Second City is in denial. Donald Trump is our president, and along with that comes a host of issues regarding race, gender equality, LGBTQ rights, and police brutality, among other things. The cast of the brand-new yet already outdated main-stage revue Dream Freaks Fall From Space tackle these loaded topics by mentioning them, then moving right along. And speaking of denial, scenes break one of the most fundamental rules of improvisation—embody the spirit of “yes, and . . . ” to complement your partner onstage. Here instead actors deny ideas with “What are you talking about?” Second City is the tentpole of Chicago comedy for the rest of the country, but Dream Freaks feels like it was concocted in an intermediate-level improv class where mere nods get laughs and politics get skewered with Pixy Stix.
In improv comedy nobody is wrong. Denying an idea is the first step toward a flop of a bit, and Dream Freaks lives in denial. In an improvised scene that began with the suggestion of “earrings,” Ryan Asher walked out and asked Varrone if she could get her baby’s ears pierced. Nope, Varrone replied—this was a place that only inserted gauges. Another sketch took place in a postapocalyptic wasteland where a few survivors discussed pragmatic solutions to food shortage and dirty water as Varrone—well, it was hard to tell just what he was supposed to be doing. But he had a leather jacket, a torn yellow shirt, and a gun down his pants he used to shoot one of the others before denying it—no, he hadn’t.
Open run: Wed-Thu 8 PM, Fri-Sat 8 and 11 PM, Sun 4 PM, Tue 8 PM Second City 1616 N. Wells 312-337-3992secondcity.com $29-$46
