Sniggers & Titters on Saturday Night

While I’ve missed a number of the Colonial Theatre’s comedic performances (Susie Essman, Lisa Landry, and the more subdued, but similarly entertaining, David Sedaris), I’m psyched all the same that the place peppers its artistic offerings with silly stuff on the regular. To me there are few finer indicators of solid entertainment than aching abs, fatigued facial muscles, and spirited imitation of the best bits post-show. The endorphin surge ain’t bad, either.

 

So when The Second City traveling improv troupe—representing the Chicago-headquartered humor school that boasts an all-star alumni list of last names like, oh, Murray, Belushi, Candy, Carell, Colbert, Farley, and Fey—infiltrates the historic South Street gem in PIttsfield, Mass., on Saturday night as part of its fiftieth-anniversary national tour, expect absurdity. 

 

Most compelling, I think, is the nostalgia factor: skits will embrace “snippets of scenes written by some of the comedy greats,” as well as fresh material from the current gang.

 

 

I asked Windy City native Katie Rich to describe the dynamic among the Second City cast and she summed it up thusly: “It’s just like a family: you didn’t pick them but they make you laugh in a way that no one else can.”

 

 

See what she means this Saturday at 8.