A Thousand Clowns: A Comedy in Three Acts [Paperback]

Herb Gardner (Author)

Book Description

Publication Date: February 11, 2011 | ISBN-10: 0573616574 | ISBN-13: 978-0573616570

Herb Gardner

Comedy

Characters: 4 male, 1 female, 12 year-old boy

2 Interior scenes

This benchmark of Broadway comedy produced one of the theatre's most beloved roles: unconventional Murray, uncle to precocious nephew, Nick. Tired of writing cheap comedy gags for "Chipper the Chipmunk", a children's television star, Murray finds himself unemployed with plenty of free time with which to pursue his...pursuits. Lectured by his conventional brother Arnold and hounded by "the system", Murray is paid a visit by bickering, uptight social workers, Sandra and Albert, and finds himself solving their problems as well as most of his own.

"Would be a standout comedy in any season. Filled with laughter and warmth and sweetness and inspired daffiness. One of the quintessential New York comedies."-New York Daily News

"An extraordinarily funny play with some brilliantly offbeat lines."-The New York Post

Product Details

• Paperback: 120 pages
• Publisher: Samuel French Inc (February 11, 2011)
• Language: English
• ISBN-10: 0573616574
• ISBN-13: 978-0573616570
• Product Dimensions: 6.8 x 5.1 x 0.3 inches
• Shipping Weight: 4 ounces (View shipping rates and policies)
• Average Customer Review: 5.0 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (6 customer reviews)
• Amazon Best Sellers Rank: #109,079 in Books (See Top 100 in Books)
  • #41 in Books > 4-for-3 Books > Literature & Fiction > Poetry > General
  • #80 in Books > 4-for-3 Books > Literature & Fiction > Drama > United States

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Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

6 of 6 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars A Contemporary Masterpiece, December 31, 2004

By 

Pintorini (Saint Louis, Missouri United States) - See all my reviews

This review is from: Thousand Clowns (Hardcover)

Gardner tackles some big ones here: the role of the artist in society, the tension between family obligations and personal fulfillment, and the dumbing-down of popular culture. And he does this in one of the definitive comedies of 20th century American theater. Murray, a writer, having quit his job scripting an inane kids' TV program, doesn't want a "real" job either. So he doesn't get one. Sadly, the bureaucrats at the State Welfare Board catch on, and they decide to take away Murray's young nephew, Nick, who has lived with Murray for seven years. To prevent this, Murray must make sacrifices. But the play isn't really about the need to "get a job"--at least not just for the sake of getting one. Murray's view that life isn't just what happens on weekends makes sense, but he's got to pick the lesser of two evils.

Gardner's language is so fresh that *A Thousand Clowns* could have been written yesterday instead of forty years ago. It's no surprise that this play is still frequently performed.

1 of 1 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars Like the J.D. Sallinger of theater, maybe better, July 26, 2005

By 

Inkling (St. Paul, MN) - See all my reviews

This review is from: A Thousand Clowns (Hardcover)

Reviewing A Thousand Clowns is tricky, it's the kind of work that would only make sense to someone who happens to admire a well-made pastrami sandwich ...in New York, maybe while also wearing a hat. I think a fedora. If you qualify as a person who understands the importance of all of this, then this is the play for you.
Murray Burns is the main character in the play, which is set in the very early sixties, before things got political. He is a man who has just quit his job in New York as a writer for a silly television show because he can't face any more the idiots he works with. The problem is he has a nephew, Nick, who lives with him. The nephew, a very grown-up 13 year-old was left with Murray by Murray's sister, a woman of questionable values and a lifestyle "somewhat to the left of whoopee", who dumped her son on Murray's sofa six years prior to the beginning of the story. A guardian without a job is not acceptable to the school Nick attends. Nick is very smart and they pay special attention to him. Hence the arrival of the social workers, in Murray's apartment, and we get to watch a gloriously funny, heart-grabbing story unfold.
The movie based on the play was made too long ago, with Jason Robards as Murray. It was in black and white and although utterly wonderful, deserves a really, really well-done remake.

5.0 out of 5 stars My aunt read it long ago, April 17, 2010

By 

Monica M. Macdonlad "Monica Maddonald" (ca) - See all my reviews
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This review is from: A Thousand Clowns (Paperback)

I can't wait to read it my aunt read it when she was younger may she R.I.P