John Leguizamo focuses on Broadway

John Leguizamo is bringing along some funny stories about Hollywood.

New York: John Leguizamo is coming back to Broadway and he`s bringing along some funny stories about Hollywood.

The 46-year-old comedian-actor said Wednesday that the latest instalment of his one-man autobiographical shows will explore "how movies kind of became distractions" in his career as an artist. It will mark his first return to live performing in a decade. The show, ‘Ghetto Klown,’ traces his beginnings as a performer, from his days doing experimental theatre to his time on TV`s ‘Miami Vice’ to his list of movie credits that include starring with Sean Penn in ‘Casualties of War,’ Steven Seagal in ‘Executive Decision,’ Patrick Swayze and Wesley Snipes in ‘To Wong Foo Thanks for Everything, Julie Newmar,’ and Al Pacino in ‘Carlito`s Way.’ "The movies gave me cachet and some wider exposure but they didn`t give me the creative satisfaction that I was questing," Leguizamo said by phone from Cartagena, Colombia. ‘Ghetto Klown’ is the fourth instalment of his deeply personal series of one-man shows that include ‘Spic-O-Rama,’ ‘Freak’ and ‘Sexaholix.’ In each, he has delved into his childhood, his dysfunctional parents, his strutting friends and his views on sex, all the while lampooning Irish lasses, Italian toughs and Latino attitudes. Can the audience expect some behind-the-scenes Hollywood gossip in the new show? "There`ll be plenty of dishing, but it`ll be for the right reasons," said Leguizamo. "When it`s a two-hour show, people don`t want to sit there just for gossip and tales out of school. There`s got to be a lot more. I have to be more tough on myself than on them." ‘Ghetto Klown’ was showcased in earlier incarnations in cities including Philadelphia; New Haven, Conn.; Santa Fe, N.M.; Berkeley, Calif.; Toronto, and at Montreal`s Just for Laughs Festival. The show will be fine-tuned in Chicago between Feb. 1-12 and will officially open March 22 on Broadway during its 12-week run. Leguizamo won an Emmy for his monologue ‘Freak,’ which originally appeared on Broadway in 1998. He was nominated for a Golden Globe Award for his supporting role in 1995`s ‘To Wong Foo Thanks for Everything, Julie Newmar.’ He is also know as the voice of Syd in the ‘Ice Age’ trilogy. After ‘Ghetto Klown,’ how many more episodes will there be of his life? "This will be my last personal one," he said. "The next one`s going to be like an Eddie Izzard show. He`s my new mentor. I want to do historical and free-association — and not scripted." Bureau Report