Suburban actor balances clowning, acting
One thing Philip Earl Johnson has learned over nearly three decades performing is to give audiences what they want.
Several years ago, while performing as his clown alter-ego MooNiE the Magnif'Cent, the Libertyville native chose - as he typically does - an assistant from an audience several hundred strong.
"He wanted to be on stage so bad," said Johnson, a veteran actor now appearing in Goodman Theatre's "An Enemy of the People." "I could tell he was intoxicated, but the audience was cheering me on.
"I thought 'OK people, you wanted it, you got it.'"
With the audience's permission, Johnson risked inviting the man onstage. But that's what his clowning is all about.
"You have to be fearless ... You have to be willing to risk that the audience will turn on you," he said.
But, he added, if you are fully committed, "it's amazing how far they will travel with you."
The laugh-out-loud exchange that ensued testified not only to the audience member's good nature, but more significantly to Johnson's considerable skills as a clown, improviser, tightrope walker and fire juggler.
"When something happens out of the ordinary, that we all know is just a little out of control, it is a little bit scary," he acknowledged, "but it makes the comedy so much more alive."
Johnson wouldn't trade those moments for anything.
"If I was doing my show at the Jewel I'd be in prison," jokes the actor who resides in the Mundelein home where his father grew up. "(The audience) gives me license to lampoon, to parody, to create moments with perfect strangers."
And memorable moments they are. A Daily Herald editor recalls fondly the time years ago Johnson - as MooNiE - invited her onstage at the Bristol Renaissance Faire in Kenosha, where he has performed for 20 years.
But Chicago theater audiences know him as an accomplished actor who has appeared at Goodman, Paramount, Writers, Court, TimeLine and Steppenwolf theaters among others.
Currently he's starring opposite Scott Jaeck in Goodman's new adaptation of "An Enemy of the People," Henrik Ibsen's ever-relevant drama about two brothers who wind up on opposite sides when contaminated water imperils their community.
The production, directed by Robert Falls, marks Johnson's first time performing Ibsen. He plays Dr. Thomas Stockman, an antihero who tries to warn his city about a pollution crisis.
"He has a lot of flaws and faults. He's not delicate. He doesn't respond well to challenges other than with blind courage and blind faith," he said.
Johnson knew from the age of 7 that he wanted to be an actor. As a student at Libertyville High School, he attended a summer training program at Goodman that solidified his ambition. After graduating from college and realizing making a living in theater posed a challenge, he created the MooNiE show, which he's performed for 28 years.
"As an artist, I love doing theater, it's my first love," he said. But Johnson loves clowning almost as much as acting.
"I've gotten so much from MooNiE. I'm utterly grateful," he said.
But the shows haven't always been smooth sailing. A fellow clown once advised Johnson his first 200 shows were going to be bad and he just had to get through them.
That advice has served him well in all his professional endeavors.
"It's your job to get out there and be better the next time," he said. "Keep going. Keep focused. Improve. Keep your eye on positive, forward-moving progress."
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"An Enemy of the People"
When: 2 and 7:30 p.m. Sunday; 7:30 p.m. Wednesday and Thursday; 8 p.m. Friday; 2 and 8 p.m. Saturday through April 15
Where: Goodman Theatre, 170 N. Dearborn St., Chicago. (312) 443-3800 or goodmantheatre.org
Tickets: $25-$80