Chicago’s famed Second City comedy troupe makes its first Milwaukee appearance in The Second City Dysfunctional Holiday Revue. Milwaukee is one stop on the company’s national tour, in which young comedians get to test their wings at improvisation as well as rehearsed vignettes. On opening night, the event drew a decent-sized crowd to Milwaukee’s Vogel Hall. All that was missing was the laughter. The actors had far more misses than hits in its weak line-up.
About two-thirds of the material is holiday-themed, and the show begins and ends with the dreaded office holiday party. Five cast members – three men and two women – use their voices, body movements and pantomime to create different sequences throughout the show. The stage is bare, except for four wooden chairs and a piano (yes, there is a pianist, the talented Sara Trudel). Costume changes are minimal, and there are no props. This is an exercise in using one’s imagination.
On the night I attended, the show’s improv sections were particularly weak. In one, the comedians had to act out a suggestion by the audience. In this case, it was “Jingle Balls.” The actors seemed almost uncomfortable as the improvised skit dragged on and on. In an earlier improvisation, the audience threw a curveball to the troupe when the spokesperson requested “a favorite place to go for the holidays.” The answer? The nearby town of Cudahy (which everyone in the audience knows is a run-down working community just south of downtown Milwaukee). Unfortunately, the actors didn’t get the joke; in fact, they couldn’t even pronounce the town’s name (calling it “kood-a-hee”). Score one for the audience.
Three of the comedy troupe’s vignettes were truly funny – not a great batting average in a two-hour show. They were: The biblical Mary and Joseph go to couples’ therapy; a lonely man’s encounter with a blow-up doll; and a skit in which two feuding families try to one-up each other with their kids’ Christmas gifts. The gifts start with a pony and end with a T-Rex.
Other bits were so-so, such as an adult version of the game “two truths and a lie.” The material gets funkier and funkier as a newcomer finds himself grossed out by the comments of a close group of friends.
The five Second City actors are all young and enthusiastic, but they don’t always play off each other very well. One would never guess that one of these performers could become the next John Belushi, Gilda Radner or one of the group’s other well-known alums.
In short, The Dysfunctional Holiday Revue is more of a yawn than a laugh. There are much funnier and more meaningful shows playing in town, and this reviewer would recommend them over this weak holiday material.
