Now entrenched in its fifth decade of performing comedy revues, the Second City mainstage has just opened its 85th revue, Slaughterhouse 5, Cattle 0. The scene progresses predictably, with a frustrated customer wreaking physical violence on the poor haggard employees. It's a crowd-pleaser to be sure but falls remarkably flat perhaps because of the ease with which one can skewer the phone company. Gillan is particularly strong as a white Suburban woman who can't comprehend that not everyone fits racial stereotypes. Nyemi Funk and Tami Sagher play off her very well.
Racial tension is a recurring theme in the piece.
While the cast is not as integrated as their breathren on the e.t.c stage, Nyemi Funk, who replaced Angela Shelton shortly after the revue opened, dominates the show with strong African-American characters. The running gag is that we laugh at the outdated stereotypes we meet on stage, with the sobering realization there are plenty of people who believe in them. This powerhouse of satire is preceded in the show by a continuing parody of Mark Brown's political commercials which wears thin quickly, becoming a one-joke exercise slowing down the pace of this mostly solid revue. It fits like a comfortable old shoe. We feel like we've been through this territory before.