Inspired by Bertolt Brecht's inflammatory play Baal, Clive tracks a dissipated songwriter in 1990s New York City from the hedonistic heights of seduction and consumption into an ecstasy of self-destruction. At once a celebration and a nightmare vision of life lived for pleasure, Clive boasts an eclectic selection of classic American songs performed live.
What Is the Story of Clive?
Based on Bertolt Brecht’s controversial play Baal, Clive tells the story of an aging rocker who struggles to connect with a whirlwind of friends and lovers while his music career declines and his drug addiction intensifies. As his self-destructive personality takes over, the things that once made Clive happy (drugs, sex and fame) come back to haunt him.
"Jonathan Marc Sherman’s 'Clive,' directed by and starring Ethan Hawke, has Derek McLane’s perfect sleazy setting, Jeff Croiter’s evocative lighting, and Gaines' dark music to tell a somber tale of decadence and self-destruction."
Backstage
David Sheward
"Even delivering annotative lines like 'They exit,' [Vincent] D’Onofrio exudes a gleeful, dangerous heat."
The New York Times
Ben Brantley
"[Ethan] Hawke succeeds at conveying his character’s combination of childlike selfishness combined with adult cruelty, as Clive’s boozing and drugging and lust and treachery send him into a downward spiral of deterioration."
Associated Press
Jennifer Farrar