Sync

LITTLE ROCK — By the time you read this, there will be no more than five performances left of The Second City’s 50th Anniversary Comedy Tour stop in Little Rock at the Arkansas Repertory Theatre.

Simply put, you need to be at one of them.

Seriously, central Arkansas hasn’t been this funny since there was a trailer home parked on the lawn of the Governor’s Mansion.

(In all fairness to actor Robin Williams and author David Sedaris, both funny men, the above was written before they came to town over the weekend. But here’s hoping they both got a chance to check out this show while they and it were here at the same time.)

For those who don’t know, the Second City is a comedy group with roots in Chicago. They’re all over the place now — Detroit, Los Angeles, Toronto, even on Norwegian Cruise Lines — but they made their name doing improv and sketch comedy. And many of the funniest performers in the past 50 years got their start at Second City. Yes, even before they were on TV they were writing or performing (or both) for this group. This anniversary tour show is a collection and celebration of some of the best skits to come out of those 50 years.

While the cast in the visiting tour company may not include Bill Murray, Dan Aykroyd or Stephen Colbert (all former Second City members), rest assured the talent of this ensemble is enough to reach the same lofty heights as those illustrious predecessors. That includes cast: Ross Bryant, Megan Hovde Wilkins, Dana Quercioli, Edgar Blackmon and Tim Robinson. Their talents are under the direction of T.J. Shanoff, in the hands of stage manager Kyle Anderson and accompanied by musical director Bryan Dunn.

Unlike many shows you find on a theater stage, this one isn’t a drama, mystery, musical or even a comedy. No, it’s a series of (mostly) unrelated songs and skits that may be prewritten or may be made up on the spot. The effect is sort of like watching a funny version of Saturday Night Live, except the sketches may last several minutes or only a line or two.

To wit, one of the funnier cracks occurs when lights come up on a woman in a chair with a man standing over her shoulder, who looks as though he’s reading something.

“Honey, what do you think about this abortion bill?” the man asks.

“Pay it,” she replies.

This might be a good time to mention that the humor is pretty adult oriented and The Rep is not recommending the show for the little ones. Indeed, no topic is taboo. Politics, race, sex and religion are all fair game and all get their turn.

So, too, does the audience. Whether it’s prying a name and occupation from one audience member and making up a song about them on the spot or prompting the audience as a whole for suggestions to fit into a sketch — sort of like Mad Libs — there’s lot of interaction in this show.

At the pre-opening night BrewHaHa event, one sketch ended up with prodigal son Barack Obama (audience provided name) coming home to smack his mother in the mouth (audience provided aspiration) despite being distracted by a pole dancer (audience provided shortcoming). The cast blended it all beautifully, even without cracking up once “Tiny Dancer” started ringing out from the piano. That’s about when I lost it.

As the crowd was filing out, I overheard one patron say that it was the best show they’d seen at The Rep. I didn’t get a chance to ask if they were lifelong ticket holders or if this was a first visit, but either way the sentiment can’t be missed.

Neither should The Second City.

The Second City’s 50th Anniversary Comedy Tour continues at the Arkansas Repertory Theater through Sunday, Oct. 18. Shows are Wednesday at 7 p.m., Thursday and Friday at 8 p.m., Saturday at 2 p.m. and 8 p.m., and Sunday at 2 p.m. and 7 p.m. Tickets range from $20-$30, depending on date, time and seat selection. Call 800-6THEREP or visit www.therep.org.