Second City satirized, explored and musically mocked a wide variety of topics last night. The audience laughed over scenes about relationships, religion, organized labor, gluten intolerance and sportscasters, to name but a few. But they saved their biggest laughs for their favorite topic: Alaska.
Second City did their Alaska homework.
The opening sketch involved a woman who appeared to be fighting with her lover. But after the call, she confessed to a curious bystander that she had just been on the phone with GCI, much to the audience's delight.
Other scenes involved Cal Worthington and the Alaska Sea Life Center. One acknowledged Sarah Palin's suggestion that she could see Russia from her Wasilla home. Another featured the animal's point of view in a bear attack. At times, it felt like the show was written for an Alaska audience. The sketches ranged from 10 seconds to five minutes.
The crowd made sure the comedy troupe stayed local. During the setup of an improvised scene, Second City asked the audience for a suggestion "of a place larger than this stage." Hollering from the crowd ensued: "Spenard!" Though the actors clearly were not yet familiar with the renowned neighborhood, they understood that Spenard was a meaningful location to the audience and staged a high-stakes second date scene there. Again, laughter ensued.
The humor-friendly crowd also delighted in a few poignant scenes. One featured a character trying to convince his platonic friend that he is attracted to her. Another showed man on a date so anxious to speak that he could only communicate by reading off of note cards. Both scenes started with jokes, but kept the audience's attention by accessing more complicated emotions. Entertainment comes in many forms, even for Second City. The audience's extended applause after these two scenes suggested a deeper sense of appreciation than the typical sketch.
After two acts of sketches sprinkled with improvisation, the troupe offered a short curtain call set of two improvised scenes. Though these scenes offered a lower average success rate on jokes, the audience was left to muse on how these actors can make up their own lines in the moment and still make us laugh.