A Thousand Clowns

A Thousand Clowns Summary | Act 1, Part 1 Summary

A man who uses humor as a defense against real feeling, personal vulnerability, and genuine relationships is the central character of this play, which tells the story of how he is confronted by several different aspects of reality and realizes that his tendency to make jokes is actually hindering him from living a successful life.

Before the play begins, we hear the sound of a children's television show, "Chuckles the Chipmunk," featuring the childlike central character playing with a group of screaming youngsters. As the lights come up, we see a 12-year-old-boy, Nick, watching the show on television and commenting on how bad it is.

Murray enters, barely awake and making jokes about the kids on the TV actually being in the living room. His conversation with Nick reveals that Nick is extremely intelligent for his age, that Murray used to write for the Chuckles the Chipmunk program, and that he and Nick have an established morning routine. This consists of smoking cigarettes for Murray, making a telephone call to a pre-recorded weather announcement, complaining about the non-view outside the window, shouting down at the neighbors, and uttering constant wisecracks. At one point Murray asks why Nick isn't in school, and Nick reminds him that he said it was a holiday, Irving R. Feldman's birthday.

Murray explains that Feldman is a delicatessen owner and that he (Murray) is the only one who celebrates it. Nick says he figured he'd better stay home anyway because he needs to talk to Murray about a situation at school. He says that as a result of some unusual things he's said and done in class, all of which have been inspired by experiences he's had with Murray, he was sent to see the school psychologist. While there, he discovered he's got a large file, that Murray has been ignoring letters from Child Welfare, and that their representatives are going to check up on them. Murray asks why Nick hasn't told him this before, and Nick says they haven't seen each other for a couple of days because he's been staying with the upstairs neighbor. Murray says he's been working, but Nick points to a nearby bureau and says that last night's "work" left her gloves behind. After Murray comments on how bright Nick is, Nick says they'd better get some kind of story together for when Child Welfare comes and suggests that Murray get dressed and shaved.

As Murray begins to put on some clothes, Nick suggests that one of the things Child Welfare will need to know is whether Murray has been looking for work. Murray says he went job hunting all the week before but couldn't find anything. Nick then goes through the want ads of a 3-day-old paper and suggests several jobs, all of which Murray rejects. Nick comments that, in his opinion, Murray doesn't really want a job, and then, in extremely adult language, talks about how bad the situation is and how it will affect him when he grows up. Murray seems to want to laugh at the way Nick is talking, but then realizes he's serious and acknowledges that yes, the situation is bad for both of them. He confesses that when he was supposedly looking for work he was actually at the movies, and he delivers a long and occasionally poetic speech about his experiences that concludes with the statement that he was there to escape reality. His speech seems to have brought him down, and Nick, in an attempt to cheer him up, suggests that they visit the Statue of Liberty. As they're getting ready to go, there's a knock on the door.