Actor-playwright-monologist John Leguizamo will return to Chicago Feb. 1-12 to break in his new Broadway-bound show, “Ghetto Klown” (which is being called “John Leguizamo Warms Up” here, for reasons unknown). The show will play the Royal George Theatre for two weeks only, prior to beginning performances Feb. 21 at the Lyceum Theatre in New York. Lequizamo probably will tour in it following its limited-engagement Broadway run, so it’s likely to return to Chicago at some point. But you can see it first. With tickets at $40-$45, it’s a very good deal to see a Broadway try-out.

In the course of his extremely diverse career, Leguizamo has earned a reputation as a chameleon performer in roles ranging from drag to the fat, evil clown in “Spawn.” He’s played opposite Mark Wahlberg, Arnold Schwarzenegger, Robert DeNiro and Nicole Kidman among others. Among his one-man Broadway shows, which have brought him a devoted following quite apart from his extensive screen work, are “Sexaholix” and the award-winning “Spic-O-Rama.”