We Should Kill Him

Corn Productions/Cornservatory is a favorite of mine. Best comedy theater in Chicago? Not a chance while Second City, IO and even Annoyance are around but they’ve always been a charming underdog capable of producing the occasional gem. They’re also a great, affordable venue for original works like Deana Velandra’s We Should Kill Him.

The show centers on Candace (Kaleigh Stoller) whose heart has just been broken by philandering standup comic Chris (Shannon Burke) a rogueish, faithless cad and the archetypal artsy dirtbag every woman seems to have dated somewhere around 27. Burk does a fine job with the unenviable task of embodying a character designed to be loathed, with an endless stream of lame excuses and prevarications.

Candace seeks comfort in a fine supporting cast as her circle of friends, Allison Ristaino as quintessential bestie Ellie, Lily Cox as her badass lesbian sister Jen, and Anna Dorian, her newfound friend who was also jerked around by the nefarious Chris. Despite the title, no one actually plans to do Chris in, but everyone on some level wishes someone would, and when Chris does appear to fall to foul play, every character wonders if they could have been accidentally responsible.

The characters are broadly drawn enough to be relatable to most of the audience and the first half of the play is dedicated to some very passionate, and very funny expressions of feminine rage. The show is shameless in eliciting hoots and hollers of UGoGirl solidarity from the crowd.

Meanwhile, one can only experience art through one’s own lens, as an aging bachelor I squrimed a bit, as perhaps I was meant to. Have I ever been That Guy? What? That’s irrelevant. Nothing to do with this review! Shut up!

Velandra’s script and Martina Logan’s direction are smart enough to explore Candace’s own flaws, such as a repeated tendency to use her heartbreak to objectify her own female friends. They also know that the kvetching, however justified, can’t sustain the whole show, so the momentum and entertainment value are maintained by a shift into darkly funny 90s crime caper territory.

All told it was a trip to the old Cornservatory I am glad I got to take.

Runs for 4 weekends on Thursdays, Fridays and Saturdays, from September 6th – September 28th at 7:30pm, with a preview on Thursday, September 5th. Located at Cornservatory, 4210 N Lincoln Ave Chicago IL. Tickets are $15.00 for Thursday performances and $20.00 for Friday and Saturday performances.