Theater: ‘Clown Bar’ turns Rockford’s West Side Showroom into 1930s speakeasy

ROCKFORD, Ill. (WTVO) — Clown Bar, a “Clown Noir Play” written by Adam Szymkowicz, opened at Rockford’s West Side Showroom, 1414 N Main Street, on May 2nd, transforming the theater into a sinister early 20th-century speakeasy.

Patrons were given a password to access the stage show speakeasy.

Audience members are encouraged to come early, up to an hour before the play begins, to mingle with the actors and buy drinks from the stage bar.

Set in the 1930s, the part-play, part-cabaret experience is focused on the story of Happy Mahoney, a former clown turned cop, who returns to his former hangout, a bar run by gangster clowns, to solve his brother’s murder.

Director Epic Jones says, “As a kid, I was always super interested in haunted houses and amusement park rides, and so this play presented an opportunity to transform our space. It’s kind of like an Alice in Wonderland down the rabbit hole experience where you go from the everyday world into the world of magic and illusion.”

Jones said each production at the West Side Showroom can cost the company anywhere from $10,000 to $20,000 to put on. However, tickets to the performances are free through their public access theater program.

“We’re super passionate about sharing theater with everyone in the community,” Jones explained. “We see it as a partnership between ourselves and the community, our audience. We make the tickets free, and we welcome donations from those people in the audience who would like to donate. That’s how we pay for the productions that they see.”

Clown Bar will run until May 18th, 2025, and is intended for mature audiences.