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John Leguizamo’s Broadway therapy

Actor, writer and monologist John Leguizamo is now officially a professional therapy patient. By that, I mean that we're paying him for the therapy that is his latest one-man show - a conceit he puts forward himself in Ghetto Klown, a theatrical autobiography that opened Tuesday night on Broadway, at the Lyceum Theatre.

Actor, writer and monologist John Leguizamo is now officially a professional therapy patient. By that, I mean that we're paying him for the therapy that is his latest one-man show - a conceit he puts forward himself in Ghetto Klown, a theatrical autobiography that opened Tuesday night on Broadway, at the Lyceum Theatre.

The immensely talented Leguizamo, a fine character actor in scores of films, has also made a name for himself on stage, primarily work based on parts of his life. This one's an all-out autobiography, and he's been developing it for some years; Philadelphians saw it last summer when Leguizamo was calling it Klass Klown.

The Broadway version seems a bit much in two acts, and contains some business I don't understand; what are all Leguizamo's little dances that introduce the parts of his life spanning spanning four-plus decades? But there's no doubt about the man's talent for storytelling - and for writing. Leguizamo has an easy way with getting you involved in his life. After a half-hour, it's almost like an old pal is revealing himself to you, complete with well-crafted jokes and spot-on timing.

He's endearing when he speaks about his career, self-depricating when he speaks about himself and especially his relationship with a father who both intimidated and infuriated him, and who has left and indelible mark on his psyche. When it comes to revealing his home life Leguizamo is more like an old pal than you may want - he may just be giving you a little too much information.