Kate Zambreno

"The shit they pulled was very Andy Kaufman," marvels Don Hall, executive director of the WNEP Theater. "It was brilliant, and I will never forget it. But they can never pull that again. Once you've done it, nobody can really get away with it again."

It was the most amazing prank on Earth, or at least in the Chicago theater scene. The year was 1995, and, under the auspices of a traveling avant-garde German clown troupe called Die Hanswurste (translated, "Jack Sausages," or, explains Hall, "basically an idiot who knows nothing but thinks they do"), four improvisers from Chicago made audiences leap through flaming hoops.

"Klown: Prick Us and We'll Burst," hosted by WNEP Theater, sprung forth from the sick mind of clown Joel Jeske and the underbelly of a desire to puncture the "apathetic" theater scene in Chicago. It was an elaborate, existential, very German clown cabaret staged at the Chicago Dramatists, and critics turned handsprings, showering roses of grandeur into their ring. "A gloomy, sinister cabaret," raved one prominent critic. "A special kind of malevolence and kinkiness," exuded another.

Hall describes the show as a hilarious subversion of the traditionally bozo minstrel show. "It's the angry, over-sexed fat clown and the sort of Stan Laurel simpleton clown doing a knock-knock joke, but not knowing how to do it," he explains.

With rave reviews, "Klown" was thrust into the center ring, enjoying a rollercoaster ride through theaters all over Chicago. But, it was inevitable that they couldn't go on juggling their double lives forever. The bubble was burst when it was discovered that these German clowns weren't German after all. A media circus ensued. "It got ugly," says Hall. "I think the critics loved it because it was brilliant, but when they found out it was four guys from Chicago, they got pissed." One of the original cheerleaders behind the show even printed a retraction.

On this ironic note, "Die Hanswurste" went their separate ways. But their voodoo visions lived on. From the insidious id of "Klown," WNEP's cult hit "Soiree Dada" was born, conceived originally by Joel Jeske and founding member Joe Janes as a series of dadaist exercises during understudy rehearsals. And the WNEP Theater, or "What-Now Entertainment Productions," began to form their identity as an aggressively in-your-face theater devoted to breaking boundaries, with such ground-smashing shows as "The Armageddon Radio Hour," an Apocalyptic 1940s sketch comedy show, "Postmortem," a spontaneous death documentary and "Soiree Dada."

Since last spring the theater, itinerant for seven years, has had complete autonomy in their new space at the old ComedySportz theater on Halsted. And what now for WNEP Productions, which states above their entrance, "Nothing is sacred, not even you"?

The jack sausages are back to sizzle -- for a limited time only. Jeske, returning to Chicago after a four-year stint with Ringling Brothers, was anxious to make some mischief. The mastermind behind the vaudeville villains has brought his whip into "Soiree Dada," which Hall says was suffering from "open run doldrums."

And Jeske has decided its time to resurrect his "Die Hanswurste" character as well. He convinced Otto Schmidt, one of the original clowns and a recent WNEP company member, to brush his clown suit off and come out of hiding for three nights only.

"Entertaining Mr. Fear" stars Otto Schmidt as Franzel Kier, the effeminate fez-wearing ringleader of "Klown," who joins Kamm Oste (Jeske's alter ego, a Stan Laurel buffoon) for an up-close and personal look.

"They're trying to welcome you into their world," says Hall. "But they can't quite do it because of this bizarre Laurel and Hardy screwy thing."

And what follows is sure to be an evening of illuminating psychosis, and a once-in-a-lifetime opportunity. "I've told my whole company, if you miss it, it's your loss," Hall says. "Because they're doing some amazingly dark funny stuff."

But this time, all the cards are out on the table. That was something Hall made clear before agreeing to produce the extravaganza. "I told them, we're going with the straight press release," he says. "We don't want people handing us our asses because we tried the same joke twice."

"Entertaining Mr. Fear -- A Twilight Spent with Franzel Kier," runs Thursdays, February 1-15 at WNEP Theater, 3209 North Halsted, (773)755-1693, ext. 3. (2001-02-01)

Also by Kate Zambreno

GOING APE
Thursday night on the LSD and there it is -- a giant purple gorilla, perched on the front stoop of one of those swanky drive residences.
(2000-11-23)

EAT ME
Finley is back in Chicago, where she was born and got her start, to promote her new collection of writings "A Different Kind of Intimacy," and she is in love with the irony and just plain art of it all: where she has been, how she's arrived, especially reading at the Borders set by the backdrop of Michigan Avenue and the cheesy Victoria's Secret music from next door.
(2000-11-16)

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