Second City Comedy's Opera “Guide” Wows the Crowd

Lyric had teamed up for an unprecedented, one-night-only collaboration with The Second City, Chicago’s fabled comedy troupe, in a show titled The Second City Guide to the Opera. In a program note written for the crisply paced, sharply funny collection of skits, songs, and video presented at the Civic Opera House, Freud wrote, “I hope you’ll laugh your heads off.” Judging from the waves of guffaws and exuberant applause that washed over the two-hour show, the sold-out audience was more than happy to oblige. 

 

Renée Fleming, Lyric’s creative consultant, and actor Patrick Stewart served as hosts and participated in some of the skits. (Fleming as an arrogant diva of a staffer at a local Kinko’s, Stewart as a mega-star being fawned over for roles he never played— What? That wasn’t you in Lord of the Rings, Star Wars, Gandhi? Coulda sworn….) Six Second City members and two members of Lyric’s Ryan Opera Center did the bulk of the work and seemed to have great fun as they sent up all things operatic from insanely convoluted plots to restroom lines that stretch “into infinity.” Sir Andrew Davis, Lyric’s music director, contributed hilarious voiceovers, among them a stern warning that “coughing is strictly forbidden.” Patrons, he urged, should simply choke instead.

 

The evening was Fleming’s brainchild, concocted after she dropped into Second City’s cabaret space during a visit to Chicago last year. One skit included a snippet from one of her CDs. Rather than suing the comedy troupe for unauthorized use, she came up with the idea of collaborating with Second City players on an opera-themed show. 

 

Second City is famous for its improvised cabaret shows, which over the past 50 years have stocked the American comedy scene with stars ranging from Alan Arkin to Tina Fey. But the troupe also creates hundreds of private events, shows and projects designed especially for organizations ranging from the Chicago Black Hawks to major corporations. For the past several months writers Timothy Sniffen (who also performed), Kate James, and Jesse Case (also the show’s music director, composer, and arranger) immersed themselves in opera. Sitting in on Lyric rehearsals, coaching sessions, performances, and master classes, they obviously found plenty of good material.

 

Second City is a revered comedy shop because it strives to go beyond the easy, obvious laugh, and stage director Billy Bungeroth brought that same level of sophistication to The Second City Guide to the Opera. There wasn’t a single fat-lady-sings or winged-helmet joke, and rarely did Case’s bouncy, rhyming songs include direct quotes from famous operas. Wagner’s Ring cycle came in for some ribbing, but only in the announcement of a new production that included “previously unreleased material.” The new running time, we were proudly informed, would be 41 hours.

 

In one skit, a Russian man lay panting on the sidewalk. Bystanders called an ambulance, but none of them spoke Russian. A singer starring in a Russian opera (Second City member Carisa Barreca) happened by and offered some Russian phrases that terrified the ailing man. Why didn’t she just tell him help was on the way, someone asked? “It’s a Russian opera,” she replied. “Help never comes.”

 

Music is an important element of Second City shows, and many of the 20-plus segments Saturday night were entirely sung. (A small onstage band of Lyric Orchestra members and Case on piano provided accompaniment.) Costumed like Mozart’s Susannah, J’Nai Bridges, a high-energy mezzo from Lyric’s Ryan Center, sang rapturously in Italian. As her boyfriend, Second City member Joey Bland, looking boyishly American in hoodie, jeans, and running shoes, sang back in English. He couldn’t understand a word she said, he protested in perky, singsong verse.

 

Crawling out of an onstage trapdoor and hauling a trombone, Stiffen sang about the indignities of sitting in the orchestra pit. In one skit, a six-member chorus arrived en masse to interview for a corporate accounting job. “We work as hard as anyone for very little pay,’’ they chirped in impeccable unison.

 

In a winsome ballad titled Operaland, Bland and fellow Second City member Tawny Newsome compared their mundane lives with the high drama they saw at the opera. In a clever, rapid-fire ensemble song titled “Intermission,” the full cast lamented the late hour as they tried to sort out a convoluted plot. Time to “figure out what just happened,” they vowed. But “It’s 11o’clock, and it’s only intermission!”

 

In two memorable non-musical skits, Second City member Beth Melewski seized the stage as a pompous diva giving a master class while Second City colleague Ross Bryant offered a spot-on Patrick Stewart imitation. Despite Bryant’s best efforts, a sketch featuring him as Arnold Schoenberg doing stand-up comedy fell flat. Too much arcane detail, even for the cognoscenti.

 

Fleming readily spoofs her diva status, but looking resplendent in diva-worthy evening gowns she offered two serious solos: Puccini’s Un bel di vedremo, and Gershwin’s Summertime.

 

The Second City Guide to the Opera was devised as a one-off event, and Lyric and Second City, not to mention Stewart and Fleming, were formidable draws. Tickets were gone by early December, even after Lyric added 140 extra seats by covering the orchestra pit in its 3,550-seat house. But this is a show that could have legs. High-spirited but never mean, it brought a bracing dose of laughter and humanity to an art form too often seen as deadly serious and elitist. It deserves a longer run.