In most fields, calling someone or something “dumb” is an insult. Clients don’t want a “dumb” lawyer to handle their case. Authors aren’t going to include a critic’s “This book is really dumb” blurb on a dust jacket. And if your boss calls you “dumb” on a performance review, you’d better start looking for a new job.
Comedy is not like most fields, however. In comedy, “dumb” is not a bad thing. It’s shorthand for, “That was so simple, so clever, so charming, and I wish I’d thought of that.”
Happy 2 B Here, running Thursday nights at 7pm at The Annoyance Theatre through April 3, is a very dumb show.
Sketch comedy is a deceptively difficult art to master, but the 14 sketches featured here (including two well-executed videos) manage to hit a shockingly high batting average. Directed by Alba Woolard, this show makes no pretense of any goal deeper than making the audience laugh, and it absolutely succeeds. The cast’s strong chemistry and playfulness elevate even the most grounded premises, such as a monologue from a bewildered white-collar employee (Catrina Hughes) or when two fathers (Brian Park and Bill Reick) stumble upon surprising common ground during an awkward conversation.
Of course, just because a sketch begins with a seemingly basic foundation doesn’t mean it won’t pivot into absurdity, and the opening sketch offers a taste of that silly shifting when a mourning funeral attendee (Park) comes to terms with a costly mistake. Park was a delight throughout the show, playing a series of endearingly oblivious characters who served as fun foils for the other cast members’ subdued ties to the real world.
Everyone had a chance to show off their goofy comedic talents at one point or another, however. One of the night’s best sketches involved a manic “girl boss” (Anna Weatherwax) trying way too hard to bond with her employees. Rather than leaning into the trope of the “out of touch authority figure” trying and failing to blend in, Weatherwax elevated the character by incorporating turbo-charged physicality and increasing desperation.
My favorite sketch was a brief but hilarious solo piece in which a child (Jamie McInerney) narrates her experience in a bouncy house. It’s another great burst of physical comedy but one added simple yet ingenious touch made the well-crafted bit even funnier. The closing game show sketch was another highlight.
My only two quibbles with the show were a pair of sketches that abandoned their initial charm to head in weaker directions. In one, an explosive drill sergeant (Weatherwax) prepping cadets for an unusual mission wound up taking a backseat to a mixed bag of sexual puns, and the other takes a turn when a diner (Reick) who bungles his order at a restaurant attempts to gaslight his companions into offering sympathy.
Those small critiques do nothing to change the fact that this is a very funny show from a very talented group. You’d be dumb to miss out on it. And I don’t mean the good kind of “dumb.”
Happy 2 B Here has two more performances (on Thursdays March 27 and April 3 at 7pm) at The Annoyance Theatre, 851 W Belmont Ave. Tickets ($12) are on sale now.
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