'Ha Ha Ha Ha Ha Ha Ha' Off-Broadway review — Julia Masli uses clowning for problem-solving
Read our review of Ha Ha Ha Ha Ha Ha Ha off Broadway, an acclaimed solo clown and comedy show by Julia Masli, playing at The Public Theater through June 22.
The performance I saw of Julia Masli’s clown show Ha Ha Ha Ha Ha Ha Ha will not be the performance you see. That’s the natural logic of any kind of live performance, but for clowns, and perhaps Masli in particular, its shining glory is being as alive and ever-changing as the audience from show to show.
Wrapped in a kind of deep-blue fashion resembling a copy of a copy of Rei Kawakubo, Masli’s presence feels like if performance artist Marina Abramovic had self-help guru Brené Brown for lunch. Masli has big, wide eyes, round cheeks, and a total lack of fear. She’s here to help.
On the one hand, Masli’s show reminds us that death, brokenness, and failure are natural parts of life, the ghostly music and her ethereal speaking voice Lynchian, but in a very soothing way. On the other, it doesn’t stop her from diving into the audience’s problems, going through them one by one with utter sincerity, even if the solutions are completely bizarre.
Early in the show, she took a man in the front row’s wooden seat and slammed it on the floor until it broke into many pieces. She later led the audience member by the hand to a set of tools and said in her calm tone, “Fix our broken world.” When she asked a person in the crowd her standard prompt, “Prooobbbllleemmm???”, and he responded “the rising tides of fascism,” she turned to the man fixing his chair, as if combining the solutions to these tasks.
One person spoke of their twin’s fiancée being too mean, which led Masli to encourage she call the twin's phone, climaxing in the entire audience leaving a voice message telling him he’s awesome and deserves beautiful things. Another recounted memories of their recently passed father and his love of macaroni and cheese. Still another expressed his current economic frustrations. Masli took all of these issues with just the right amount of earnestness and right amount of gonzo strangeness.
Every show will be different, and yet they will also be similar in their core values. Though each audience will bring with them a set of different problems, anxieties, and issues requiring different unhinged solutions provided by Masli, so many of them are connected to larger ideas about self-worth, labor, and intimacy. Masli reworks the clown not as someone whose sole purpose is to reveal foolishness in herself or the audience, but rather as a caretaker and healer.
Many performers, clown or otherwise, toy with the boundaries separating artist and spectator. But Ha Ha Ha Ha Ha Ha Ha’s format requires Masli to sledgehammer through those walls, as if suggesting art's power to connect people is only possible if there is no boundary in the first place.
Ha Ha Ha Ha Ha Ha Ha summary
With a gold mannequin leg as her left arm, a bike helmet with a UV light snaking around on top, and a bright wristwatch light on her right arm, Estonian-born, London-based clown Julia Masli winds her way through the crowd and asks in a soft voice, “Problem?” She then spends the evening trying to both sincerely and totally absurdly solve the audience’s problems.
What to expect at Ha Ha Ha Ha Ha Ha Ha
The first row of Ha Ha Ha Ha Ha Ha Ha is what would be considered the “splash zone,” and anyone sitting there should be prepared to have Masli approach them and ask for their problem. The atmosphere is surprisingly serene for a comedy or clown show, due in no small part to Masli’s genuine curiosity toward her audience member’s reactions and potential problems. The thing to expect at Ha Ha Ha Ha Ha Ha Ha is the unexpected.
What audiences are saying about Ha Ha Ha Ha Ha Ha Ha
Audiences at the previous NYC run of Ha Ha Ha Ha Ha Ha Ha, off Broadway at Soho Playhouse in 2024, praised its spirit of community and unique premise.
- “Hilarious but empathetic; gets audience members to pour out their hearts/partiipate; turns audience into supportive community.” - Show-Score user Bruce 6
- “This is a very unique theatrical experience. There is no story here and it's only as good as the audience is.” - Show-Score user NewtoNYC
- “Perfect show in these problemaic [sic] times! Felt noticably lighter after leaving. Restored faith in humanity vibes!” - Show-Score user Brett M
Read more audience reviews of Ha Ha Ha Ha Ha Ha Ha on Show-Score.
Who should see Ha Ha Ha Ha Ha Ha Ha
- People should attend if they're curious about watching someone take clowning to the next level, not as mockery (of the self or audience) but as a form of bridge-building.
- Audience members with a problem might be drawn to see if Julia Masli, in all her weirdo clown as therapist glory, might be able to solve it.
- Theatregoers looking to have a communal experience are highly encouraged to see this show that relies on interactions with Masli and each other.
Learn more about Ha Ha Ha Ha Ha Ha Ha
Julia Masli puts an immense amount of faith into the potential power performance has in times of social and political uncertainty, or even the daily humiliations and sadness everyone faces. Her big eyes drink in her spectators’ problems, and she takes on each task with determination, no matter how strange or insurmountable it may seem. Masli makes the theatre her doctor’s office, and the doctor is in.
Photo credit: Julia Masli in Ha Ha Ha Ha Ha Ha Ha. (Photos by Cameron Whitman)
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