By Barry Willis
Chicago’s Second City is the nation’s foremost incubator of comic talent. With a history going all the way back to the late 1950s, the comedic institution has graduated dozens of exceptional performers, many of whom have gone on to illustrious careers in film and sketch comedy shows such as MadTV and Saturday Night Live. Too long to post here, the list is a “who’s who” of American comedy in the late 20th and early 21st centuries.
Through July 28, Berkeley Rep’s Roda Theatre hosts The Best of the Second City, a touring production of six Second City performers and one musician/music director. With only a few empty chairs on a bare stage, it doesn’t look promising when you enter the theater, but proves to be a howlingly funny 90-minute romp through scripted sketches and improvisation.
Credit: Timothy M. Schmidt
Anyone who’s been around comedians will tell you that “improv” can be brilliant or excruciating — especially when it involves dragging audience members into the act. A brilliant one is a tour of the UC campus led by cast member Phylician McCleod, who patiently explains the symbolism of the school’s blue-and-gold colors, the campus statue of a bear, and the history of the campanile tower. An excruciating one comes later when Annie Sullivan riffs like a writer of pulp detective novels and recruits a hapless and quite clueless fellow from the front row to play the part of Detective Smith, who can’t even raise a finger as a fake gun to shoot at suspects.
Embarrassment and absurdity are two primary reasons that people laugh. Gentle embarrassment falls to the few who get pulled onstage, but it’s absurdity that carries the show, as in Max Thomas as a drug-dealing Driver’s Ed instructor who gets his students to help him make deliveries, or the entire ensemble as summer camp kids performing interpretive dance to Tracy Chapman’s “Fast Car.” Chas Lilly is brilliant as a “PrimeTech” CEO giving a rah-rah keynote address at the annual Consumer Electronics Show, as a reluctant tattoo artist working on a new client, and as a redneck country singer enumerating all the things important to men.
Credit: Timothy M. Schmidt
George Elrod brings the show an intentionally swishy LGTBQ element—his riff on an injured volleyball player is fantastic—and the powerful, outspoken Cat Savage lives up to her name in nearly every sketch. The whole production moves along at breakneck pace—there’s barely time to catch a breath for either actors or audience.
Second City is a national treasure. The Bay Area is lucky to have this troupe visit us. In an extremely contentious season, we need all the laughs we can get.
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P.S. ASR’s founder, Kris Neely is an alum of The Second City’s Training Center Conservatory — and is darn proud of it.
ASR Nor Cal Edition Executive Editor Barry Willis is a member of the American Theatre Critics Association and president of the SF Bay Area Theatre Critics Circle. Contact: barry.m.willis@gmail.com
| Production | The Best of Second City |
|---|---|
| Written by | The Second City |
| Directed by | Jeff Griggs |
| Producing Company | Berkeley Repertory Theatre |
| Production Dates | Thru July 28th |
| Production Address | 2025 Addison Street, Berkeley CA 94704 |
| Website | www.berkeleyrep.org |
| Telephone | (510) 847-2949 |
| Tickets | $22-$81 |
| Reviewer Score | Max in each category is 5/5 |
| Overall | 4.5/5 |
| Performance | 4.5/5 |
| Script | 4/5 |
| Stagecraft | 4/5 |
| Aisle Seat Review Pick? | YES! |