Second City has done it again with a successful comedy show guaranteed to make you bust a gut laughing the entire show! This season, you will never look at the winter holidays the same way again with their new revue of The Good, The Bad and The Ugly Sweater, which runs November 13 through December 31, 2018.
Get ready to have tears of mirth falling down your face and holding your stomach with constant laughter. Always wondering how to entertain your visiting relatives during the holiday season? This hilarious show pulls a festive mix of material from The Second City archives and is the perfect way to celebrate winter in Chicago.
If you have never attended a show at Second City, here is a quick crash course: Since opening its doors as a small cabaret theater in 1959, The Second City has grown into an entertainment empire. With sold-out shows playing 7 days a week on 10 resident stages in Chicago and Toronto, Second City’s Touring and Theatrical companies entertain an additional 1 million theatergoers a year around the globe. The Second City Training Center is the largest school of improvisation-based arts on the planet, with locations in Chicago, Toronto and Los Angeles that serve 11,000 students annually.
Second City Works, the B2B side of Second City, has brought award-winning improvisation and audience-driven techniques to over 600 Fortune 1000 companies, challenging businesses seeking a more collaborative culture to innovate through development programs, original digital and video content, campaign consultation, private events, and more. Second City Entertainment’s foray into television and media continues to produce new content and programming, including two-time Emmy winner SCTV and the upcoming Martin Scorsese-helmed Netflix documentary exploring the iconic series’ enduring legacy.
Alumni of The Second City include some of the world’s foremost comedy superstars, including Dan Aykroyd, John Belushi, Aidy Bryant, John Candy, Steve Carell, Stephen Colbert, Tina Fey, Keegan-Michael Key, Richard Kind, Eugene Levy, Jack McBrayer, Tim Meadows, Bill Murray, Mike Myers, Catherine O’Hara, Bob Odenkirk, Amy Poehler, Gilda Radner, Harold Ramis, Sam Richardson, Joan Rivers, Amy Sedaris, Martin Short, Cecily Strong, Jason Sudeikis, Fred Willard, and many more.
Now, back to my review of The Good, The Bad And The Ugly Sweater. As I mentioned before, prepare to bust a gut laughing the entire show! Cast members Meghan Babbe, Alison Banowsky, E.J. Cameron, Vernon Mina, Riley Mondragon, and Jordan Savusa, all work together beautifully as a thoroughly believable, relatable, and at times outrageous and diverse comedy team. The group satirized and poked fun at everything including everything from President Trump to Santa Claus to gifting vibrators to family members to The Nutcracker to calling dibs on freshly shoveled parking spots to old 1940s holiday radio shows to Nutella to Chicago’s beloved Kriskindle Mart. (You may also hear someone suggesting the reversal of a Jewish bris!)
Everyone in the cast was talented on their own gifted way. Jordan Savusa, tall with his awesome Afro hair, was hysterical, while E.J. Cameron stepped up his game in a magical number featuring “sexy Santa.” Vernon Mina was a blind (and yet not blind) Latino guitar player, Jose Feliciano, who tried to steal songs from the movie Coco and singer, Stevie Wonder. Riley Mondragon could comically take over any scene or situation onstage given to her. I also highly enjoyed Meghan Bobbie as the naïve granny who has no idea what to do with her vibrator Christmas gift from her daughter in-law, as well as Alison Banoswky’s gift for multiple cartoon voices.
I think what makes audiences come back again and again to Second City is the always changing cast of talented comedians, as well as how it helps us relate to everyday life events that can be very ordinary and routine. However, when left in the hands of Second City, you are given something completely different. Second City shows no comical mercy – especially during the holidays!
Photos: Courtesy of Second City.
The Second City’s The Good, the Bad & the Ugly Sweater runs November 13 – December 31, 2018 in the UP Comedy Club.
Tickets range from $31 – $56 and can be purchased online at the website, by phone at 312-337-3992 or at the box office, located at 230 North Ave. on the first floor of Piper’s Alley.
Performance Schedule
Tuesday – Friday: 8:00pm
Saturday: 4:00pm (December only); 8:00pm
Sunday: 7:00pm
*The Second City will offer a limited number 2:00pm weekday matinees on December 7, 13, 14, 19, 20 and 21. Special New Years Eve packages are also available.
Groups of 16 or more are eligible for special party package rates. Contact our Group Sales Department for more information on rates and catering options by phone at 312-337-3992 or email lg*****@se********.com.
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