Joe: The Perfect Man (FRIGID New York 2011)
by Geoffrey Paddy Johnson on February 28, 2011
Joe the Perfect Man featuring Rachelle Elie (Photo credit: Sandy Nicholson)
Why are so many people repulsed by (and fearful of) clowns? Could it be because the barbaric humor they deploy is played, in part, to mock the audience? Who, after all, but fools would be entertained by such crude gestures and antics? Or is it because those white, white faces, with broadly drawn features, are just plain scary? Rachelle Elie, in her one-woman show, Joe: The Perfect Man, at least spares us the white clown make-up, but everything else about her character’s grotesquely padded physique and appearance is from the classic costume rack: a hopelessly unconvincing grey, curly wig; wide-lens glasses; penciled-on goatee; black taped tooth gaps. Did I mention the loud plaid jacket and wide-striped pants? Yes, settle back folks, because this brand of entertainment will be, well, broad.
