Chicago Tribune
- Highly Recommended
"...Throughout it all, you get a deliciously noir sense of Chicago playing its perennial role as a city of hypocritical heroes, lovable villains and broken noses. Hovde and his stellar cast—Christina Anthony (keep your eye on that name), Amanda Blake Davis, Mason, Beth Melewski, Andy St. Clair and the manic standout Tom Flanigan—give the show a Depression Era, Terkel-like look and feel, piling on the purple socialist prose and mercilessly mocking our romantic delusions."
Chicago Sun Times
- Somewhat Recommended
"...At first glance, the title of the Second City e.t.c.'s new show -- "Studs Terkel's Not Working" -- might seem a bit snide. But that's not its intention at all. In fact, the revue, directed by Matt Hovde, pays homage to the man who chronicled Chicago in many works of oral history, including a 1974 book, Working, that asked ordinary people 'what they did all day and how they felt about it.' So, whatever you might feel about the decidedly uneven, notably slow-to-start revue that opened Sunday, at least it nods in the direction of the one in 10 Americans now unemployed. And Studs would have approved of that."
Chicago Reader
- Recommended
"...Several scenes in this new Second City E.T.C. revue fail to meet SC's high standards for sketch comedy--some never end, some never build, and the writing isn't notably keen. But a few actually raise the bar. One hilarious improvised segment rewrites the book on clever crowd work: an onstage narrator relates the action as an audience member becomes a private dick in a film-noir adventure."
Windy City Times
- Highly Recommended
"...In all, Not Working shows Second City sallying forth in its 50th year as a comedic superpower. Directed by Matt Hovde, Not Working is polished, hilarious and alternately mensa-level smart and 10-year-old-boy stupid—both extremes being equally amusing. If Daley II is emperor-in-chief, Second City is the invaluable court jester who can criticize with the venom of a scorpion and get away with it simply because: a ) in the end, there's no arguing with truth and b ) the wit is so infectious you can't help but laugh even when the joke is oh so very clearly on you."
Chicago Free Press
- Recommended
"...As the title of e.t.c.’s 33rd review suggests (but never promises), Chicago’s perplexing people provide a Studs Terkel-style storyboard for skits about willfully ignorant tourists on a double-decker sightseeing bus, an elaborately faux “film noir” improv scene set in 1959 Chicago and a wildly improvised gripe session in which Timothy Edward Mason turns the crowd into a wailing wall attacking parking meters, police torture, Stroger, Blagojevich, the Olympic games, the sales tax—you get the drift. A gay couple in Andersonville struggle to conform to hetero spousal stereotypes, happily without success. The real nod to Terkel comes when apposite jobs, suggested by audience members, become grist for some terrific improv."
Copley News Service
- Highly Recommended
"...The new revue at SecondCity e.t.c. is so funny that spectators may not recognize at first the audacity of the show. There are skits on race and gender and politics that really push the envelope, but the bits are wrapped around so many laughs that the material seems safer than it really is."
Centerstage
- Highly Recommended
"...There are musical numbers and infomercials, stand-alone bits and recurring jokes, plus a memorable explanation of why the economy is so bad. For the first time in a few years, political humor takes a backseat to good, old-fashioned sketch comedy, and the performers are given free reign to create characters on their own rather than attempting to imitate well-known politicos."
Chicago Stage Review
- Highly Recommended
"...Studs Terkel’s Not Working at Second City e. t. c. is, above all, hysterically funny — a revue that will make your date happy they came out to see a show with you. The ensemble is tight. It is bittersweet that the northwest corner of North and Wells is but a layover on the journey to stardom. See these actors here in Chicago while you can; several of them will be working for either Conan O’Brien or Lorne Michaels before the decade is out."
Chicago Stage and Screen
- Highly Recommended
"...How do you spell hilarious? The correct spelling is Second City e.t.c. and their new show, "Studs Terkel is Not Working" a marvelous romp dealing with what Chicago is all about, past and present. For those of you unaware of Studs Terkel, he was Chicago, a writer and TV personality back in the old days who did great interviews with ordinary people. From these interviews, he penned a book called "Working," which also became a hit musical, where individuals talk about their jobs. In this production they do some of this as well and the title is in fact honoring a man who meant a great deal to our city and its culture."
