Those who have dived deep into the vernacular of Saturday Night Live are familiar with the “ten to one” slot—the last sketch of each episode, sandwiched between the musical guest’s second performance and the traditional goodnights, that often offers an outlet for wackier premises that might lack broad appeal (though “Wayne’s World” defied the odds by eclipsing its 1989 debut in that slot with two hit theatrical movies by the end of 1993).
By 1982, the Second City had long established a foothold as Chicago’s premier destination for comedy and, appropriately enough, introduced a second stage for wilder, more experimental shows known as The Second City e.t.c. Don’t mistake this as a consolation prize for also-rans—e.t.c. has launched the careers of luminaries like Keegan-Michael Key and Aidy Bryant.
Like the Second City Mainstage, e.t.c. goes from one show to the next with minimal disruption, and the 49th e.t.c. revue, The Chaos Theory of Everything, debuted last week. Though it lacks the consistency and punch of the impeccable latest mainstage revue, This Too Shall Slap—one of the theater’s best shows in years—Chaos Theory has enough strong sketches to make it worth your viewing time, especially in its second half.
Directed by Anthony LeBlanc, an alum of both the Mainstage and e.t.c, the ensemble consists of returning e.t.c. players Meghan Babbe, Jenelle Cheyne, Javid Iqbal, and Tim Metzler, along with newbies Spencer Hodges and Max Thomas. Though each cast member is genuinely talented and likable, Babbe and Metzler stood out from the pack.
Babbe is a relentlessly energetic and fearless performer, sharp on her feet while interacting with the crowd for improvised sketches and elevating characters such as the mother of an eighth-grader on his path to becoming an incel (Iqbal) and, in my favorite sketch of the night, an office worker whose day was ruined by “a territorial hawk” and made worse thanks to her unhelpful colleagues. Metzler’s best bit was his sleazy, intimidating Lorax, who chastises the “liberal” audience for not doing enough to help trees.
Metzler’s “brunch time detective” character Periwinkle was not quite as successful—I wanted to enjoy its dark, oddball premise but the overreliance on gross-out humor and an ending that seemed to pile on gags simply to include everyone stretched too long. Speaking of sketches that went on too long, I was surprised at the early placement of a sketch featuring Hodges and Thomas as an elderly couple watching the crowd at Lollapalooza and offering Statler and Waldorf-esque commentary. The pair’s performances were strong, but I was hoping that the first scripted sketch of the night would deliver bigger laughs—its nostalgia-tinted sentiment may have worked better later in the show and with some trimming.
The show also relied a little too much on improvised sketches—most Second City revues feature one or two, but Chaos Theory has four (or five depending on how you categorize Iqbal’s turn as a hacky stand-up comic who goads the crowd into inadvertently saying something politically incorrect). “The Glance,” with Babbe and Cheyne as a pair of Katie Lee and Hoda-type hosts—“like The View on PBS”—is a keeper, but the novelty of the soap opera sketch that brings an audience member onstage as a character with amnesia wore off fairly quickly.
Other pop culture-inspired sketches fared better, including a full-cast Shark Tank spoof that featured the biggest laugh of the night. Another highlight was a courtroom scene in which an aspiring actor (Hodges) took being a “star witness” too literally, and, while the premise veered a little too close to a Kristen Wiig sketch from SNL, Cheyne’s delightfully manic turn as a character discovering the concept of surprise parties won me over from the start.
The near-perfect This Too Shall Slap may have spoiled me—I usually find myself latching onto the aggressively absurd style of Second City e.t.c. shows more than the decidedly less “dangerous” Mainstage ones, but while Chaos Theory offers strong satire from a talented group, Slap is such a clever and engaging show with an undeniably dynamic cast that I have to recommend it over Chaos Theory. Fortunately, you don’t have to choose—that’s the beauty of Second City having a second stage where chaos is always at the center.
The Chaos Theory of Everything runs Thursdays through Sundays at Second City, 230 W. North Ave. Tickets (starting at $19) are on sale now.
For more information on this and other productions, see theatreinchicago.com.
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