If you’re middle-age or older and looking for a fun evening, I have a recommendation.
Three talented performers, dare I say senior citizens, who are proven comedians have returned to Evanston from successful careers in Hollywood.
As part of Practical Theatre Company, they have put together a comedy revue, Vic & Paul & Dana’s Funny Summer Show: an hour and a half of clever sketches with professionals who know how to deliver a line.
Victoria Zielinski, Paul Barrosse and Dana Olsen have a long history together, and it shows in how they interact on stage, always in sync and milking laughs from each other.
Barrosse and a group of fellow Northwestern University students originally founded the Practical Theatre Company in 1979. After some success in Chicago, members of the group were hired by Saturday Night Live for the 1982 season. They were young and their humor was edgy and about having fun with current events and politics.
Their material is still about having fun, but the topics they focus on are now geared to older audiences: computer confusion, pickleball, health conversations, community fights and subjects that might seem mundane but are actually fodder for comedy.
Their sketch about ChatBot artificial intelligence taking over their jobs as comedy writers, starts the evening. The side effect polka sketch, song and all, is a hilarious medical commentary. And a pickleball sketch, complete with older guys proving their masculinity over a challenge competition, is a witty take on today’s pickleball craze.
Political satire
Meanwhile, another conversation centered on complaints about potholes leads to a more savvy political satire.
“We know our audiences, and after so many years, we know what we’re interested in talking about,” said Barrosse, the company’s artistic director.
Comedy is in the watching, with timing and delivery all-important. Descriptions aren’t so useful. Let me just say these three know how to play their lines for laughs, and it’s a heck of a lot of fun to watch.
The revue also has some added attractions: a back up band adds some pizzazz to the evening’s entertainment, while song interludes give the three performers a chance to take a break from their antics.
With the obvious writing talents of Barrosse, Olsen and Zielinski, I would have liked to have seen what lyrics they might have produced for their own SNL-style song parodies.
Dancers Moxie Dully, Annie Alexander and Emily Hauser hold inflatable beach toys while Barrosse, Zielinski and Olsen look at a laptop during a sketch about AI. Credit: Bea Rashid 
Dana Olsen, Victoria Zielinski and Paul Barrosse in a sketch about pickleball. Credit: Bea Rashid 
Dancers Emily Hauser, Annie Alexander and Moxie Dully (wearing Red Cross hats) perform alongside Dana Olsen, Victoria Zielinski and Paul Barrosse in a sketch about pickleball and male competition. Credit: Bea Rashid
Comedy takes energy, and the performers need some breaks in-between sketches. Their creative solution is to have three young women provide dance interludes, and also serve as stage hands as they move pieces of the set around during their dance moves.
It’s nice to know ahead of time that the entertainment is going to be an evening of good humor with skilled performers and plenty of laughs. I recommend going to Vic, Paul and Dana’s Funny Show with friends and leaving together in good spirits.
Welcome back to Evanston, Practical Theatre Company, and welcome back Zielinski, Barrosse and Olsen.
The summer revue is playing through July 1. An added attraction is free parking on a large lot and easy Evanston access.
Where: Studio5, 1934 Dempster St.
Info: 847-328-6683
What fun! Cissy, thank you for covering this. I would never have known about it otherwise!
Attended with friends, excellent evening of live entertainment.
A bike ride away with many dining options nearby,
eight thumbs waay up!!! Great comedy, a tonic for whatever ails you!!!
For tickets to the Practical Theatre Company production of “Vic & Paul & Dana’s Funny Summer Show” go to: https://www.tickettailor.com/events/practicaltheatre/864048