Dysfunctional family? Lots of people think that theirs is. The Second City’s Dysfunctional Holiday Revue tries to touch on all of those moments that are much more funny when they are happening to someone else. Part of Metropolis Performing Arts Center in Arlington Heights’ Holiday Season, this upbeat collage of skits, songs and improvisation has it all. This performance, featuring Tim Baltz, Rebecca Hanson, Brendan Jennings, Dana Quercioli, Mary Sohn, and Mark Raterman proves yet again that it is okay to offend your audience, as long as you offend everyone equally and don’t take anything too seriously.
Random strangers stuck in an airport, parents watching the school’s “Holiday Pageant”, a sick mother who’s husband and children decide to cook Thanksgiving dinner so she can rest, a family’s rather strange traditions, nothing seems to be off limits. Foul language abounds, so be careful of tender ears, and since there is a good deal of improv, you really cannot be sure what to expect next. Start with a couple discussing the turkey stuffing, freeze frame, insert another actor in one of the first spots, start the action again and it could be a taxidermist talking about stuffing the turkey.
At various times during the show, the audience is asked to call out: an occupation, a New Year’s resolution (the “Jewish Man” protests, as his New Year has passed already), something related to the holidays, and other random answers. Dragon Slayer meets Janet Reno? Hey, why not? Sometimes, the actors themselves get shocked by what the audience has to say, and when you’re making it up as you go along, anything really can happen.
This team of performers works well together, following each other’s leads and leaving the audience (as well as themselves sometimes) in stitches. The Second City will be bringing Dysfunction through the end of December, with a special New Year’s Eve performance. For more information on tickets and Metropolis, visit metropolisarts.com.