Depraved New World
Written by the Ensemble
Directed by Mick Napier
Second City Mainstage, 1616 N. Wells (map)
Open Run | tickets: $23 | more info
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Whipsmart ensemble delivers the laughs
The Second City presents
Depraved New World
Review by Catey Sullivan
Civilization is founded on secrets. If we gave voice to the insidious inner voices that silently parallel our outer voices, society would surely crumble. Hey guys, great to see you! (I hate you people.) Thanks for bringing those scrumptious brownies to work! (Everybody hates you and your brownies suck.) Celebrate diversity! (Get away from me, you’re a freak.)
With Depraved New World, Second City gives voice to those silent inner voices, revealing the usually hidden B side of our A side public personas. Directed by Mick Napier, Depraved New World unleashes the devil within in a series of fast-paced sketches that uncover the id behind the ego and the harsh, often hilarious truth behind the smiling pleasantries of everyday interactions. Blind dates, international e-mail scams, pervy senior citizen sponge baths – nothing is safe from skewering here.
Performed and written by a razor sharp ensemble that includes Steve Waltien, Tawny Newsome, Chelsea Devantez, John Hartman, Mike Kosinski and Emily Walker, Second City’s latest mainstage outing sees the storied institution in top form. With indispensable piano accompaniment and music direction from Jesse Case, Depraved New World is also especially rich sonically – this is one of the most musical main stage productions in recent memory. And with genuine vocal powerhouses such as Newsome peppering the piece with musical theater leading lady-worthy singing, Depraved New World sounds fantastic.
Newsome, in fact, is a consistent standout, although to be sure, the ensemble here doesn’t have a weak link. Still, it’s Newsome who stole the show opening night, at one point delivering a breathlessly rapid-fire, spur-of-the-moment three-minute improv on the nutritional value of guacamole and chips. As non-stop, made-up-on-the-spot diatribes go, it was a stunner. Equally effective in a totally different manner: Newsome, Devantez and Walker as a poptastic girl group (think the Shondells or the Supremes) warning all the single ladies “Don’t Date a Douche”.
 
 
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Walker is one of the new faces on the mainstage, and she bears watching. She’s a charismatic, luscious mix of Winona Judd and Shelley Winters. Watch for her wordless depiction of a barnyard chicken with attitude – it’s totally off the wall and nonsensically hysterical. Later, Walker portrays a Dairy Queen manager who is one half of a tattooed, violent trailer park couple who is at once outrageously preposterous and utterly recognizable.
Devantez is equally effective, especially in a sketch that nails the myopic narcissism in the culture of Selfies, Instagram, Vine and Facebook. “Our relationship’s not a concert!” protests her date as Devantez insists he sing an original song about their date for the camera. “No, but I wish it were!” she obliviously enthuses. It’s a moment that crystalizes the Millennials’ creed: Photos or it didn’t happen.
The men of Depraved New World are a singularly homogenous group, a trio of thin, brunette white guys. Their white guy sameness and privilege becomes a running punchline as Waltien, Hartman and Kosinski celebrate their lack of diversity in a skit that has the trio expounding on their varying degrees of skinniness and pastiness.
Making his mainstage debut, Hartman delivers a performance that could catapult him to stardom. With a face like putty and a gawky, frenzied physical presence, Hartman has the rare gift of being able to elicit belly-laughs by virtue of his very presence. His comic timing and his improv skills are razor sharp, but even when he’s skulking creepily in the background he’s still hilarious.
Kosinski, impossibly lanky and evocative of a Daddy Longlegs or perhaps a spastic grasshopper, also gets maximum impact from his singular physicality. His wildly awkward dance moves are giggle-worthy no matter what the context. As for Waltien, he calls to mind a talented version of Ashton Kutcher, using his standard issue good looks to terrific advantage.
In all, Depraved New World delivers the laughs, whether they’re rooted in whipsmart satire (Nancy Grace as a diabolical Satan worshiper with a basement full of sacrificed children) or lowest-common-denominator sex jokes. (Firefighters and surgeons have an orgy)
Napier’s exploration of the uncontrollably inappropriate thoughts simmering below every polite interaction is as astute as it is funny.
Rating: ★★★½
Depraved New World continues at Second City Mainstage, 1616 N. Wells (map), with performances Tuesdays-Thursdays at 8pm, Fridays and Saturdays 8pm and 11pm, Sundays 7pm. Tickets are $23, and are available by phone (312-337-3992) or online through their website (check for half-price tickets at Goldstar.com). More information at SecondCity.com. (Running time: play length, includes an intermission)
Photos by Todd Rosenberg
artists
cast
Steve Waltien, Tawny Newsome, John Hartman, Emily Walker, Mike Kosinski and Chelsea Devantez
behind the scenes
Mick Napier (director), Jesse Case (music director, original music, sound design), Craig Taylor (stage manager), Duke Harbison (asst. director), Kyle Anderson (lighting design, tech director), Bob Knuth (set design, graphic design), Mike Tutaj (projection design), Rachel S. Parent (stylist), Jessica Tong (choreography), Crosstown Scenic (set construction), Alison Riley (producer), Jeremy Smith (asst. producer), Robin Hammond (marketing), Todd Rosenberg (photos)
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