Timothy Edward Mason, Tim Robinson, Sam Richardson, Edgar Blackmon/Photo: Michael Brosilow

“God works in mischievous ways” seems to be the subtext of an ambitious attempt to take the sketch-comedy-revue format beyond its traditional contours in the ninety-ninth mainstage show at the Second City. This ensemble, along with director Billy Bungeroth, has created a through line in the sketches, something about the inevitability of fate and the intertwined blend of heaven and dreams, of divinity and subconscious. While the ambition is compelling, the outcome is a few too many flat, over-long sketches with messages that border on maudlin, like the mother who counsels her son on bullying or the bit where a dead man reunites in heaven with a dead son. And short bits riffing on Jay Cutler and Brett Favre seem especially disconnected from the larger premise, not to mention out of season. More effective is the sense of fractured chaos rendered by “God,” i.e. the control booth, in seemingly random bursts of explosive sounds, “technical difficulties” and spotlights that intentionally miss their mark. It’s unsettling in an intriguing way, a sensation underlined in a few strong sketches that seem as much performance art as comedy. In one, a typical Second City premise—a swooning couple enters a horse-drawn carriage—devolves into a sadistic display of man-versus-animal brutality with a bizarre ending that tweaks the idea of fate’s inevitability. A sketch exploring the contemporary place of privacy in our culture, inspired by the TSA’s new full-body x-rays, is as fascinatingly disturbing as it is funny. Read the rest of this entry »

Once upon a podcast, comedians Mike David and Kyle Lane morphed from DIY radio hosts to successful comedy club owners in one quick year. On Friday, the pair toasts the first anniversary of their Red Bar Comedy Club with a nice ol’ roast. Local comics and friends will unleash the rollicking truth (and perhaps some falsehood) of David and Lane in a free show at the club’s Ontourage home. “Hand-picked by us,” says David, “these are the best comics of the year.”

As host of Red Bar Radio, David has been broadcasting comedy over Chicago’s airwaves for nine years. Lane joined him in 2007, when the duo noticed a gaping hole in the city’s comedy outlets.

“For a city this big, there is no reason there should only be one club,” David says, naming Zanies as the only unequivocal standup venue. Underground comedy abounds, but many of those shows are organized by comics who have little resources for polished presentations, explains David. “We found a different way to do it: we share space with a nightclub that’s been around for years. We can charge a little without worrying about spending.” (Friday night’s show is free, but Red Bar charges a $10 cover with no drink minimum for regularly scheduled shows.) Read the rest of this entry »

The Backrow: Sarah Wonak, Nick Baer, Matthew Meador, Alexandra Argentar

With literally hundreds of theaters, from Steppenwolf to the storefronts, Chicago is a mecca for would-be actors and comedians. Every year thousands of kids fresh out of college sign up for classes at iO or Second City with dreams of becoming the next Bill Murray/Chris Farley/Tina Fey/insert famous funny person’s name here. Growing up in Chicago in the nineties felt like having a backstage pass at the epicenter of the comedy world—my friends and I to this day talk about seeing Tim Meadows and Chris Farley at iO do a bit about interracial dating, or seeing Adam McKay (director of “Anchorman,” “Talladega Nights,” etc), Rachel Dratch (SNL) and Scott Adsit (“30 Rock”) in “Pinata Full of Bees.” Hell, I even went to high school with a guy who was on MADtv (Ike Barinholtz, if you want to look him up).

But that’s the thing, you don’t get famous staying in Chicago. Yes, TJ Jagodowski and Dave Pasquesi are local heroes, adored for their craft. But if you live outside of the cloistered Chicago comedy community you’d have no idea who they were. My friend Michael McCarthy (creator of “Big News!” who now, incidentally, lives in LA writing for “Mike & Molly”) would often refer to Chicago as “The graduate school of the comedy world.” Read the rest of this entry »

Angie McMahon can finally breathe again. Chicago’s satellite Rally to Restore Sanity and/or Fear had its day, and now McMahon will have her own. In a sense, she will still be working, but this time in her comfort zone, on the stage, where she will be producing and starring in—a baby shower.

“It was my idea to have one last hurrah,” says McMahon of her baby shower special this coming Sunday. “It will be the first time since I was five that I’ll be off the stage that long.”

After McMahon talks “all things considered”—the rally, directing and producing, her first daughter and her forthcoming second child, the ladies at Chemically Imbalanced Comedy will perform improvisational sketches based on her candid stories. Sketch-comedy group Slightly Altered will open for the resident artists.

After the duress of producing the rally, McMahon is taking caution with having her second daughter but is not necessarily thrilled about the hiatus. “It’s the nature of being a performer. I’m slightly nervous about taking such a long break from the stage. After four or five months away, it’s like starting over again.” (Kristine Sherred)

November 14 at Chemically Imbalanced Comedy, 1420 West Irving Park, 8pm. $10, BYOB.

Sam Richardson/Photo: John McCloskey

The opening gag in Second City’s 98th mainstage revue dares audiences to break the fourth wall, and it involves not a single cast member in sight.

It is a radical moment (best experienced firsthand) for such a mainstream, name-brand comedy theater.  At Second City, audiences have been conditioned to assume nothing too uncomfortable will be asked of them, but suddenly that usual sit-back-and-relax ethos becomes sit-up-and-take-notice.

I don’t want to oversell what is really just a brief moment in the show, but it does upend the Second City formula just enough to suggest that “Spoiler Alert: Everybody Dies” might be headed in some intriguing and unpredictable directions. That the show is in fact as traditional as any of its predecessors probably isn’t that surprising.

