Review: Second City's REBEL WITHOUT A COSMOS is an Evening of Pure Joy

I don't know how to even begin describing the sheer joy I experienced while attending last night's performance of Rebel Without A Cosmos at the Second City. The entire production is smart, sharp, and lough out loud funny.

Director Reid Janisse has highlighted a timely concept for this incarnation of the main stage show: that you are the center of the universe. You'll see scenarios you recognize from recent news in the media, including a backpack occupying a seat on the bus. Oh, and yes - more than one selfie will be taken.

Without giving too much away - some of the best sketches from the evening included:

-A truthful take on the life cycle of cell-phones and the Apple "geniuses." ("You use it as a phone?" says the genius to a dumb-founded Apple customer who just wants to make calls.)

-A small town somewhere in Ontario with a man named Oily Pete who is excellent at giving directions.

-A "Ms. Average Canada" contest where the winner makes hilarious references sure to make any Canuck giggle with glee.

-A religious take on Masturbation that comes back to bite the Pastor. (Nothing more needs to be said here.)

-A son captures the moment his dad passes away. (Hint: more than one of these will be taken throughout the show!)

-A learning annex where unsuspecting people are told they have personality flaws: one asks personal questions, another is too loud, a third is racist, a fourth has personal space issues, and the fifth student over-shares. This makes for one of the funniest moments of the evening.

There are many more sketches throughout the evening; you'll get the Second City's signature take on skype sex, veterans, fitness, politics, voting, the middle east conflict, divorce, and Harry Potter.

The cast, which is phenomenal, includes Ashley Botting, Sarah Hillier, Etan Muskat, Allison Price, Connor Thompson, and Kevin Whalen. Each of these performers are brilliant - and the way they play off of each other is fascinating to watch. They take silly audience suggestions and without skipping a beat put them all together in a sketch that wouldn't stand out on one of the better episodes of Saturday Night Live on NBC.

The set, designed by Camellia Koo, fits the concept perfectly. Lighting designer Christina Cicko transforms the unit-set into an incredible amount of locations. Don't expect incredibly expensive production values here - but expect to be thoroughly entertained.

If you're looking for a fun night, fan of the theatre or not, I beseech you to go see Rebel Without A Cosmos at the Second City. If they sold season passes, I'd be there every week.

Rebel Without A Cosmos is playing now at The Second City through January 2015. Tickets start at just $25. Students and group discounts are available. Call 416-343-0011 or secondcity.com.

Follow Alan Henry on Twitter at @alanhenryTO.

Photo: The Cast of REBEL WITHOUT A COSMOS. Photo by Racheal McCaig.

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