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Comedy Sat Jan 22 2011
Batterymouth Packs a Punch
Chicago is a comedy Mecca, so it can be difficult to decipher what shows, out of the vast sea of options, are deserving of your precious time and money. Allow me to make it a little easier for you: go see Batterymouth.
The duo's new show, Batterymouth: It Burns, opened last night and is running every Friday until February 18. Inspired by a single suggestion, partners Zack Whittington (also of sketch group Long Pork) and Dave Urlakis (of ComedySportz, Best Church of God) proceed to create a long-form improv riff, a single scene demonstrating the nuances of a relationship between two people. The beauty part is that as the audience learns about these two newly-minted characters on the stage, Whittington and Urlakis are learning about them for the first time too. Great improv requires a lot of attention to detail on the part of the performers, and these two don't seem to miss a beat. The result will vary drastically from week to week, but is sure to be fascinating and beautiful every time. Oh, and funny, too.
If you've seen Batterymouth before, you may remember them as a trio. But when member Mark Walkley left to pursue a graduate degree, Whittington and Urlakis retooled their format. Their hard work has clearly paid off; It Burns is a testament to the men's emotional and physical mastery of their comedic art form.
Batterymouth: It Burns is directed by E.J. Scott. It runs Fridays at 7:30 p.m. through February 18 at Second City's deMatt Theater, Piper's Alley, 1616 N. Wells. Tickets are $12 and can be ordered by calling (312) 337-3992 or by visiting secondcity.com, and are available at the deMaat Theatre's box office.
