B'way run of 'Ghetto Klown' extended

NEW YORK, March 21 (UPI) -- The Broadway run of writer-actor John Leguizamo's fifth one-man show, "Ghetto Klown," has been extended, the play's producers said.

The show, directed by Fisher Stevens, is to open Tuesday night at Manhattan's Lyceum Theatre. The play began preview performances Feb. 21 and was slated for a 12-week run.

The producers announced Monday it has been extended through July 10.

"I love that all my peoples are showing up to witness the latest chapter of my life on stage," Leguizamo said in a statement. "I want to keep this show open until I've messed up my 10-year-old son enough for him to be my understudy."

"Ghetto Klown" is the latest in Leguizamo's series of autobiographical plays, which include "Mambo Mouth," "Spic-O-Rama," "Freak" and "Sexaholix … a Love Story."

"'Ghetto Klown' is all the things I say to my therapist and my manager, but would never want the general public to know. It's cheaper than a lawsuit and I get to take a bow at the end. It's like Wikileaks but with no international manhunt. Yet," Leguizamo said.

The play is about how he grew up poor in Colombia and New York with a demanding dad and dramatic, hardworking mother, then discovered acting and had various degrees of success in theater, TV and film.

"Ghetto Klown" includes anecdotes about Leguizamo's collaborations with celebrated directors Brian DePalma and Baz Luhrmann, as well as his run-ins with stars such as Sean Penn, Kurt Russell, Al Pacino, Steven Seagal and Patrick Swayze.