9/5/2010 - Coney Island Chris

Let me start off by saying that that Geek Shows are not my thing. I am easily grossed-out, both by hardware going in places it seemingly shoudln't go, and by the usually lame, half-committed, badly enacted patter that usually accompanies the Geek act.

Well, if you're like me, (or anyone else, for that matter), GO SEE CONEY ISLAND CHRIS! THIS IS A SHOW!!

Part Harry Anderson, part Jerry Lewis, part Geek, part magician, part clown...THIS GUY ROCKS!

Over the course of an hour, Chris takes the audience through 10 well-known Geek tricks, culminating with a final act that involves a bed of nails, an egg, and a 12-pound sledge. There is never a dull moment.
This lanky, four-eyed tramp barks out an act full of tiny surprises and vulnerability, amused at his own corny jokes and occasional impromptu mistakes. He does what so many geeks fail at: he is both completely “other” and completely “us”.


And throughout his tour of tricks he has us in the palm of his hand, building up to that moment when the trap will spring (sometimes literally, as when he sticks his hand in an animal trap), and then extending the moment, backing it down, misdirecting us, and ultimately satisfying our own sadistic expectations.

This guy had me from start to finish.   And there is something very “clown” about this Geek's work, in a sort of “Andy Kaufman” sense. Like Kaufman's escapades: as Intergernder Wrestling Champion, as Tony Clifton, as “the Real Andy Kaufman”, the game with Coney Island Chris is, “which Geek trick is real? And which one is a contrivance?” In this way, Chris, has elevated the deconstuction of the Geek act to a new level. Because not only did I not know which acts were “real” (for the most part), I didn't care. Coney Island Chris has managed to return the magic to the Geek act. Through the use of camp, skill, and a great sense of misdirection, he drew me in to his tricks, with a signifigant part of my brain knowing (or hoping) they were not real, but with another part of my brain believing his (sometimes) false contrivances all the way. He does tricks that are obvious put-ons. He does tricks that are seemingly “for real..” He does other tricks which allow me as a spectator to flicker in and out belief/disbelief. This reminds me of Kaufmann's Wretsling stint, of Wrestling in general: both totally real (dramatically) and totally fake. This is best exemplified in Chris' homage to that most famous of Geek weightlifters, Mr. Lifto. (I will save the details...)

Chris needs a better ending for his show. Something to tie the whole thing together. Right now, the rhythm of the piece is sustained by his personage and the escalation of his bits. It needs something more, a story, a challenge that is either overcome or not, in order to turn it into a full-fledged Clown Theatre show. I will be excited to see it again when he does that. In the meantime, I may go watch his show again, because it was so wonderfully vulnerable, skillfull, and entertaining. Bravo!