Mundelein actor juggles comic act, serious theater roles
Philip Earl Johnson entertains thousands of people at Renaissance Faires across the country with his finely honed physical comedy and improvisational clowning skills as "MooNiE the Magnif'Cent: Juggler, Ropewalker, FooLiSh MoRTaL!"
But there's also a more serious acting side to the 50-year-old Mundelein resident, and Johnson is currently making his TimeLine Theatre debut in the Chicago premiere of Dominic Orlando's based-on-a-true-story conspiracy theory drama "Danny Casolaro Died for You."
"At Renaissance Faires around the country, I am a very well-known commodity," Johnson said, adding that he has more than 6,000 clowning shows under his belt. "At every festival, I've got 300 to 500 people at every show, and I've built that audience over 20 years. It's fun, so it's not like I'm going to work at McDonald's, but I consider myself an actor, and that's my first love."
On stage, Johnson plays characters who are often miles away from his comic persona, and he exercises different acting muscles on a much smaller scale for his theater work. Consider how TimeLine mostly produces its shows in a church annex that typically seats fewer than 90, while Writers Theatre staged the Jeff Award-winning "The Dance of Death" - Johnson's last production - in the back of the Glencoe bookstore Books on Vernon.
His roles in those two plays were very different. In August Strindberg's "The Dance of Death," Johnson played the malleable cousin Kurt, "the ultimate beta male." At TimeLine, he stars as political operative Robert Nichols.
"It was one for the ages to be working with Larry Yando and Shannon Cochran in that material for 50 people each show. It was unbelievable," Johnson said of his experience at Writers. "And to be able to turn around and do an alpha male character (at TimeLine) where he makes all the rules and he says what is going to be talked about ... is extraordinarily fun. It leaves a mark."
Johnson has plenty of experience performing classical pieces, like his 2013 take on the title character of Moliere's "Tartuffe" at Chicago's Court Theatre. Yet he relishes the chance to collaborate with living playwrights. He is proud of his work with Orlando on his revised second production of "Danny Casolaro Died for You," with Conor McPherson on his new English adaptation of "The Dance of Death" and with Dan LeFranc for his critically acclaimed world premiere of "The Big Meal" in 2011 for American Theater Company in Chicago.
"Working with the playwright is like he's the rock star in the room. He's the one that created the thing and we're all in a sense in service because the words are everything," said Johnson. "We can influence the writing by the acting choices that we make in rehearsals."
Johnson has nothing but praise for the artistic and producing team at TimeLine, particularly because the company understands how the cast juggles other acting jobs during the run of a show. His own recent acting gigs include an appearance on NBC's "Chicago Fire."
To perform in theater productions this year, Johnson said he passed on many lucrative Renaissance Faire job offers and touring theater gigs with his frequent clowning collaborator, Brian Howard (aka "Broon"). Johnson said it's a dilemma many actors face, whether to go with work that will financially support your family or to pursue lower-paying jobs that are more artistically fulfilling.
"It's such a different experience to see me doing my show where I'm whimsical, joyful and fun and people are laughing nonstop for 30- to 40 minutes. And then people come to see me as a bad guy like Robert Nichols where it's a little jarring," said Johnson. "I feel that I'm one of the luckiest performers I know to work successfully and regularly in both mediums - in the comedy/variety world and also in the straight-legit theater world and to have a career in both."
“Danny Casolaro Died for You”
Location: TimeLine Theatre, 615 W. Wellington Ave., Chicago, (773) 281-8463 or
timelinetheatre.comShowtimes: 7:30 Wednesday and Thursday, 8 p.m. Friday, 4 and 8 p.m. Saturday (also Nov. 28), 2 p.m. Sunday through Dec. 21 (no show Nov. 27)Tickets: $39-$52Special post-show performance: Philip Earl Johnson leads a discussion exploring the history and connections of vaudeville and “legit” theater following the 2 p.m. matinee on Sunday, Dec. 7. Admission is free for “Danny Casolaro Died for You” ticketholders.