By Della Hasselle
DNAinfo Reporter/Producer
MIDTOWN — "Ghetto Klown," the new Broadway play that takes the audience behind the scenes of star actor and comedian John Leguizamo's path to fame, opens for previews Monday night.
The one-man show at the Lyceum Theater on West 45th Street chronicles Leguizamo's life from his teenage years in Queens through his rise to stardom in Hollywood movies including director Baz Luhrmann's "Romeo + Juliet" and "Moulin Rouge" and Brian De Palma's "Carlito's Way."
Leguizamo's show follows his other biographical performances including "Mambo Mouth," "Freak," and "Sexaholic...A Life Story," but focuses on the actor's early days during the city's avant-garde theater scene of the 80's, according to the show's website.
In addition to revealing embarrassing teen moments, Leguizamo also shares stories from the on the film sets of "Moulin Rouge," "Romeo + Juliet," "Executive Decision," "Carlito’s Way" and the 1995 cross-dressing hit he did with Wesley Snipes and Patrick Swayze, "To Wong Foo, Thanks for Everything, Julie Newmar," the New York Times reported.
Before the opening of the show, directed by "Short Circuit" legend Fisher Stevens, Leguizamo made a point to joke about the frank nature of the all-revealing show.
"Ghetto Klown is all the things I say to my therapist and my manager, but would NEVER want the general public to know," Leguizamo said in the release.
"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."
Directed by Fisher Stevens, "Ghetto Klown" will begin previews on Feb. 21 and open March 22 at the Lyceum Theater on 149 W. 45th Street, between Sixth and Seventh avenues.
