Showing posts with label Second City. Show all posts
Showing posts with label Second City. Show all posts

Sunday, August 20, 2017

Second City was second rate in D.C.


The cast of Second City in Almost Accurate Guide to America: Divided We Stand included Tyler Davis, Ross Taylor, Angela Alise, Chucho Perez, Katie Kershaw, and Ryan Asher/Kennedy Center and Second City

This was a comedy?  

That's the way it was billed in the Kennedy Center promotion, but "hilarious" it was not.

With a song about abortions?  

A skit on "Black Heaven"?  

Please. 

We expected comedy, since we were in "the need for a good laugh!" like the promo promised, and/or certainly politics since the Kennedy Center described Second City's Almost Accurate Guide to America: Divided We Stand, "a show that focuses as much on the people as the politics."

Huh?  

Little to nada, except for the standard, tiresome Trump and Steve Bannon jokes.  (Capitol Steps was sold out.)  

The second act was all improv which didn't fare nearly as well as the first act when the cast used a crutch from the audience in the person of Colin from Arlington, 14 going on 16.

If there was a costume designer, that would have been a surprise since apparel was everyday and mundane. Not much in the way of props, other than chairs, and for lighting: lavendar and pink backdrops on patterned windows.
  
This is not to criticize the ability of the actors. Far from it.  I have been lucky enough to attend two of their performances in Chicago which leaves one marveling at the talent and how they pull it off.
   
But at this show, the improv needed improv.

As my friend, Maureen, said:  "When they have to rely on the F-bomb for every other word, you know they've reached their limit." And as for my smart friend, Catherine, whom we ran into before the show started, she left at intermission!

Not worth $67!

Fifteen minutes until Kim Jong-un's missiles reach the U.S. 
Do what you want to do now! And do it fast.  
Like, head for the exit!
Ross Taylor, center, and other cast members from Second City's Almost Accurate Guide to America: Divided We Stand/Kennedy Center and Second City

patricialesli@gmail.com

Tuesday, January 3, 2012

Second City at Woolly Mammoth was ?




Peter Marks must have seen another Second City performance from the one at Woolly Mammoth I saw which only referenced Chicago in political scenes;  Barack Obama is not local. 
Do WE care that much about Chicago? No.
Do WE care what Chicago eats?  No.
Do WE care about television furniture ads in Chicago?  No.

Its baseball teams' rivalry? No.
Was I expecting some political comedy?  Yes.
Really, is coarse language the de rigueur of contemporary theater? It grows tiresome. I guess to be hip with the younger set, it's a requirement. (But it was not a younger audience at the performance I attended.)
Years ago when I saw the troupe in Chicago on two occasions, they were much funnier, and years ago, I was much younger and don't recall constant, explicit "f's" and "s's" every 30 seconds.  But those were the days, my friend, when things and language were not frequently vulgar and base which are contributing factors to the erosion of today's society.
Anyway, the acting in Spoiler Alert: Everybody Dies was superb (Jessica Frances Dukes and Aaron Bliden are Woolly Company members who participated), and the music (Matthew Loren Cohen), spot-on. The props were minimal, and they (accessories, chairs) worked well with solitary lighting  (Colin Bills and Jennifer Sheetz). 
Audience participation was the best scene (sic; sorry) anywhere and quite effective.  Do you think it is going to become an award since it grows more frequent?   
Was the production worth $50? (Saturday's matinee prices.) Probably not. If you're looking for political comedy, the Capitol Steps are much better.
What:  Spoiler Alert: Everybody Dies

When: Now through January 8, 2012
Where: Woolly Mammoth Theatre Company, 641 D Street NW
Tickets: 202-393-3939
Metro stations: Gallery Place-China Town, Archives-Navy Memorial, or a short walk from Metro Center or ride the Circulator bus up 7th Street, NW