Another Review

See if you can find the sentence that's going to give me an eating disorder!


Second City hitches ride on Barack bandwagon

March 25, 2007

BY HEDY WEISS Theater Critic

Sure, the cast of the Second City's new mainstage revue, "Between Barack and a Hard Place," might have just danced around the political phenomenon of the moment. But since the guy in the title happens to live in their own backyard -- and since he appears to have captured the imagination of the multitudes and become the catchall for American identity these days -- director Matt Hovde and his writer-performers decided to fully engage with him. They've even called on old Abe Lincoln for a bit of help.

The show begins with a sort of "we the people" incantation -- "Barack Obama is . . ." -- and then lets each of the actors fill in the blanks. This and subsequent related sketches play tellingly on the notion that Obama is not just a multicultural emblem and dreamcatcher, but a kind of funhouse mirror of self- identification.

Soccer moms love him better than their husbands. The world's "brown people" love him. Kansas-born white people love him. Jews love him. Some gays still love him. (No mention is made of Muslims or Christian evangelists, though this might have added some bite.) Of course, this chameleonlike love potion effect grows increasingly ludicrous.

The revisionism that can shape any president's legacy is dealt with later, in a sketch about Lincoln (the ever-watchable Brian Gallivan). We are reminded of the recent book that suggested Abe might have been gay, and of Lincoln's own shocking words about the future of blacks in this country. There also is some joking about presidential assassination that is just plain unfunny.

Terrorists provide fodder

More happily, amid all this presidential campaign banter, there is the presence of a custom-made, terribly earnest Hillary Clinton in the guise of actress Molly Erdman -- a youthful clone in face, hair and body type.

Not surprisingly, terrorism remains a hot topic; it is deftly dealt with in a perfectly cutting sketch that looks at the way TV journalists often reveal the most vulnerable U.S. targets, and in the process, practically supply potential saboteurs with something resembling a how-to manual.

But there is a neat "Borat"-like bit about Slovenia's membership in "the coalition of the willing"; a wacky song about being socially awkward; sharp quick takes about uniquely Chicago-style contenders in the Olympics and about the rationale of sidewalk smokers; a song (performed by Amber Ruffin) about how good it is to be black now that Middle Eastern terrorists and border-crossing Latinos top the list of undesirables; another song lamenting the fact that no one fears Irish terrorists anymore; a philistine's audio tour of the Art Institute; a little free-form homage to this city's dying jazz and blues clubs, and a few standard-issue sketches about bad marriages.

The cast, which also includes Ithamar Enriquez, Joe Canale and Brad Morris, is polished. The pace is fast. The laughs are plentiful but don't linger very long.

The Reviews Are In

(Warning - some show spoilers ahead)

'Between Barack' Funniest Second City Show In Years
The Chicago Tribune
Chris Jones

Friday, March 23, 2007

If you take the hilarious new Second City revue as a cultural barometer, the strained candidacy of an unloved Hillary Rodham Clinton is being slowly crushed by a charming rival with a Kenyan daddy and a chameleonic ability to be black, white, Jewish, Latino, gay or, in a pinch, a soccer mom. All depending on who is doing the projecting.

Obama as malleable slate for liberal hopes and dreams is the uber text of "Between Barack and a Hard Place," the funniest mainstage show on Wells Street in several years. And in one drop-dead-funny sketch late in the show, that leaves a frustrated Hillary (as played with buttoned-down veracity by the pitch-perfectly geeky Molly Erdman) stuck desperately learning how to be loved. As Erdman plays Hillary, her sincere, recognizable attempt to forge a likable laugh comes out mostly as a series of demonic gurgles.

Far more than in recent years, the show is suffused with political themes — including a mournful Erdman love ballad titled "Where Was This Al Gore Before?" that manages a delicious rhyme between "Tipper" and "zipper." "If the Polar Icecaps Melt," Erdman goes on, warming to her once-soporific, now-rehabilitated idol, "I'll Share My Raft With You."

