SHEILA’S GIANT WALL OF PLOT TWISTS
Live Bait Theater
Sheila and Vistamax are the latest entries in this crowded field. The better of the two is Sheila, the University of Chicago-spawned, Hyde Park-based troupe that took over at Jimmy’s Woodlawn Tap when Avant-Garfielde, distracted by its north-side success as Cardiff Giant, grew tired of the weekly improv grind. Using a format remarkably similar to Avant-Garfielde’s–an hour-long revue of unrelated improv games–Sheila’s five actors create a show that’s every bit as funny and quick as anything Avant-Garfielde turned out in its prime. No one in Sheila yet approaches the divine madness of John Hildreth, who’s now at Second City, but the performers work together with such joy that even the weakest improvisations are fun.
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The main problem is that, with the exception of Noah Gregoropoulos (also director of Lois Kaz), everyone in Vistamax is trying too damn hard. Only he is hip to the fact that less is more in improv, and his relaxed, sardonic contributions serve as occasional reminders of how rich and resonant improv can be. When everyone in Vistamax is able to do what he does, the group will be a worthy successor to Jazz Freddy.
