Review: The Other Other Guys

Nina Metz raves

The Other Other Guys have been performing all new, spectacle-laden sketch shows every month at iO since October, and Nina Metz caught their latest, an epic set in Outer Space, at Chicago Sketchfest. Here’s what she had to say:

“This locally based group is young but insanely confident, and its swaggering sensibility hearkens back to Amy Poehler’s time with Upright Citizens Brigade during its early Chicago incarnation, pushing the boundaries of what a sketch show can offer in terms of long-form storytelling. Last weekend The Other Other Guys conceived a sweeping and deadly funny riff on “2001: A Space Odyssey” that unspooled through flashbacks and stand-alone bits featuring each character’s back story, including a pair of hillbilly astrophysicist twin brothers (played by a wonderfully knuckleheaded Eric Roth and Eric Siegel, the abrasive yin to Roth’s loosey-goosey yang). Chris Blake, the stagehand who helped the performers achieve their zero-gravity effects, found some exceptionally droll moments with his wordless reactions. Directed by Michael Balzer, these top-notch writers and performers navigated that dicey ground between simplicity (using a couple of props at most) and brocaded detail (showing us the inner lives of each character). They perform a brand-new show the first Friday of every month at iO Theater and are worth checking out before their talents take them elsewhere."

Read the whole review here, and don’t miss the next Other Other Show!