Labeled as an immersive circus experience, The Great Clown Bank Show blends clown, mime, opera, dance, and circus. The production is lavish and ambitious, with some dark humor and a social commentary in the mix.
In essence, the show is an artistic response to the greed of the one percenters. The play tells the story of a family who made it to the top of the financial system. Hank Jacobs uses different devices to express the trickeries of the ultra rich to become even richer while screwing everyone else. And what gets you closer to money than a bank? So, there you go, the Greedy family starts a bank. The deal? You give them a dollar and the bank will pay you 0.003 cents as interest. The bank? They get 30% of a dollar as profit by investing that money. And that’s how they become richer and richer. While the Greedy family create an empire, they go about life, getting married, having kids, getting heartbroken, and even getting arrested.
The show is labeled as an immersive experience. You are welcomed by circus characters that make you feel the fun vibe you are about to see. The Ringmaster (Hank Jacobs) starts by telling the arrival of Gus Greedy (Davis Barber) in America from the Old Country. Once in America, Gus has to figure out how to make it big. After several options, he decides that a bank will do the trick. But first, he has to get married. So he meets Glenda (Clara York) and proposes. Soon enough they have kids, and that’s how the family starts to grow to create a true empire. The more bloodsuckers, the better.
The whole story is told in a choreographed style whose principal characteristic is clowning. Not the traditional clown, it’s more like a vaudeville style. It’s very physical, with music thrown in. Before there was film and TV, there was vaudeville, traveling artists who sang, danced, and used comedy to entertain audiences around the country. The beauty of this show is the analog experience. There is minimal technology here; this is a show with music, mime, dance, and clowning. This show is unique, it’s a bit out of the ordinary. For all of the movement on stage, the blocking is excellent, making it highly energetic.
The customs are great, the kinetics are great, and the story is great. The results of the elements put together, however, are mixed. Some of the jokes fall flat despite the energy and commitment of the actors. Some spark is missing, which is unfortunate, given the production value of the show. But generally speaking, the show is worth watching for the artistry and the energetic spirit of the story and the characters. One of the scenes that capture the oddity of this play is when Greta Garrotte Greedy (Elle Engelman) is delivering her babies with the help, or helplessness, of the creepy-looking gynecologist (Bethany Koulias). That’s the kind of whimsicality that Jacobs has created to denounce the greediness of the financial system.
Despite some of the shortcomings, this play/musical is a clear example of the hard work and dedication of this group of artists that take the bold action of combining musical works like burlesque and opera with circus and mime to shape the direction of the story. If you’re up to some surprises and magic, this show will fit your curiosity.
The Great Clown Bank Show
Atwater Village Theatre
3269 Casitas Ave
Los Angeles, CA 90039
July 3 – Aug. 1, 2026
Tickets: https://www.openfist.org/
Written and Directed by Hank Jacobs. Music Direction by Robby Good. Choreography by Raquis Petree. Circus Music composed by Stephen Jacobs. Original Songs composed by Michael Messer. Lyrics by Hank Jacobs and Michael Messer. Immersive Experience Design by DJ Handcrank. Presented by Open Fist Theatre Company, Martha Demson, artistic director.
Cast: Tambrie Allsup, Davis Barber, Kevin M. Brennan, Amiée Conn, Elle Engelman, Matthew Goodrich, Hank Jacobs, Carmella Jenkins, Torrin Kelly, Bethany Koulias, Avery Shannon Lynch, Clara York. Featuring aerialist Avery Lynch and a different guest circus performer every week.
Creative team: Lighting by Matthew Richter, costumes by Benny Lee Harris Lumpkins Jr., and clown apparatus and props by Anna Kraus. Circus art and graphics are by Kris Kish, D. Morris and Ian Pitts. The production stage manager is John Dimitri, assisted by Ashleigh Gilfort. Jeremy D. Thompson produces for Open Fist Theatre Company; Kelsey Kusinitz is associate producer. The Great Clown Bank Show is made possible in part by the generous support of Drew Thaler.
