Steadstyle Chicago
	July 2009 Theatre Review by Alan Bresloff
	Studs Terkel's Not Working 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.  This production directed by Matt Hovde in the intimate Second City e.t.c. theater located upstairs at Piper's Alley is one skit after another with laughs galore.  Not just laughs, but belly laughs. The cast of six performers who also write the show are all sharp comedians with great improv skills.  Second City, now celebrating its 50th year, has always been known for improv and although these actors have a basic script they do a few bits involving audience members that will have you in stitches.  The beauty of doing improv is that the show will never be stale as new audience members and new ideas will change those skits entirely.  They deal with dating, smoking, politics, working, not working, adoption of children from other countries and many more topics.  The music is directed by Michael Descoteaux and the choreography is handled by Alex Aldape. No matter what you are experiencing in life and we all have our ups and downs, from the opening number about turning off your cell phones on, you will experience two hours of laughter and forget anything that may have been rough that day.  And let's face it, we all need some escape time.  This is it!  The performers Christina Anthony, Amanda Blake Davis, Tom Flanagan, Andy St. Clair, Beth Melewski and Timothy Edward Mason know how to play an audience.  In this intimate theater, by the end of the first act, you will feel like you know all six of them.  They are bright, energetic and talented and good looking to boot.  They sing, they dance, they are terrific! "Studs Terkel's Not Working" is an open end production with performances Wednesday at 8 p.m. (through August 19), Thursday and Friday at 8 p.m., Saturday at 8 and 11 p.m., Sunday at 7 p.m.  Tickets are only $20 or $25, which is just a bit more than a movie and this is live theater!  To purchase your tickets and I suggest you do so right away call 312-337-3992 or visit www.secondcity.com.  Second City E.T.C. is located at 1608 N. Wells Street 2nd floor of Piper's Alley right between Adobo Grill and Starbucks in Old Town.  Enjoy!   About Alan Bresloff Alan Bresloff, once an actor himself, has been covering the Chicago Theater Scene since 1993, first as the Theater and Arts critic for LaRaza newspaper, then with Salsachicago.com and then onto Extra Newspaper and The Epoch Times.  He also writes for ElImparcial and TeleGuia.  His reviews can also be seen on www.theatreinchicago.com.  Alan does not call himself a "critic" but a "reviewer" as he tries to educate the reader about theater itself, what is a good value, what to look for in a play or musical and more.  "Exposure to theater is a very important part of a young person's life" he says. "Learning about the arts and culture is in fact learning about life" and he tries to explain more in his reviews than just if it is good or bad.  Even some of the poor productions have some value, he often says and he would love your feedback on shows that you have seen.  You can write him here or at albresloff@sbcglobal.net.