You could attribute the rise in sharply topical material to the power of the likes of Jon Stewart and (ex-Second Citizen) Stephen Colbert, who do most of their hiring on Wells Street. Not coincidentally, every hopeful male in this show sports a shiny shirt, a striped tie and a short, politico-style haircut. If the best ticket out of Second City to national fame used to be either outrageous edge in the John Belushi or Chris Farley mold, or irony in the Bill Murray, it's now more a matter of looking like a fake news anchor or a slick Georgetown striver. That's the market, and Second City surely has adjusted.

But in all fairness, this show has plenty of nods to the old days. The acerbic, caustic Joe Canale, who had a dazzling, standout show on opening night, has the single funniest routine involving a live audio tour of the Art Institute of Chicago. It's dispensed live from behind a door by a South Side Chicagaw character inclined to confuse Reuben sandwiches with the Rubenesque, and unimpressed by one Mon-ETTE picture of a stack of wheat at 9, followed by a picture of another stack of wheat at, "like, 9:30." This killer skit, performed by Canale and the promising Brad Morris, owes something to "Da Bears" but has a far more complex cultural perspective.

The short "blackouts" are uncommonly good here too. There's one about Attention Surplus Disorder (kid, still, smiling). And early in the show, a wife looking for her husband is told by an Indian character in her living room that hubby is playing cards elsewhere, having outsourced the evening. "Can you fix my computer?" she replies.

Review of 'Between Barack and a Hard Place'
Copley News Service
by Dan Zeff

Friday, March 23, 2007

Second City calls its 94th revue "Between Barack and a Hard Place" and the red-hot junior senator from Illinois is all over the show. The first sketch is an ensemble piece that tweaks Obama's campaign to appeal to all segments of the American electorate, which means in Second City parlance Obama reaching out to illegal Hispanic immigrants, women, gays, and the bigot lobby.

The opening Obama sketch sets the tone for the evening. It's well-paced, well-acted, very funny, and almost affectionate in its satire. As comic performers, the current Second City ensemble is as good as we've seen in recent years. And they are collaborating on a revue that produces continuous laughs from skits that are just the right length.

There are maybe two dozen sketches in the revue, excluding quickie blackouts and only one seemed a little weak - a send-up of how other countries fake their military assistance to the United States in the Iraq war but ultimately bail out. It's a sharp idea but falters on its one-joke premise. Still, as satire its heart is in the right place.

The revue covers the usual broad spectrum of topics--gay/straight relationships, terrorism, bickering husbands and wives, race, Hillary Clinton, improv interaction with the audience, political incorrectness, and Al Gore. As comedy, "Between Barack and a Hard Place" gets a very high grade. But spectators who prefer satire that draws blood may be disappointed. This could be the least angry Second City revue in recent memory. Inevitably, President George W. Bush comes in for a few swipes, but they are injected almost as an afterthought. The company has fun with numerous public targets, but the revue isn't mad at anyone.

My favorite sketch was an improvisation bit with Joe Canale and Ithamar Enriquez playing a pair of grizzled and profane old jazz musicians playing a kazoo and a slide whistle. Some of the material is prepared but the best bits spring from suggestions from the audience. Improvisation is a chancy business. Some nights it works and some nights it's dead in the water. On opening night, Canale and Enriquez were hitting on all cylinders, Enriquez in particular taking us back to the halcyon Second City days of John Belushi.

Brian Gallivan and Brad Morris engage in a hilarious set of verbal exchanges as a couple of delivery men loading potato chip boxes. Gallivan is gay and wry and Morris is straight and square. Their back and forth dialogue is a hoot commentary on gender stereotypes.

The females in the company give as good as they get. Amber Ruffin drolly plays the house African American, notably in a monologue as a funky black funeral director. And she hits some political correctness bull's-eyes in the song "It's Good to be Black," expressing her relief that society's current hostility toward Hispanics and Muslims finally gets blacks off the racist's radar screen. Molly Erdman fondly sings her song in praise of Al Gore and does a nice spiky Hillary Clinton as well as playing an ineffectual guitarist trying to entertain three hypercritical old gaffers at a senior citizen's home.

