In the early days of comedy, classical music, like a newly wound music box, played in the background, providing a musical laugh track for gags and slapstick. Thanks to characters including the Road Runner and Wile E. Coyote, Warner Bros.’ Looney Tunes and Merrie Melodies cartoons only cemented the connection with hi-speed tonics and jet-propelled pogo stick, all made by Acme.
But it’s not often that the music itself is the subject of comedic mirth. As part of Gilda’s LaughFest, the Grand Rapids Symphony welcomes The Second City comedy troupe to DeVos Performance Hall for plenty of laughs about the worlds of symphony orchestras and classical music.
Grand Rapids Pops presents Second City: Guide to the Symphony, a blend of original sketch comedy with orchestral works by the great masters, on March 16-18 in DeVos Performance Hall, 303 Monroe Ave. NW. Shows are at 8 p.m. Friday and Saturday, March 16-17 and at 3 p.m. Sunday, March 18, part of the Fox Motors Pops series. Fair warning: The show may not be suitable for children and teens under age 15.
A humorous celebration of the symphony orchestra, the show with new music and songs by Mathew Reid lovingly satirizes all things orchestral – the hard-working musicians, the all-powerful maestro, the vast orchestral repertoire, and even the quirks of the audience.
Associate Conductor John Varineau will be on the podium with The Second City performers for the final weekend of LaughFest, which runs March 8 through March 18. The annual 10-day festival of laughter welcomes Trevor Noah on March 10 for LaughFest’s Signature Event.
The Second City – the world’s premiere comedy theater and school of improvisation – offers a cadre of comedic talent from Toronto’s Second City, where the Guide to the Symphony first was performed along with Toronto Symphony Orchestra under Peter Oundjian in 2014.
The sketches riff on and feature pieces from classical masterworks including Mozart’s The Marriage of Figaro and Glinka’s Ruslan and Ludmila.
Hailed by the Toronto Star as “the funniest two hours I spent in a theatre this year,” the show has reached symphony newcomers unfamiliar with Glinka and Mahler, as well as regular symphony-goers.
Most recently, Second City: Guide to the Symphony was at the John F. Kennedy Center for the Performing Arts with the National Symphony Orchestra last season. The Washington Post labeled the performances as “self-aware and funny…a fun departure from what unconverted members of the audience assumed a symphony was.”
With theatrical wit, charm, and lampooning, Second City: Guide to the Symphony, according to DC Metro Arts, left “…the audience laughing even as they headed for the door. And in many cases, with a sudden desire to go to the symphony.”
Tickets start at $18 and are available at the GRS ticket office, weekdays 9 am-5 pm at 300 Ottawa Ave. NW, Suite 100, (located across from the Calder Plaza), or by calling 616-454-9451, ext. 4. (Phone orders will be charged a $2 per ticket service fee, with a $12 maximum.)
Tickets are available at the DeVos Place box office, weekdays 10 a.m. – 6 p.m. or on the day of the concert beginning two hours prior to the performance. Tickets also may be purchased online at GRSymphony.org.
Full-time students of any age are able to purchase tickets for only $5 on the night of the concert by enrolling in the GRS Student Tickets program, sponsored by Comerica and Calvin College. This is a MySymphony360 eligible concert.
