By Megan Mooney
Toronto’s Second City 65th comedy revue – Second City for Mayor – delivers a great night’s entertainment
I generally like Second City revues. They don’t stay with me or anything, but they make me laugh and I enjoy the night, and the opportunity to have table service while going to a show always makes for a good time too. But this revue – Second City for Mayor, this one was different. I loved this one. It’s my favourite Second City revue of the ones I’ve seen.
I was tying to figure out what would make it stand out so much from the previous ones, and I think it’s a big collection of little things. When I was talking to people after the show, I struck up a conversation with a woman who also really enjoyed this revue and through some round about discussions we decided that this was a far more “theatrical” production than other Second City shows we’ve seen. I don’t mean theatrical as in bigger or louder or anything like that. Just more, well, more kind of pulled together, more complete.
So, here’s my list of the little things that make me enjoy it more than other Second City revues I’ve seen:
A New Set for Second City Toronto: Second City has used the same type of set for about 800 million years. It’s always some form of a series of doors. Not particularily a surprise in comedy, it always makes me think of the Laugh-In joke wall, or for the Canadian folks of my generation – the You Can’t Do That On Television lockers (oh Alasdair, you’re so dreamy!). I mean, they weren’t used as joke walls, but they work for similar reasons. But, here’s the thing, I felt like it was kinda boring.
And here is where Second City for Mayor first starts to win me over. The set is different! Gone are the doors, replaced with a sort of zig zag fire escape set against a cloth wall list from behind (known as a cyc), making it possible to create excellent silhouettes. It made it possible for a wonderfully visual opening for the show.
Scene Transitions: This is actually related to the set… The cyc made it possible to have dynamic visual transitions between skits that I really loved. They added texture and flavour to the show that I haven’t felt in previous Second City shows.
Interesting Content: So, there is always funny stuff in a Second City show. I mean, that’s the point, right? But this stuff had depth. The meatier content, which even included a few serious moments, provided a nice contrast to the funny. In fact, I think that for me, that juxtaposition made it funnier. It certainly made it more interesting.
A Good Ending: I also really enjoyed the way this show wrapped up. It made this revue feel more complete than previous one. It was nice to have a full package.
The woman sitting next at my table told me that she loved the show. She said her cheeks were hurting from grinning so much. Actually, I kinda had the same kind thing going on.
What I’m trying to say here is, you should really check this show out. It’s great.
Details
– Second City For Mayor has an open run, it’s playing at Second City (51 Mercer St)
– Showtimes are Tuesday to Saturday at 8pm with additional shows at 10:30pm on Fridays and Saturdays. Sundays the show starts at 7pm
– Ticket prices range from $24 to $29
– Tickets are available online, or by calling the box office at 416-343-0011
Photo of Dale Boyer, Reid Janisse, Caitlin Howden, Adam Cawley, Rob Baker, Kris Siddiqi