She the People: "Revealing the female soul"
07 May 2019.

Last August Second City mounted an all-female driven show called She the People. It was a success, but the first version of this show consisted mostly of material from the Chicago company. So now, She the People is back with all new material written by the Toronto cast. And what a cast. Six Second City superstars - Karen Parker, Paloma Nunez, Ashley Comeau, Ann Pornel, Kirsten Rasmussen and Tricia Black - join forces with director Carly Heffernan and writer Carisa Barreca to produce a remarkable show.

All-female comedy troupes used to be like all-female rock bands: a novelty. This has never been the case at Second City, whose MainStage revues always featured an equal number of female comedians in the cast. But She the People, born of the #metoo movement, is not just an attempt to create a safe space for female comedians, it is a chance to see the concerns of women satirized by women themselves. 

The show features quite a few gems, like the sketch where a male mechanic speaks gibberish to several women waiting for their cars to be repaired. Or the scene where a couple tell their obstetrician that they don't want to vaccinate their baby. (Nunez's performance as the doctor in particular is something to be admired.) There is a funny song warning mothers that their babies are likely to grow up and be gay, and at one point, they even phone Christine Elliott, the current Deputy Premier of Ontario and the Ontario Minister of Health and Long-Term Care, but they just get a recorded message.

My favourite sketch was about three politically incorrect cheerleaders, talking about all the things they're going to do (like arouse boys and get abortions). Their male coach, played by the awesome Tricia Black, keeps running back in exasperation to correct them. Black is the stand-out in this show, and clearly she loves what she’s doing. I don't think I've ever seen a sketch comedian smile so much on stage. 

There was one scene I didn’t really like. The cast come out wearing giant face masks of Trump, Doug Ford, Kevin O'Leary (I think), Andrew Scheer, Justin Trudeau and Jordan Peterson while we hear Barbra Streisand's rendition of Send In the Clowns. I don't get it. Trudeau has a long record of supporting women's issues, and Peterson is a clinical psychologist, a university professor, and a best-selling author with controversial opinions. How are they lumped in with giant shits like Trump and Ford?

All things considered, She the People is probably the most socially relevant show in town right now. Not just because it gives talented women a chance to shine on stage, but because it reveals the female soul. Comedy gives us a chance to laugh together, and to understand each other. Its great stuff, and well worth seeing.