While public affairs get their share of attention in the revue, many of the choicest moments fall into the personal and domestic categories. A wife is furious because her husband is unable to take the death of their pet cat seriously. The first act finale is a clever bit about the stresses of being socially awkward. One hilarious sketch takes a visitor to the Art Institute of Chicago on a wild and salty audio tour of the collection. Morris conducts a funny improv bit as an accountant preparing the taxes of a ringside customer.

Director Matt Hovde keeps the show moving at a brisk pace, soundly harnessing the many talents of his cast. This is an exceptionally finished and well-rehearsed production, with no rough production edges. The venerable Ruby Streak presides over the musical accompaniment and J Branson has designed a glossy set that accommodates the action well, though nostalgic patrons may miss the traditional double door set that became a Second City hallmark for so many years.

Thoughts on TV

The way the Fox guy says "Viewer Discretion is Advised" at the beginning of every "24" episode has to be the funniest things on TV these days.

In addition to 24, currently on my Tivo roster is Survivor, 30 Rock, The Office, Grey's Anatomy, SNL, Countdown with Keith Olbermann, What Not to Wear, Good Eats, and The Winner. Here's a quick rundown on these shows:

24 - Just when I think it's the same as always, they get me. Lots of good re-appearances from last season.

Survivor - still thinking up new things in it's 39th season or whatever it is. I still don't know who most of the people are, and it's about 5 weeks in.

30 Rock - it's gotten better and better. The weak point of the show is Jane Krakowski; I just don't buy her as a comedian, or as Tina Fey's character's best friend. Alec Baldwin is doing the best work of his career.

The Office - This show has really grown on me, as I think it has many BBC Office snobs. Especially after the first season, which for the most part were slightly-altered BBC episodes. Great cast, great characters.

Grey's Anatomy - Guilty pleasure, plain and simple.

SNL - Tivo is the perfect way to watch this show. Forward through the musical guest and any sketches that are overstaying their welcome. I think Kristen Wiig is one of the best new additions - male or female - to that show in a long time. Very smart and funny without the need to go over-the-top wacky. You can also catch her on season one of the Joe Schmo show, which I highly recommend. Season two was funnier I think, but it's not available on DVD. I also think Seth Meyers is fantastic on Weekend Update. I think he achieves a really good blend of playing it straight and making the jokes.

Countdown, What Not To Wear, and Good Eats - I keep some of these shows on my Tivo for days of boredom, of which there are none right now. I'll mention them again when I'm bored. Just give me a couple of weeks.

The Winner - This is the new Fox show with former Daily Show guy Rob Corddry. I have 4 episodes and haven't watched any of them yet. I hope for Rob's sake this show is better that his brother's achingly bad Studio 60.

Improv in Chicago

Ok, one other thing. I get a handful of emails/myspace messages from people new to Chicago or thinking of moving out here and pursuing improv. I have sort of a set response that I've ended up copying and pasting into a lot of emails, so I figured I'd post it here. It's pretty subjective, but it's my honest advice. Enjoy!



Second City, where I perform on the mainstage, does primarily sketch shows, but all the scenes are created through improv. Plus we do improv "sets" after the shows. The classes in the training center teach both improv and writing a Second City-style revue. You don't have to go through the training center to audition for the touring company (which is the first rung on the performing ladder there); I did, but only the conservatory program (levels 1-5), which you audition for. There also a more basic year's worth of classes (levels A-E), but it's for people who have no idea what improv is. Bottom line, you can live a happy improv life in Chicago without taking classes at Second City.

