less pleasant about it. Denise Chappel is the other social worker. She seems to be moving into the ‘60s. Unlike her co-worker, she is charmed by both Murray and nephew Nick and, when the partner leaves, she winds up spending the night with Murray. As Nick, Tate McKenna more than holds his own with the grown-ups. As Leo who plays the Chipmunk of the TV show, Jay Winkeler is a convincing New Yorker in speech and manner and makes it clear why Murray did not like working with him. 

Director Warren Frank keeps the show moving and the performances entertaining. He also designed the Manhattan apartment complete with a window opening onto a fire escape and a corner of the stage for brother Arnold’s office. Nathan Olvey designed lights and sound.

I saw A Thousand Clowns on Broadway in 1962. I enjoyed seeing it again and comparing my reactions.

—Bob Wilcox

Photo by Robert Stevens
From the left, Mike Clay as Murray, Denise Chappel as Sandra, and Tate McKenna as Nick in A Thousand Clowns.