'And Then the Rodeo Burned Down' Off-Broadway review

Are you freaked out by clowns, too? Leave it to Xhloe Rice and Natasha Roland’s innovative, boundary-pushing And Then the Rodeo Burned Down to lure me into rethinking what it means—and doesn’t—to clown around.

The pair, known as Xhloe and Natasha, first conceived of the work in 2022. Ars Nova, the Off-Broadway theater company known for cultivating new works like Natasha, Pierre & the Great Comet of 1812, fast-tracked a full production after its 2025 summer festival run. Rice calls the devised absurdist play about rodeo clown Dale and his shadow a “self-love story.” Still, their reach extends into the bowels (literally—there’s a lot of shit references) of the theatrical ecosystem.

The best place in the world, until the money runs out

Natasha Roland and Xhloe Rice in "And Then the Rodeo Burned Down." — Natasha Roland and Xhloe Rice in “And Then the Rodeo Burned Down.” Photo by Ben Arons.

The show’s central joke—”we can’t afford to keep the lights on,” “we can’t afford a cliché,” “we can’t afford a B-plot”—turns theatrical poverty into a philosophical argument about who decides what art is worth. It’s a mindf*ck in the best possible way.

Scenic designer Emmie Finckel’s traverse stage, an elevated circus ring outfitted with trap doors surrounded by a cacophony of flammable wall hangings and Americana décor, sets the stage. Friends since high school and displaying the kind of synchronicity that comes from years of collaboration, the pair displays equal dexterity in the physical world of Dale and his confrontational shadow as they do in subversive wordplay.

Repeatedly describing the rodeo as “the best place in the world,” Xhloe and Natasha question what it costs to achieve success in one of the rodeo’s most dangerous jobs and also be recognized for it. With big-budget Broadway musicals like Chess and Beaches closing prematurely, the conversation has often centered on the theater industry’s precarious sustainability (despite grossing $1.91 billion for the 2025-26 season).

But the cost to the individual artist often stays in the shadows. Xhloe and Natasha shine a spotlight on the issue in a way that’s also accessible for less industry-invested theatergoers. Let’s hope they can keep the lights on.