The Second City's 100th Revue: Who Do We Think We Are?
Second City
Chicago Tribune- Highly Recommended
"...The biggest asset is Blackmon, one of those Second City performers who is more than talented enough to be on the edge of something big, but uncertain enough of the future that his comedy is rooted in that all-important stew of anxiety. Blackmon, who shows flashes of a gentler Eddie Murphy, does plenty of Obama (free, with the price of admission), including a hilarious fantasy sequence that imagines a second Obama term in which the famously cerebral president decides not just to be America's first black president but America's blackest president. Blackmon's lean, mean Obama starts smoking again, even two cigs at once, generally ups his super-hero quotient and starts toasting the opposition like a cross between John Shaft and James Bond."
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Chris Jones
Chicago Sun Times- Recommended
"...The show’s opening sequence, in which the writer/performers are spotlighted in the throes of wild pelvic gyrations, homes in on several identity crises, from a young man’s return to live in his parents’ home, to a tax-wary corporate executive who claims his corporation as a dependent. Later, in “a voluntary amnesia experiment,” Tim Baltz plays a researcher who administers small electrical shocks to his five subjects (Blackmon, Laurent, Katie Rich, Mary Sohn and Steve Waltien), as they initially lie about their true situations in life."
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Hedy Weiss
NewCity Chicago- Highly Recommended
"...Part of the fun of this section is watching the audience raise the stakes by upping the price on each other. But the true moment of comic genius comes just before the bit starts when the cast announces “You have just voted the way we vote in this country.” Nailed it. Edgar Blackmon stands out (and not just for his scenes as a more hardcore second-term Barack Obama). So does Mary Sohn who proves herself a master of physical comedy."
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Zach Freeman
Stage and Cinema- Recommended
"...Who Do We Think We Are? could stand a couple of blockbuster sketches to pep up the first act but after the intermission the revue elevates itself with funnier, more incisive material seasoned with a garnish of raunchiness. At its best, the production is a quality reminder of what has made Second City such a civic treasure for so many decades."
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Dan Zeff
Chicago Stage Standard- Somewhat Recommended
"... Yes, “Who Do We Think We Are?” is Second City’s 100th revue (in the comedy empire’s nearly 53 years of laugh making). But that’s the only reason it will be remembered. Matt Hovde’s effort argues very strongly for a 101st revue. Its so-called humor is lame, forced, and, above all, stunningly stereotypical. Too often this two-act trifle plays like everything Second City was made to replace—hackneyed or antiseptic satire, the familiarity that insures contempt, half-hearted premises with no punch to the jokes, silly sight gags and bad ideas given way too much development."
Lawrence Bommer
Around The Town Chicago- Recommended
"... The improv section is very funny as instead of just doing it, they hold an auction where the audience pays ( money goes to charity) to get their dream skit performed by these talented players. Tonight, they did a 70 year old man gyrating ( prompted by his daughter wishing to acknowledge his 70th birthday) while two dogs were doing it on stage ( this was the original request, then came the gyrating 70 year old man and then an audience member paid more to have both at the same time. Funny bit-natural- and very old school The second City!"
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Alan Bresloff
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