I find it’s best to assess Second City on its own terms—the comedy is of a certain type and style—and director Matt Hovde and his cast have brought strong concepts to the stage. The execution is another matter. Read the rest of this entry »

Demian Krentz

Admit it. When the Civil War comes to mind, you immediately think, “big laughs.” No? Well the creative minds behind “Shoot Faster, Dear Brother, I’m Dying! (a Civil War Comedy),” which takes the stage this week at the Apollo Studio Theater, 2540 North Lincoln, aim to change that.

This idea to write a comedy based on the time of The War Between the States came from an unprovoked email exchange between writer-performer Demian Krentz and writer-performer Joe Anderson. “At the time I was living in Lansing, Michigan. Joe and I had worked on a couple of plays in Michigan and I just decided to write him an email as if I was talking to my brother in a field in a war,” Krentz says. “He wrote me back in the same form and we realized it was turning into a funny idea.”

Krentz explains that the play, about two brothers who live in Virginia while one of them is fighting in the war and its aftermath, is a condensed version of a book they were going to write until they both agreed it would be better acted out. “It’s a ridiculous take on life back then,” Krentz says. “I’m a history nerd; it’s always great to imagine what people who lived before us did.” If you, too, would like to explore the funny side of The Late Unpleasantness, visit shootfaster.com or call (773)935-6100. (Ashley Abramowicz)

Lisa Pederson's hoot of a Halloween costume, a year after mastectomy

For thirty years, ever since she was a teenager, Lisa Pedersen has been told that she should do comedy. After surviving cancer, she finally decided to give it a shot and started performing at the “Your Sunday Best” open-mic at Schubas.

“I’m trying to spread the word about cancer,” she says. Pedersen wants people to remember that it’s out there but if we remain positive things will get better. “I had a lot of surgeries and pain but I always maintained my sense of humor,” she says.

Starting June 5 at 11pm and running Saturday nights through June 26, Pederson will be performing her one-hour standup-comedy act “Laughing in the Face of Cancer” at Gorilla Tango Theatre, 1919 North Milwaukee. Pedersen plans to donate her proceeds from the $10 tickets to the shows to Imerman Angels, an organization that connects cancer fighters with cancer survivors.

Cancer is a sensitive subject; Pedersen hopes her act will help people feel more comfortable asking questions.

“I expected someone to say that’s inappropriate and wrong but that’s not been the case,” she says of her show. “People who are struggling want to be laughing and enjoying life,” Pedersen says. “Things happen but we have to keep moving forward.”

This is not just a show for cancer survivors: Pederson promises that everybody will be able to appreciate her humor because everyone’s life has been touched by cancer in one way or another.

“The humor will hopefully remind people that they are not alone and it’s okay to laugh—it’s okay to laugh at yourself.” (Ashley Abramowicz)

Tom Flanigan, Tim Baltz, Beth Melewski, Brendan Jennings, Christina Anthony, Mary Sohn

RECOMMENDED

If there is one reason to see Second City’s thirty-fourth revue on the e.t.c. stage, his name is Brendan Jennings, one of the newer writer-performers in the cast who makes his presence known with a good-natured mania that is impossible to ignore.

Of the many talents who’ve worked on Second City’s stages in recent years, Jennings seems the most suited for “Saturday Night Live.” Whether that’s in his future is another matter, but Jennings has a lot of qualities that work well on TV. There’s an inherent sweetness to his comedy and, like Will Ferrell, he has enough personal charisma to play it broad—almost too broad—and still keep it interesting.

He doesn’t display much versatility, but he has the loose physicality of a frat-boy party animal, and a real knack for the comedy of humiliation. I will not soon forget his primal scream of rage as he stood dressed in a pair of Daisy Dukes hiked up his butt crack, wailing about his miserable life. Jennings screams like a girl, a trait that is both hilarious and a clever bit of comedy; you are always on his side, no matter how ridiculous and ass-cheek-exposing that side may be. Read the rest of this entry »

Less than two weeks before what would have been a marquee show featuring two all-time legends of stand-up comedy, Mort Sahl and Dick Gregory, Lakeshore Theater surprised the arts community by announcing its imminent closure this evening.

Here’s the text of the press release: we’re assuming it’s not an April Fool’s joke, though we wish it was.

CHICAGO, IL | April 1, 2010 – The Lakeshore Theater announced today that operations at the venue will cease on April 10th.

Lakeshore co-owner and Executive Producer Chris Ritter said “It saddens me deeply to announce the closing of the Lakeshore. While revenues have continued to grow over the last three years and the Lakeshore brand of comedy, music and good times has successfully taken hold, current revenues are simply insufficient to fund ongoing operations as well as much needed plant repairs and improvements needed to take the company to the next level of success.” Read the rest of this entry »

Mick Napier has directed plenty of shows at Annoyance Theatre, none of which however, have been sketch comedy. This is the same Napier who founded Annoyance Theatre, directed more than fifteen sketch revues at Second City, directed David Sedaris’ “One Woman Shoe” and directed “Exit 57” for Comedy Central. This is why his mates at Annoyance are so excited that Napier is premiering his newest sketch show, “The Swear Jar,” at his home base, so to speak. “It’s very dirty,” half-laughs managing director Tyler Wolff-Ormes. “And he’s definitely taking advantage of the no-holds-barred attitude of Annoyance.” With musical direction by Lisa McQueen and  a cast featuring Vanessa Bayer, Aidy Bryant, Angela Dawe, Colleen Murray, Andrew Peyton, Conner O’ Malley, Brian Wilson and Chris Witaske, Wolff-Ormes expects great things. “I’m really excited about the cast,” he says. “It’s a powerhouse cast.” The show, $15, opens March 27 and runs through May 1. (Peter Cavanaugh)