**** Highly Recommended There’s new revue at The Second City e.t.c., Best Kept Secret: Tell Everyone and it’s downright hilarious. Everywhere I looked, people were laughing. This cast brought the audience into the show from the first, and people loved it. In fact, a good sport from the audience drew as many laughs as any cast member! If laughter is contagious, we all caught the bug! 4 Spotlights
The e.t.c. stage has a brand new look. The basic black backdrop is gone and the doors aren’t just doors anymore. An archway highlighted with vanity lights surrounds the double-doors at center stage. The brick-ish wall covering is peppered with different sized picture frames. A la TV’s Laugh In, cast members occasionally pop out of those frames to add a snarky comment.
Best Kept Secret: Tell Everyone is directed by Carisa Barreca. The talented cast includes Meghan Babbe, Terrence Carey, Jenelle Cheyne, Javid Iqbal, Claudia Martinez and Tim Metzler.
As the room darkened, an envelope descended from the ceiling and a disembodied voice told the person under it to take the envelope. When he did, a singer (Babbe) wearing a feather boa appeared, talking about how hard it was to get people to follow orders from a voice. Her persona, Sandra, a star at the Kit Kat Klub, reappeared frequently.
Some of my favorite highlights:
- The black-outs - colored lights and snarky jokes
- Scary ventriloquist’s dummy recruited Andrew from the audience who also became a dummy, slumping in the chair whenever the ventriloquist came back
- A family game night. An insane game of charades was refereed by Mom with a whistle.
- An audience member, a package, a purse, a secret card, and a code
- At an office party – a person up for partner brags about time in the service – SEAL Team 6 - and killing Bin Laudin
- Basketball drills
- The spider skit – his best buddy turns into a spider
- Magic tricks
- And many more!
Best Kept Secret: Tell Everyone is in an open run at The Second City’s e.t.c., 230 W. North Avenue, Chicago. Parking in the adjacent garage is available but pricey. Drinks and bar-food are available throughout the performance. Running time is just about two hours, with an intermission. Performances are Thursdays at 8:00 pm, Fridays and Saturdays at 7:00 & 10:00 pm, and Sundays at 7:00 pm, in the e.t.c. Theater, located on the 2nd Floor of Piper’s Alley. Tickets start at $29. FYI (312) 337-3992 or www.secondcity.com.