FLOWERS FOR ALGONQUIN, OR DES PLAINES, TRAINS AND AUTOMOBILES
TAKE ME OUT TO THE BALKANS
Even more inspired is a splendidly built scene in which two writers for Bozo’s Circus (Aaron Rhodes and Jim Zulevic) unveil their long-concealed hatred for Bozo and Cookie; Rhodes finally erupts in a surreal soliloquy detailing the tragedy of not making it to bucket number six.
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If every Second City revue has an obligatory sentimental scene, this one has a gem: Hildreth plays a black orphan boy who builds a gigantic tree house in the backyard of his temporary foster home (the rear of the theater) so that he can never be moved again. Thies plays the kid’s middle-aged foster father with addlepated compassion and finally unexpected daring.
Let’s hope Second City E.T.C. keeps getting its mail on time: the title of their 11th revue, Disgruntled Employees Picnic, or The Postman Always Shoots Twice, has reportedly upset the local post office. (They shouldn’t worry–there’s no such scene.)
Other gems include a bit about a depressed knife thrower (Ian Gomez) whose friends sacrifice themselves to restore his confidence, a takeoff on Disney’s animatronic Hall of Presidents, a neatly balanced sketch on gays in the military, and a screamfest in which the right-wing jury for the Scopes “monkey” trial prove the theory of evolution with a sudden atavism.
One bit tells all: a silly pop-folk takeoff called “The Obvious Song,” a train of mind-numbing tautologies. Once again, the Second City members go easy on themselves and even easier on their audience.
