Critic’s Choice: ‘Panic on Cloud 9' a slick revue

CHICAGO – The Second City’s latest satiric revue, “Panic on Cloud 9,” takes audiences on a wild ride that underscores the tenuous state of euphoria and how little it takes to puncture an ineffable feeling of happiness.

A talented, tireless cast directed by Ryan Bernier goes for the jugular with timely humor, pushing hot buttons through sketches and songs that incite laughter at just about every turn.

Sacred cows? Forget about it. Their barbs, which hit home more than they fall short of the mark, are wide-ranging from gender confusion to loss of privacy to Ebola.

Veteran cast members Chelsea Devantez, John Hartman and Emily Walker are joined by newcomers Paul Jurewicz, Christine Tawfik and Daniel Strauss in this two-hour romp. The comedic timing is perfect and often, the performers get their point across with the blink of an eye or quirky physical gesture.

The revue, the company’s 103rd, opens with the entire cast seated in a row while riding in a Greyhound bus. One passenger, played by Walker, holds a brood of infants in her arms and blames her predicament on Hobby Lobby not offering birth control.

Devantez, as Robin, and Hartman, as Batman, both shine in a nutty scene where the two superheroes get into a heated discussion about how difficult it is to stop violence without a gun.

In another sketch, an inebriated therapist encounters a client whose innermost secrets she immediately blurts out to the shock the woman’s boyfriend. In one scene, a blunt school psychologist meeting with parents and not mincing words to describe the antisocial behavior profile of their child.

Another impressive scene finds a wife unburdening herself of some unhappy marital memories during a hospital visit with her non-responsive husband, who is semi-comatose following an accident. Then, there’s the two cowboys musing over a campfire on what their lives would have been like had they been born a fancy lady, a 63-year-old Chinese man or a shy architect.

One area where the revue falls short is with improvisations. There’s only one segment involving an audience member who is talked into stepping onstage during a barbershop skit. Asked about what bothers him, he quickly responded “the stupidity of grand juries," which provided fodder to propel the scene on opening night and demonstrate how quickly the cast could think on their feet.

If you go:

What: ‘Panic on Cloud 9'

Where: Second City Mainstage, 1616 N. Wells St., Chicago

When: Ongoing

Tickets: $23 to $48

Show information: Call 312-337-3992 or vist www.secondcity.com