pHRENZY
pH now offers two great versions of this hit show! pHrenzy is a competition unlike anything you've ever seen. We pit 8 improvisers against each other in a hilarious "reality game show" spoof. 8 players go in, but by the end only one remains on stage. You vote players out of the show as the show goes on. You get to shape the entire outcome of the show. If a player is not being funny enough, vote them out. If you want your friend to win, come vote out their competitors, you are truly in control of the entire show. Every player is competing for the pHrenzy tropHy. The player that wins it the most in a season, gets to keep it, so everyone is scrambling for a win, and only you can give it to them.
FRIDAYS • 12:30AM (technically Saturday) • $10 • Run Time: 1 Hour 10 Min • Rated: PG-13
To order tickets by phone call 773-732-5450
REVIEWS
HIGHLY RECOMMENDED! This competitive improv show from new performance ensemble pH whittles down contestants in the reality-TV style that’s conquered the world. For the first five rounds, elimination is governed by the host, whose arbitrary rules are concealed from the cast but not the audience; after that things get more democratic— the players fall prey to audience whim. Throw in random “refereeing” (the host can make anybody sit out for just about anything from dropping the ball to beating a dead horse to breathing the wrong way) and you’ve got a recipe for the most athletic idiocy you’ll find on a late night stage in Chicago.
Some of the early-round rules were well conceived the night I attended, eliminating performers for employing classic crutches: variation-on-a-theme accents, playing children, stalling for time. Some of the freelance reffing was even better, punishing players for portrayals too hackneyed, heady or close to home; host Kristine Kitts was given—and deserved—a big round of applause. The second half was less, well, fair; on the other hand, watching selfless-in-theory improv get ground down to its egomaniacal core is always a hoot.
None of this would work without a practiced, talented troupe—the gimmickry’s actually a serious drag on momentum, requiring about twice the energy of your average show. Fortunately this fresh-faced, giddy bunch delivers the goods. Nothing revolutionary, just a lot of whip-smart, hopped-up old school fun. — Brian Nemtusak
Chicagoans take improvisational comedy very seriously. Its devotees can trace its roots to the sacred texts of theatrical innovator Viola Spolin. Those who perform improv undergo rigorous training, in which they are constantly enjoined not to "be funny," but to tell "the truth" with their performances.
I see a lot of improv, most of it is good, some of it is horrendous, and I can say the majority of Chicago improvisers strive to live out the high-minded goals of storytelling and character integrity described above. pH Productions' "pHrenzy," however, doesn't seem to care much about these things, and its show was quite possibly the most fun I've had watching improv in years.
The format of the late-night show involves six performers doing quick short-form scenes and being progressively voted off (or voted back in), based on audience applause. The cutthroat competition angle can be unnerving, as it puts you in the awkward position of telling an actor you don't want to see him or her anymore. Meanwhile, the team's coach inserts himself into the action, arbitrarily making up new rules and "benching" performers when they displease him.
Despite or because of these constraints, the group scores with the kind of high energy, intellectual anarchy that reminds one of why improv is fun in the first place. The show is titled aptly, as we do see a great deal of fast-paced, friendly work in this high pressure environment, which brings out the best in its players.
Strongest cast members included Adal Rifai and the evening's winner, Tristan Tanner, both of whom excelled in combining wit, slapstick and empathy. The entire group had fun putting their considerable collective intelligence into the service of being silly, a truly noble endeavor.
The performance I saw was sadly underattended, although this created an intimate and comfortable vibe. Still, a few more people filling those seats wouldn't hurt the atmosphere, so give these young people an hour of your weekend. — Rory Leahy