The strangely addictive, merrily bizarre talent show/improv combo platter known as "Impress These Apes" is back for round three, tearing up the Lakeshore Theater Monday nights like nobody's business.
An ingenious idea that works every time I've seen it, "Impress These Apes" is an eight-week competition devised by the folks at Blewt! Productions who have cast a group of local actors and comedians hoping to snag the $500 grand prize. But forget the cash, this is about pride: Nobody wants to bomb. The fear of suckitude becomes a wellspring of inspiration.
The structure is clear and easy to grasp (similar to reality show competitions, minus eliminations) while maintaining an illusion of barely controlled chaos. I'm a sucker for this show. Very few comic entertainments feel this inclusive—we're all in on the joke. Gone is the normal balance of power that favors performers on stage. The contestants here bring confidence and ego, but they are blatantly vulnerable, and in a good way—they're attempting something loopy and outside their comfort zone, and who knows if it will work?
Three apes sit at the judges' table offering weirdly perceptive comments to the participants who arrive each week having prepared a new "talent," as pre-determined by the apes. (The judges under the simian masks are Tyler Lansdown, Paul Luikart and Steve Gadlin, expert in the art of clever raunch.)
Opening night had each contestant perform a brief stand-up routine, and the results were pretty good even when they were kind of bad. It was James Asmus (of the sketch troupe Hey You Millionaires) who really killed with a set that channeled Dane Cook—to my eyes, anyway—both embracing and mocking Cook's lame-o style in a single gesture. (Watch video clips on impresstheseapes.com.)
Coming up Monday, contestants will perform a historical re-enactment, whatever that means. I can tell you this much: The bar will be open, and the show will be as happily unpredictable as ever.
Through Nov. 10 at the Lakeshore Theater, 3175 N. Broadway. Tickets are $15 at 773-472-3492.
For "Impress These Apes" tickets and more info, click here.
