If the holiday has left you crazed, Holidazed & Confused can distract you from your cares with much jolliness. The Second City Toronto show is a series of punchy and clever comedy sketches, directed by Paul Bates, with one humorous hit after another. Come see the holidays through a different set of eyes…perhaps something more skewed than the typical feel good stories spewed out at this time of year on television and definitely more clever.
The sketches are performed and written by Kristopher Bowman, Leigh Cameron, Kyle Dooley, Devon Hyland, Hayley Kellett and Kirsten Rasmussen.
Kirsten Rasmussen is extraordinary skilled at playing a variety of characters. She plays the kid who is seriously potty-mouthed and swears like a sailor in an ice bucket challenge in the bathroom. In the next sketch, she swiftly switches gear and adds 70 years to her age as a grandmother who has given up on Christmas. Throughout the show, Rasmussen continuously demonstrates how elastic her acting skills are. She truly is a star and well worth seeing.
Many of the sketches are not holiday-specific. The story of the young man who goes to a corner store to buy a lime is a classic. The grocer informs him that the store has been bought by a conglomerate and what comes next is brilliant.
Our seats for Holidazed and Confused were on the balcony. The seating was a bit cramped and the balcony did not have the best view of the stage, but the great comedy made up for the less-than-ideal seating. The last time I attended Second City, I sat on the main floor and preferred it.
Grab your friends and head out to Second City Toronto for some holiday craziness that will leave you relaxed and in a good mood from all the belly laughs. The late afternoon shows are fabulous for pre-party warming up.
Holidazed and Confused runs to January 16, 2015. Second City is located at 51 Mercer Street in Toronto. Matinee performances start at $22; evening performances start at $25. Full bar and finger food menu is available. Dinner packages are available at neighbouring Wayne Gretzky’s Restaurant. Call 416-343-0011 to reserve tickets.
