On October 7th, 2024, The Second City, an improvisational comedy club based in Chicago, Illinois, showcased comedy skits, signature performances, and characters developed by their illustrious alumni at the Duke Family Performance Hall. As a part of their 65th-anniversary tour, they curated a display that honors and highlights their most notable works. Once the show begins, the spotlights come on and the cast appears dressed in lab coats discussing their ‘data’ to see what garnered the best comedic results and why. From here we are shown their various works to inspect alongside the cast. Stories consisting of struggling romantic and familial relationships as well as other pressing societal affairs are brought to light demonstrating flaws in how people navigate these situations. 

The performances were satirical with the focus on, what felt like, the mocking of prominent social norms and political situations through the portrayal of casual everyday interactions. One of the first acts depicts a couple arguing over where they parked their car after finishing their date. Their characters are, what I understand to be, a display of gender norm stereotypes in the context of a heterosexual relationship. The woman is outwardly passive and dismissive of her emotions internalizing all her grudges against her partner. The man notices she is disturbed by his forgetful behavior considering their current predicament is the result of him forgetting where he parked the car, but he does not register the possibility of there being more to her sentiments. His visage reveals that he doubts her when she claims to not be upset over anything else besides the car issue. Asides—remarks made by a character on stage not heard by other present characters—were used by the woman for the audience to know her frustrations against the man. Her anger is depicted in a hilarious manner which can be critiqued in and of itself. Society tends to ridicule or humorize the way women express and feel their emotions. The act successfully perpetuates the harmful stereotypes of trivializing and undermining the concerns of women with the audience. 

In addition to their scripted scenes, they also performed improvisational skits. The actors asked the audience questions and used the answers to build their scenes. Addressing injustice in a community was the theme for one of the song-based skits. The ‘injustice’ faced by the community was them not being able to avoid stepping on the copious amounts of dog poop left behind by dog-owners. A protest rapidly develops with singing and signs demanding change from their leaders. The issue at hand was petty and easily fixable; it was the escalation and intensity of the unification and revolting of the people that was the focal point of the scene. The Second City is known for making commentaries on political events, this act is proof of that. By not making it specific to any event in particular they allow the audience to reflect on the many uprisings currently transpiring in the world. 

Introspection is forced upon the audience because of how pervasive the issues and subjects of each scene are in the present times. Children are often a current topic in all areas of society, especially regarding the future of the nation. One of the scenes at the end of the performance was focused on infants and enforced heterosexuality. Young adult characters criticized the heavy visual gendering of babies and young children. A onesie labeling a baby boy as a ‘ladies’ man’ is called out to be inappropriate and strange. The actors voiced observations typically made by younger generations that probably intend to condemn outdated values and beliefs. The sexuality and gender of children is a matter of concern among guardians, policy makers, educators frequently causing discourse on subjects of what is appropriate for children to be taught about. When the actors on stage repeat the sentence “your babies are going to be gay,” it could have the effect of being either menacing or hilarious depending on your ideologies. This urges the audience to, yet again, think to themselves why they react the way they do to these situations.

While The Second City aims to, and does, make their audience laugh, they also plant opportunities for some deliberation. Though I did spend most of the time laughing at their clever jokes, I also couldn’t help but think about the scenes from a more political lens. I am sure I was not the only member in that audience who left the performance hall thinking about how accurately the scenes mirrored reality. The Second City touches on a multitude of both difficult and disregarded topics to further explore human comportment. Using a comedic approach takes away the tension or resentment that usually permeates issues of sexuality, politics, and relationships allowing the audience to acknowledge them in a positive situation. Being able to do this through both improvisational and rehearsed acts bolsters the function of performing arts as psychologically influential tools that help us resonate with and interpret uncomfortable truths.