Pandemonium, Please Hold Reviews

Chicago Tribune - Highly Recommended

"...Overall, "Pandemonium' is a very polished show, a descriptor that isn't always fully applicable to sketch comedy but is important at this theater because the Chicagoans who recommend a night at Second City to their friends want them to have an abundant experience, distinct from improv or stand-up. Thanks in no small part to the shaping by Barreca (who I always admired back when she was on stage), "Pandemonium" delivers on that by probing anxieties large and small, mostly driven by personal experience."

Chicago Reader - Highly Recommended

"...But as I find again and again at Second City, the best material comes from sketches involving unlikely encounters. In a lovely scene in the first act, Zoe McKee is a newbie to kite-flying who runs into two older widows, played by Cat McDonnell and Yazmin Ramos. They help her figure out how to get her kite airborne, while asking her if she's a lesbian. (She is!) As the questions continue, it's clear that the two women are getting ready to finally come out as a couple. As Leslie Buxbaum, the writer of Out Here at Court Theatre, noted to me last month, stories about older women coming out are still very scarce in theater. This scene is just a lovely slice-of-life gem."

Curtain Call Chicago - Highly Recommended

"..."Pandemonium, Please Hold" is smart, hysterically chaotic and a triumph of mainstage shows. This is one of the funniest shows I've seen at Second City. It captures the best of what we have come to expect from S.C. performers. The scenes are topical and at many times, gleefully unhinged. This show is fresh, current, relevant and sharply polished; the cast is seasoned and connected. They have audiences laughing at the chaos and never buried by it. The show title is a perfect reflection of what they have in store for us for about two hours."

Splash Magazine - Highly Recommended

"...This artistic ensemble delivered brilliant, accomplished performances. Bill Letz, a Southside Chicago native, adroitly leads the Second City alums in hysterical chaos that perfectly satirizes our anxiety over contemporary frustrations concerning everyday life."

Allie and the After Party - Highly Recommended

"...Speaking the language of the internet and incorporating current pop culture references, Second City’s Pandemonium, Please Hold is smart writing that captures our current state of mind while being able to laugh about it. It has all the high notes of a traditional sketch comedy show from long form, to short bits, to musical numbers that keep the audience laughing from start to finish."