Chicago, Illinois
7/21/2015
One thing Chicago is known for is its pedigree of famous
comedians – careers began here for luminaries as diverse as Jack Benny, Bob Newhart,
Joan Rivers, John Belushi, Dan Akroyd, Bill Murray, Chris Farley, Stephen Colbert,
Tina Fey… the list goes on. Chicago’s signature style is improv – which several
of these comedians brought into the popular American consciousness with their
later contributions to Saturday Night
Live. The most famous of these improv troupes is the purposefully
self-depreciatingly named Second City. However, we chose to get tickets to the
equally acclaimed iO (the odd name stands for Improv Olympic). I heard it was a
little less touristy, a more intimate setting, and their signature piece The Harold – in which the performers
take one idea from the audience and weave it into a succession of complex
interwoven scenes – sounded intriguing. Plus, tickets are significantly
cheaper, so, yeah…
We still had some time to kill before the 8:30 show time, so
we took a stroll down by the lakeshore. There’s an oddly indescribable beauty
that you can look in one direction to see sandy beach and crystal clear water…
… then turn right around to see the some of largest
skyscrapers in the world.
Soon, it was time to be on our way, and we walked in the
direction of the theater. We stopped to eat at place called TacoBurritoKing,
simply because the name sounded funny to us. Apparently it’s a Chicago-only
fast food chain. It was actually pretty good. I could see it becoming popular
around the country. [It was a delicious burrito!]
We kept walking, which took us away from the tourist area,
so we got to see some somewhat scary people. This one teenager was flicking
little pieces of paper at anyone who passed by. It was so juvenile it was hard
to feel threatened by it. We did pass by a really impressive urban garden, with
some yummy looking vegetables in it.
We eventually got to the street where the theater was
supposed to be. But, as the old saying goes, “One does not simply walk down a
street in Chicago and get to one’s destination.” I guess the city has been
built and rebuilt so many times streets have been dissected by new
cross-streets that you can’t always guarantee a straight shot. Or I might just
be really bad at maps. [You know, when I was walking
around by myself all day, I didn’t get lost. Why?]
Strangely, Laura has this skill for tracking down hunky
firemen to give her directions, so we made it to the theater with plenty of
time to spare. [In all fairness, he wasn’t particularly
hunky. I did check, though. When I’m in a big city, and I need to ask for
directions, it’s important to know whom to safely approach.] One of the firemen told us to turn
left at these huge piles of wood that could be used to start a fire. I guess
that’s a landmark that would stand out to a fireman. (Seriously, though, what’s
with all the firemen all over Chicago? They are literally everywhere. I know
they had that big fire that one time, but guys, you’re making me look bad.)
The theater had a bar downstairs we sat around in while we
waited for the show to start. It seemed to be part waiting area, part college
hangout. Two guys were engaged in a very intense game of Risk.
When it was time for the show to start, we made our way
upstairs to the Jason Chin Harold Cabaret – named for a beloved improv teacher
who passed away earlier this year. It was cabaret-style (hence the name) so we
all sat at little tables while a waitress tried to sell drinks. I went a little
crazy and ordered the ginger ale – with sugar! [Um…yes…]
There were two Harold teams on the bill. First was named
James Island, the second was Sears Tower. Using my detective skills I figured
Sears Tower was the featured act. (Their name was written really big on the
ticket.) Both groups were funny, but Sears Tower were excellent. The audience
suggestion of “mermaid” informed the whole performance. The part where one of
the guys played a lobster fisherman trying to delicately inform his partner he
was leaving the business to go whaling doesn’t sound very funny on paper, but I
was crying laughing. In between acts the two groups performed together. They
pulled an audience member up and asked her to explain the mundane events of her
day. From that, they created a short piece representing this woman’s nightmare
based on what she had told them. Hilarious.
I think the thing I appreciated the most was how Sears Tower
never resorted to crude humor. I wouldn’t say it was for kids, but they avoided
the easy laughs comedians sometimes get from sex jokes. In fact, some of the
performance wasn’t exactly funny, but sort of touching – like a sequence where
a couple is celebrating their 15th anniversary, and the wife’s mind
was clearly somewhere else while her husband speaks to her wistfully of how
much their lives have changed. This was legitimate acting in a performance
style I generally associate with Whose
Line is It Anyway? - type skits. Highly recommended.
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