As a fan of standup and improv comedy, I had to check out a show at Second City while I was in Chicago. This is the school/theatre where the majority of SNL alums train and get their starts. Not only SNL cast members, but well-loved comedians and actors dating back decades. So I had to see their mainstage show, Red Scare. The show is a collection of sketches, loosely tied together with a semblance of political aggravation. Most of the sketches have nothing to do with politics, however.

A convention I liked and had never seen before was their ability to tie two unrelated sketches together without having to black out, and start anew. One sketch would be wrapping up, and an actor from the next sketch would start his dialogue, overlapping with the current sketch. The old actors would leave, the new were already in place. No dead time between sketches made the show very fast paced, which is necessary for this kind of show.

I like the idea that all six of the performers use physical comedy, dance, and music, as well as excellent comedic timing, of course. The sketches are all very, very funny, but the best part of the night is their act 3, a fully improvised show. These are some of the country’s best improvisers and it shows. There was very little dead time, almost everything said was funny, and every situation was funny. Even the one occurrence in which no one knew were the scene was going, and no one wanted to take the lead, one of the actors just yells out, “Stuff is….Happening!” Which really was a plea for help, but got a laugh anyway.

These actors do this same show every night, as well as the improv portion, so they really know how to follow each other and work together for a very funny outcome. Final line of the night: actor, pretending to bedrunken audience member who wants to come up on stage and perform:
“Anyone wanna see a pee-pee?”
Blackout.

Last week, I had the pleasure of being introduced to one of Chicago’s best underground theatre companies, The House Theatre. Their most recent play, as the title suggests, is a re-telling of Frank L. Baum’s original story. This version much more closely captures the adult themes that are prevalent in the book, but skimmed over in both the film version, and in the musical Wicked. These themes are dark, unhappy, and upsetting. For example, in this version, Dorothy does not have ruby slippers, but silver boots eternally enslimed with the witch’s glittering, red, streaks of blood. All the munchkins refer to Dorothy as “Witch Slayer,” a title which upsets her. A little girl inadvertantly has become both a murderer and a hero, and she has trouble dealing with so much guilt and responsibility.

In this version, the Scarecrow is written comedically, but not simply stupid; his lack of brains is apparent in his inability to learn things. As the show goes on, he displays that his capacity to retain information has grown. The Tin Man is played as a monotone, RoboCop-like heartless machine. He doesn’t care about anyone or anything, and as the show goes on, he learns to care about his travel companions. He also periodically takes a break from the action to turn into a rock star; there are two music numbers in which he plays guitar and sings, accompanied vocally by the creatures of the forest (puppets). The Lion’s cowardice manifests itself in the sense that he thinks of his own safety before that of the others, and, of course, over time, he learns to think of others first.

The character of Toto, the dog, is an actor all in black, manipulating a dog puppet and vocalizing. This concept worked brilliantly well, especially when Toto meets his unexpected, horrifying end at the hands of the Flying Monkeys, and the actor slowly, silently, fades away as the other characters mourn. The fight sequence with the monkeys is really an amazing spectacle.

In addition to the brilliant writing, I’m amazed by how much they are able to accomplish visually, without too much money. Costumes are top-notch. The sound system is one of the best I’ve ever heard. The Wizard himself is very effective, though quite simple. I believe it is a video projection played on a cascade of dry ice smoke; the effect is breathtaking and scary. The makeup design is also top notch yet simple. The Wicked Witch of the West, visually, is the best witch I’ve ever seen, hands down. Much of the actress’s back is covered in colorful, tribal, gothic-looking tattoos, and her (real) hair is jet black with green streaks. Her eyes are done up in emeralds, and her dress is sexy and cut so all her tattoos were shown off. Perfect casting. There is a scene in which her hand is chopped off, and we see her later, stitching it back on. She’s sticking a real needle through latex poured over her wrist. Very creepy. Then, as she is doused with water and begins melting, she has had latex poured all over her upper body, so when she tears at it, it appears that her skin is being pulled right off, and her real skin underneath has been colored red so it looks like the muscle underneath… and of course, she collapses in a pile of her own chunks of skin. Amazing.

Even the ending is not what we expect. Everyone has changed and learned a lot, but Dorothy doesn’t quite make it home again.

All in all, this show is brilliantly acted, written, and produced. I wish this troupe worked in NYC because I want to work with them.