BWW Reviews: SECOND CITY Delivers First-Rate Comedy in Naples

There's a reason - a simple one - that Second City can fill an auditorium on a cold, windy evening in late March in Naples, when the sun is shining and the million distractions of a coastal resort town beckon. These guys are good. Very, very good.

The guys and gals of Second City came to play. Rapid-fire jokes ("I hate the One Percent! Fine. Buy whole milk!") mix with sketches, banging tunes, improv games, a raucous musical interlude and more. The show serves up 75 minutes of high-quality comedy, although the scripted segments do come off slightly better than the actual improv.

Someone is asking "What do you think about this abortion bill?"

Silence.

Silence.

Silence.

Hold.

Punchline.

"I don't know. Pay it."

Wave of laughter.

I'm generally not a fan of improv, at least the "audience tosses suggestions" sort. Second City recognizes the difficulty of building a solid, entertaining show around some of the detritus audiences burp up on stage; they adapt. This show, directed by Anthony LeBlanc, comes with a music director (Ben Harris) and a dizzying set of effects (stage manager Jayme O'Hara).

John Hartman, Nicole C. Hastings, Adam Peacock, Pat Reidy and Emily Walker open the show in a blast of thumping dance music, chanting the rules, regulations, no cell phones and "please don't be stupid." Five actors, four chairs, lots of jokes.

My favorite skit involved no words at all. And that's how you know its good comedy. Reidy and the diminutive Hastings enter from opposite sides of the stage wearing kilts. They bow to the crowd, then to each other, like warriors. They slowly stride toward each other, solemn, grim. A Scottish dirge tinkles. The two now face each other in the center of the stage.

He picks her up ... suddenly there's a piper and his bagpipes on stage. You could hear the roar over in Waterside.

They might be from the second city, but the comedy is first-rate.

Chris Silk is the arts writer and theater critic for the Naples Daily News. To read the longer version of this review, go to: http://www.naplesnews.com/news/2013/mar/26/review-naples-second-city-laughing-matters/.

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