Improv is a legit art form. It was, in fact, one of the main reasons I moved to Chicago way back when. I’ve always loved the post-show improv sets at The Second City. I also think there are some ways it works best as part of a full revue. For instance, I was blown away by the long-form improv at TJ & Dave’s Goodman residency last year. And I have enjoyed judicious use of improv segments during various Second City scripted sketch revues over the years.
In other words, I’m not one who thinks improv is just a tool for training performers and developing sketches.
All of that means I’m probably one of the most receptive possible audience members for a show that’s primarily improvised and features only a handful of (mostly) set sketches. So it pains me to say that Reality Detox: The Improv Experience, which opened Thursday on The Second City e.t.c. stage, still needs to find its footing, its animating force, its core mission, its underlying reason for being.
What’s on stage now is a group of amiable performers who mostly don’t gel as an ensemble bouncing from half-developed idea to half-developed idea without fearlessly committing to the bits and developing truly humorous scenarios from the alchemy of fully realized characters and interesting points of view.
The show would benefit from an organizing principle and an ethic of not grabbing the easiest riff or character detail. The players have talent. They need to mine it and trust in it more fully.
Or maybe I’m full of shit. As a player says at the end of the evening: If you loved it, come back. It will be a completely different show. If you hated it, come back. It will be a completely different show. True enough. And maybe opening-night anxiety affected the one I saw. Then again, when you go see TJ & Dave, you can rest assured you will have a memorable experience.
Though this show lacks a talker of a sketch, the highlights come mostly in the pre-scripted moments. In particular, a sketch about an escape room and a closing musical number that reveals a hidden craving men give into when they find themselves home alone work really well. The latter involves the audience in a wonderful way that gave me hope this group can work out the kinks and deliver an improv-forward sketch show that makes this revue more than a noble experiment.
Not coincidentally, both of those sketches prominently feature Chas Lilly, a warm, wry, gregarious fellow who is generous with his fellow performers and displays the utter commitment to the character and the moment that’s required to elevate improv to the next level. More of that, please.
Reality Detox: The Improv Experience is in an open run at The Second City e.t.c.
Photo by Timothy M. Schmidt
