Sly Anxiety: In 'Grinning From Fear to Fear,' Second City e.t.c. Finds Fun in Discomfiture -- Chicago Comedy/Theater Review

Sketch Comedy Review

Grinning from Fear to Fear
The Second City e.t.c. 43rd Revue
Open Run
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Whether you are a Chicago area resident or a tourist to the Windy City, I genuinely recommend attending The Second City comedy club whenever opportunity allows.

2019 marks the 60th anniversary of its legendary local existence and, at North & Wells, Second City remains an iconic Chicago attraction, even if by population we've long been third.

This past Saturday night, I had the pleasure of attending the opening performance of the 43rd revue of The Second City e.t.c., which is distinct from the club's mainstage revue yet fundamentally similar.

Featuring six performers onstage, who also serve as the show's writers, the e.t.c. revue--like mainstage--is predominantly scripted, with occasional improv and/or audience participation bits.

With a friend alongside as part of an enthusiastic full house, with dinner, drinks and dessert kindly served, it was nothing less than an enjoyable evening.

And the six members of the current e.t.c. cast--Atra Abdou, E.J. Cameron, Mark Campbell, Andrew Knox, Laurel Krabacher and Chuck Norment--are nothing less than immensely talented.

Though I don't like to describe many of the sketches, as being surprised is much of the fun, one had Abdou and Campbell nicely playing a young couple interacting with the former's parents (Cameron and Krabacher) as the latter fidgets and worse.

As suggested by the revue's title, Grinning from Fear to Fear, a good deal of the material over nearly 2 hours focused on unease, whether personal, societal or both.

One of the most clever and topical skits featured all the castmates playing U.S. founding fathers as they proposed Bill of Rights amendments, certain that various wants and whims circa 1789 would only be temporary, and readily revised throughout history.

And well-demonstrating the great skills of the cast--with credit also due director Anneliese Toft and musical director Jacob Shuda, who accompanied many of the sketches--was a piece that had Asdou as a randy grandma watching rather smutty classic films alongside her grandson (Norment), which Knox and Krabacher would delectably enact.

So if you like a good laugh, clearly gifted comedians within a famed, comfortable venue with first-class service, you can't go wrong with The Second City e.t.c.'s 43rd review.

I again found it to be better than the mainstage revue--Algorithm Nation, or the Static Quo--though that still-running piece can also make for a nice visit.

Comedy is hard, and subjective, and not only do I admittedly not LOL at much, I readily stipulate that anyone on a Second City stage--or heck, in a class--is not only eons more talented than I'll ever be, but also much ballsier.

All this said, and meant--including about recommending Grinning from Fear to Fear for an enjoyable experience--I unfortunately didn't find it all that hilarious or insightful.

None of the sketches were duds, and more than the ones mentioned above were solid, stellar or superb. But very few, IMO, were brilliant.

Or, in this political climate, daring.

As I've surmised before, The Second City--which welcomes patrons from everywhere--understandably shouldn't shut out or brazenly piss off conservative clientele.

But I'd like to believe that great comedy should be able to, say, make fun of the current U.S. President and certain followers without overdoing the rancor...or the obvious targets.

Yet without ever even saying his name, the President was only referenced once or twice all night.

So it's like I was constrained to grinning from fear to, uh, let's not go there.

As I said to my friend upon leaving, I really would love to see--with the exact same cast & writers--the sketches that got cut, because they were too edgy or offensive or one-sided or whatever.

I've now seen enough Second City revues in recent years to understand that certain subject matter seems to be reigned in.

Again, I still enjoyed, valued and suggest others reprise my visit to this e.t.c. revue--their 43rd for the record--but last year's e.t.c. show was my favorite of recent vintage, so I can't deny hoping for something a bit sharper this go-round. 

Yes, there was plenty of fine wit to be found about family dynamics, our anxieties and how they often go hand-in-hand.

But something has much more so been stoking my fears, and once again the venerated Second City seems to be asking me to grin and forswear it.

The "Peripheral Visionary": In Skokie, Steven Wright Shows Why He's One of a Kind -- Chicago Comedy Review

Comedian Review

Steven Wright
North Shore Center for the Performing Arts, Skokie, IL
April 8, 2016
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"I'm addicted to placebos; I could quit but it wouldn't matter.
-- Steven Wright

To say that Steven Wright thinks of things that no one else does, while accurate, would essentially be to praise him for the gift that all stellar stand-up comedians have.

But with great admiration for all great comics, who are basically defined by a genius for observation, wording and timing, Steven Wright is, to my awareness, rather singular.

Certainly, the Boston-bred comedian shares the late George Carlin's love of wordplay, and I suppose Mitch Hedberg--who came along after Wright but died in 2005--had some similarities in the types of oddities he joked about, but I generally think of Steven Wright more comparable to Gary Larson's The Far Side cartoon than I do to Jerry Seinfeld, Chris Rock or any other stand-up.

If you are familiar with Wright, who has been famous since the mid-'80s without much stylistic change, you understand to what I'm referring.

And if you're not, you can find oodles of his material on the internet, whether on YouTube or in written form.

I think the guy's a genius, and his unique brand of humor was wonderfully and abundantly showcased in a near 90-minute set Friday night at Skokie's sold-out North Shore Center for the Performing Arts.

Without an opening act, Wright came onstage shortly after 8:00pm and simply offered--in his trademark monotone, lethargic delivery--"Thanks."

No, "Hello, Skokie" or pandering to the crowd.

Just a whole lot of jokes, or essentially wry observations, with a few accompanied by himself on guitar, in what could only charitably--but not derisively--be described as songs.

This was my third time seeing Wright live--the most of any stand-up comedian--and I've had his great I Have A Pony album (which you can find on Spotify) for decades, but though I knew some of his jokes Friday were golden oldies, it was great to hear the crowd LOL anew at lines like:

"I had a friend who was a clown. When he died, all his friends went to the funeral in one car."

"I was arrested for scalping low numbers at the deli."

But this was far from simply a "greatest hits" show, as Wright also delivered plenty of fresh material (at least to me). I think it proper to only share a few, and perhaps you should stop reading if you're planning on seeing him soon, but a few favorites were:

"In Europe, is Miles Davis known as Kilometer Davis?"

"What's another word for thesaurus?"

"I have reverse Tourette's Syndrome, random people swear at me for no reason."

"My friend has a trophy wife, but apparently it wasn't first place."

Some of these, and others may also go back a few years, but I thought it was perfectly fine for Wright to (re)introduce some of his wondrous material.

And though the above aren't exactly long jokes, the vociferous punster in me just as much loved simpler, wordplay-based quips that included: "Pulitzer Prizefighting," "Mail Order Bridesmaid," "Ouija Board of Directors," "Small Claims Court Jester" and as referenced in my headline, "Peripheral Visionary."

There are a lot of brilliant comedians, and many have well-defined styles that help make them great.

But there is no one quite like Steven Wright.

And on a Friday night in my hometown, he was as good as ever.