Article written by Michael Posner - Toronto Globe and Mail, 3.5 out of 4 stars

Saturday, July 21, 2007

It's been a long time since I've seen a Second City revue as thoroughly entertaining as this one. The last two shows, Tip of the Melting Iceberg and Bird Flu Over the Cuckoo's Nest, certainly had their moments of zany inspiration. But there's scarcely a skit in Facebook of Revelations, which opened Thursday night for an indefinite run, that doesn't click.

This is all the more remarkable because three of the six cast members are newcomers, who typically require a show or two to find their sketch-comedy legs. Credit director Bruce Pirrie, in the first instance, with choosing the right material, assigning it to the right talent, and pacing the evening with style.

The other striking aspect of this review is that while there are plenty of funny lines, most of the comedy springs from characters caught in impossible situations. Writing zingers is very hard work, but some of the biggest laughs of the night are generated here by silence - actors reacting in character to what confronts them. And the laughs are deeper and more sustained as a result.

The objects of satirical attack are the usual suspects - our environmental neurosis, cable-TV phone-in shows, marital infidelity, bisexuality, cars that talk to you, robots with emotions, and a single, albeit extended dose of politics - courtesy of single father Scott Montgomery's 90-second, high-speed peroration on the insolubility of the Afghan crisis, delivered to his two young children Lauren Ash and Marty Adams.

There's one lovely moment in this scene that demonstrates how clever Pirrie is. While Montgomery raves on and on about Canada's mission in Afghanistan, the two kids, bored and uncomprehending, frolic.

At one point, Adams - a very large man (think Chris Farley, but bigger) - lies on his back, feet up, and hoists Ash in the air. Many directors would simply end it there because, while it might be logical for her to then hoist him, it's a physical impossibility, given his size. But here they actually try it a couple of times, and earn comic reward for the awkward effort.

There are no weak spots in the cast. Newcomers to the main stage, Karen Parker and Darryl Hinds, seem to have slightly smaller parts than the others, but they carry them off with aplomb. Hinds is particularly good in two scenes - as a lonely bachelor who takes the opportunity of a neighbour's (Parker) unexpected visit to sing, with karaoke accompaniment, sappy songs from Beauty and the Beast and later, as an always affable, understated corporate middle manager whose underlings (Ash, Montgomery and Jim Annan) naturally want to kill him.

Marty Adams debut is nothing less than sensational. He doesn't speak a single line in what is surely the evening's funniest scene - an extended sketch in which Adams plays a Blue Jay relief pitcher in a tight situation who can't decide what pitch to throw. His indecision brings a series of increasingly comic visits from the catcher (Hinds), the manager (Annan), the opposing team's batter (Parker) and the team mascot. Later, he and Montgomery team up as nerdy, eccentric co-hosts of a cable TV advice show (about to be cancelled for lack of callers) that randomly uses "the Bible" (Leonard Maltin's famous compendium of film) to help assess the personal problems of its viewers. In short, an evening of very solid, character-sustained comedy that won't disappoint.