Shakes Clown Tickets

SF Sketchfest is now presenting a revival of Bobcat Goldthwait’s 1991 comedy cult classic Shakes the Clown with a lively reading in San Francisco at Cobb’s Comedy Club. The show features the film’s original cast members including Julie Brown as Judy, Goldthwait as ‘Shakes The Clown’, Florence Henderson as ‘The Unknown Woman’ and Tom Kenny as ‘Binky The Clown’.  The event brings back not only the same cast and characters, but also the same exciting plot, music and dark comedy that once created quite a stir among Goldthwait’s fans. Shakes the Clown tickets will unite the comedy’s fans for the first time since the film was released in cinemas.

SF Sketchfest, also known as San Francisco’s Comedy Festival was founded in 2002 by comedians/actors Cole Stratton, David Owen and Janet Varney. It is a comedy festival held annually in January and February across several venues in the Bay Area. The event features a variety of performances such as standup comedy, improve comedy, sketch comedy, television and film reunions as well as tributes, solo performances and podcasts. The debut festival of 2002 featured only six sketch groups from the Bay Area in the small Shelton Theatre. These included Totally False People, White Noise Radio Theatre, Please Leave the Bronx, The Meehan Brothers, Kasper Hauser and The Fresh Robots. Over the years, the festival has slowly grown to include hundreds of shows with extensive lineup including renowned comedians from Comedy central. Leading artists who have previously performed in the festival include Bruce Campbell, David Wain, Jennifer Coolidge, Michael Ian Black, Drew Carey and many more.

The film, Shakes the Clown, was written and directed by Bobcat Goldthwait, who also performed the title role. Apart from the cast members already mentioned earlier, the film featured other prominent artists like Adam Sandler, Kathy Griffins, Paul Dooley, Jack Gallagher, Blake Clark, LaWanda Page and a cameo appearance by Robin Williams. Williams portrayed Mime Jerry with the pseudonym ‘Marty Fromage’, which was homage to a previous film called Tapeheads.  Shakes the Clown was a dark comedy centering on a birthday party clown who finds himself thoroughly depressed. He is also suffering from alcoholism and is unable to find a window for an escape from his situation when to make things worse he is framed for murder. Various communities of mimes, clowns and other performers have been depicted as clannish subcultures that are obsessed with status and precedence. The film really was a bitter satire of the standup comedy circuit that Goldthwait knew to be quite dysfunctional sometimes. As a film, Shakes the Clown has been called the Citizen Kane of the Alcoholic Clown movies.

Goldthwait, who is the mind behind the cult film, is best recognized as a comedian, actor, screen writer, and television and film director. He gained prominence as a solo standup, with two televised concert sessions in the eighties. The comedian came to be known for his distinct brand of comedy that incorporated political satire with characteristically unsettling black comedy. In 2004, his standup performance was featured on Comedy Central’s Stories Watchin’ Stories. The following year, Goldthwait retired from the genre, performing one final run in September 2005, in Vegas. In 2008, he resumed touring briefly, performing again in 2009. 

Goldthwait has appeared in numerous films including Once Crazy Summer, Burglar, Radioland Murders, Scrooged, Sleeping Dogs Lie and Adventure Time, among many others. He has also directed a few films such as World’s Greatest Dads, Willow Creek, God Bless America, and Shakes the Clown. He has appeared on numerous TV shows including late night shows with Jimmy Kimmel, Conon O’Brien, and Jay Leno. His other appearances include Real Time with Bill Mahher, Bobcat’s Big Ass Show, The Moxy Show and The Larry Sanders Show, to name a few. In 2009, the multi-talented artist won a Comedian Award in the category of Best Comedy Film for Windy City Heat at Just for Laughs Movie Festival of Montreal. His upcoming performance at Shakes The Clown alongside other cast members will bring more laughs than the film itself. Just make sure to grab your share of Shakes the Clown tickets before they are all taken.