Second City
Right around the center of its heart, this country and its sometimes-wayward ways were taken to task Friday night. It was the opening show of Let Them Eat Chaos, a visiting production by the famed improv group The Second City designed specifically for the Woolly Mammoth Theatre Company in Penn Quarter.
Mixed with classic improv bits and the occasional giggle-inducing silliness, Let Them Eat Chaos bore some serious satire — the kind with razor-sharp teeth. Everything from our reliance on technology to deeply complex racial issues were in the comedic crosshairs and executed with brilliance. But this wasn’t any kind of political diatribe or social stand, this was a tornado of funny that just happened to also be adept at getting real.
The Chicago-based comedy empire known for producing legends like Bill Murray, Chris Farley and Tina Fey came to town with five seasoned but unfamiliar faces: Holly Laurent, Adam Peacock, Kevin Sciretta, Niccole Thurman and Travis Turner. And they put on quite a show. A series of completely unrelated but somehow loosely interwoven scenes, Let Them Eat Chaos features just about all you could ask for from the group: choreography, singing and some damn fine acting in addition to impeccable timing and command of language. This is without mentioning the several scenes that involve Vinnie Pillarella playing piano or guitar right on stage.
The comedy is topical, witty and, at times, impressively complex. The satire is SNL-quality, and the writing reaches remarkable levels. Yes, there are segments where crowd suggestions are made and off-the-cuff improv brilliance shines through, but this show’s real strengths come in its big, planned, climactic moments. An early scene between a man seeking a date and that date’s suspicious son takes a familiar situation and turns it on its head. A two-person rap right before the intermission is done with real emotion and precision but funny enough to bring the house down. A multi-character, complex finale is satisfying, hilarious and genuinely touching.
Sure, there are some swings and misses. A bit involving a German girl and her blind violin teacher falls flat immediately and then lays there awkwardly for some time. But each cut is aggressive and powerful, the type that guarantees a home run with contact. The show is not flawless but its scope and ambition is always commendable.
The show’s youthful energy is matched by its hosts as the Woolly Mammoth is a perfect spot for the young theater fan (or first-timer). Its lobby and lounge is sleek and welcoming, an open and industrious space that features a cafe with more than reasonable prices on drinks for the show. Seating 250, the theater itself guarantees an intimate experience and makes for some up-beat and sometimes offbeat entertainment.
In such a setting, facing such an aggressive act, the good or the bad of The Second City’s show was sure to be memorable. And on Friday night, it became clear that the troupe had taken its act beyond comedy. Let Them Eat Chaos reaches other levels so consistently that I soon stopped worrying about what I was watching and embraced any emotion that came.