IO is very much like UCB in New York/LA (the folks who started UCB came from IO and modeled their training center and performances after the program there). If you want to perform at IO, you have to take classes there, but it's a good place to take classes. There are 6 levels of classes which culminate in a performace class; at some point, usually after you complete the last level, you'll be placed on what they call a team, and you'll perform once every week or two, doing a Harold or some similar long form. It may sound like a drag to go through all those classes, but IO classes are pretty valuable. But my biggest piece of advice would be to start at IO as soon as you move here, if you do. (And, if it helps, that's the advice Rachel Dratch gave to me over 10 years ago.)

The other big place to take classes is the Annoyance. The main guy there is Mick Napier, who has directed a lot at Second City, usually runs their auditions, and is basically worshipped by everyone in Chicago. I took 2 classes there and I probably got the most out of them than any other, mainly because they focus a lot on you as an individual.

All of these classes meet once a week for 3 hours. IO does have a summer intensive program where you go through the whole program in - I believe - 6 weeks. Don't quote me on that, but I think you do a level a week. But then of course you're pretty much there all day for 6 weeks.

One of the great things about taking classes is meeting other improvisors. Chicago is wonderful because it's pretty easy to get a group of people together, start an improv or sketch group, rent out a theatre, and put on a show. Places like IO and another place called the Playground rent out spaces just about every night of the week at almost any time. I do shows 6 nights a week at Second City, but I head over to IO at 10:30 on Sunday nights to do a 2-person improv show, and there's always an audience.

As far as sketch, there aren't many places that actually teach it. Second City has a writing program which I've heard good things about. It may actually be better then their improv program, just because it's smaller. And like I said, the latter part of the conservatory program there focuses on writing a show, which you perform for 8 weeks in your final level. IO offers lots of electives which often include writing. Lots of improv groups here will branch out and do sketch shows too - they kind of go hand-in-hand here, at least to some extent. I think that stems from Second City's tradition of creating written material through improv.

If I were to try to sell you on Chicago over New York or LA, I would say that the big difference about Chicago is that performers here care about improv itself, as opposed to improv as career step. That's a generalization, and not to say that people aren't trying to get hired by Second City and on to SNL or whatever, but people here seem to genuinely care about improv and the work they're doing. And it's an easy city to live in, for the most part. And we have lots of talent and casting agents here, and lots of people book commercials, pilots, movies, etc. There's plenty of work to be had.

All that being said, patience is key. I auditioned for Second City 6 times before I got hired for the touring company, and 3 years after that I was put on the mainstage. 400-600 people a year audition for Second City, 0-7 of whom are hired. But there are other ways to make a living through improv - there are lots of corporate workshops to teach and other money-making gigs. You do have to be creative at times, it's true. But what people discover here is that they find terrific, sometimes better, opportunities while waiting for Second City to come knocking.

Oh yeah, I forgot ComedySportz. It's short form improv and lots of fun. They treat their performers very well and lots of people make a living just working for them. I think these days you have to go through their training center to audition for them, which is 4 8-week sessions. Sorry I don't know more about that one.

I hope this helps shed a little light on the scene here. Good luck!

Me again

Oh boy, I'm really sorry. Thanks to those who keep checking back here.

Our show opens on March 22, just over a week away. It's getting pretty exciting - pretty much knowing what's going to be in the show, but re-working things and figuring out the running order - but it also tends to be pretty anxiety-producing. But I think the show's going to be a lot of fun, both to watch and to do. Please come see it.

And speaking of seeing shows, I have to make an appeal to audience members. I may have brought this up before, and if I have, please forgive me. But you know what's worse than not laughing at something? Making that kind of hissing/blowing air out quickly sound. The kind of sound that says "Ok, if that's the joke you want to make."

So Michael Keaton came to our first show last night, but unfortunately didn't stick around afterwards. Mr. Mom is one of my all-time favorite movies, so I was a little disappointed that I didn't get to meet Mr. Mom himself, but it was a bit of a relief since I still haven't completely overcome my fear of celebrities. But it would have been cool to meet him.

I feel like I owe you more to make up for my absense, but I'm drawing a blank right now. More later, I promise.