I wanted to love this place. And in many ways, I did. And I'll probably give it another chance.
The main thing about Second City and me is that I've been to the original Chicago location. In Chicago, my friends and I laughed until we cried. One of my best friends still has a nickname acquired at Second City Chicago. The comedy was witty and funny and politically relevant. The show was cohesive and progressed naturally.
Second City New York is still trying to find out who they are and who they want to be. The bits are a little clunky and don't flow well together. Very choppy. Missing that sophistication Chicago has. One second they are doing a skit about school kids, the next NYPD in the subway, then Harry Potter.
That being said, I really loved the cast. I could tell they were funny people in real life, even if some of the skits fell flat. I could see they are cool people that I would enjoy hanging out with. There was a lot more audience interaction work here than in Chicago. I was actually part of the skits several times, to the point that the cast gave me kudos at the end for being a good sport. While this wasn't the funniest night I've ever had, it was fun, and the audience really seemed to enjoy themselves.
Oh, and it didn't hurt that my seat was front row and center! So great view!
The bartenders were great. Very welcoming and helpful. The service staff is still working out the kinks. I got overlooked at first because (as happens to me so often), I was a single party sat next to a group of a few. I finally got service and had the charcuterie platter, which was actually pretty good for a comedy club, and the deviled eggs (they were fine, but lacked seasoning, but what do you expect from deviled eggs at a comedy club). They also have burgers, fries, and some other sandwiches. I just didn't want to mess with dishes that heavy in a comedy venue.
There were a couple drinks I had ordered from the bar that were decent. The Back Line (tequila reposed, mastic tears, agave, lemon juice, transatlantic bitters). I also had the Rave Review (mezcal, cappelletti aperitivo, heirloom pineapple amaro, lemon juice, and agave). I had a couple of other drinks as well, both a little too sweet for me.
We also had a couple of mishaps during the night. At the beginning of the show, the fire alarm went off. So we stood outside for quite sometime while the FDNY came to shut it off. We got a complimentary drink ticket for that. And I already had two complimentary drink tickets because they changed the show time twice beforehand. Unfortunately, I only got credit for one of my tickets, but that's ok. I understand working out the kinks.
Anyway, this place has a way to go, but this is just their inaugural season. I'm willing to stick around and see what happens as they grow into who they really want to be (let's be honest, I'm always rooting for New York over Chicago any day). read more