GreenCo means go for TourCo!

March 10, 4:54 PMChicago Second City ExaminerDavid Flora

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Who says Mondays are dark in the theatre world? "The Best of The Second City" is currently running Mondays at 8pm on The Second City Mainstage in Chicago. Featuring members of Second City's Touring Company performing the best material from past shows, "The Best of The Second City" is a win-win situation for the audience.

Depending on touring and rotation schedules, the Monday shows are completely different from one week to the next. The three touring companies (RedCo, BlueCo, and GreenCo) each bring a unique show to the stage with scenes from Second City's archives, and even pepper their shows with improv and audience interaction. You can check out what the Touring Company is up to here: www.sctourco.com/main.php

I had a good time watching last night's show, performed by GreenCo (Lilly Allison, Brooke Bagnall, Steve Waltien, Sam Richardson, Abby McEnany, and Seth Weitberg, directed by Bill Bungeroth). The show was set up at the top with a short, full-cast song indicating the need to follow one's dreams, which provided the grounding for the show's "dreams vs. reality" through-line. Scenes progressed from cynical, sarcastic, and pretty much hopeless themes to having some hope, then dreaming big, and ultimately overshooting into the fantasy realm. It was a very cool progression to realize, and something to watch for if you catch GreenCo's show.

Much kudos to the ladies in the cast for their very strong characters and great energy. Highlights from the cast include Brooke Bagnall's keen sense of timing and physicality in her character work, Lilly Allison's playful demeanor and wonderful penchant for child characters, Abby McEnany's great vocal character work and timing with a bullhorn, Sam Richardson's absolutely spot-on Obama impersonation (seriously, the best I've seen), Steve Waltien's sharp and witty improv and sense of confidence, and Seth Weitberg's endearing gift for subtle responses and musical talent (both singing and ukelele-ing).

If you go, expect a fun night with any of the touring companies. After all, it's "The Best of The Second City" from the best comedic talent in the country.