Entertainment offerings in the 217 just got an injection of original sketch comedy. A new, local ensemble called the Capitol City Comix debuted its show “Friday Night Live” on July 10 to a sold-out crowd. It’s billed as “SNL, but local, louder, and way weirder,” and while it might not be as groundbreaking as SNL, there are plenty of entertaining nuggets to leave one thinking this group may be on to something.
The writing featured a good deal of local humor and inside jokes, but that’s not necessarily bad. There’s plenty in Springfield to poke fun at. The full ensemble of Carmen Allen, Tina Dye, Renée Hatfield, Douglas McDonald, Spencer McDonald, Scott Nation, Wendy Oakes, Keegan Otwell and William “Bill” Panichi, plus Carrie Mikaelson running tech, performed a whopping 28 skits that wrapped up at around two hours, including musical breaks and intermission. While not overly long, I do think some trimming could streamline the production to a tight 90 minutes and still work well.
The idea for the show goes back years.
“Bill Panichi started a comedy group called Offensive Line around 2001, and I was part of that skit comedy group,” said cast member Doug McDonald. “Fast forward to 2023, Bill and I talked about resurrecting OL and producing an SNL-style show in Springfield. He held meeting after meeting until the right mix of people committed.”
For cast member Carmen Allen, forming the group was like a “minor miracle.” After some fits and starts to get an initial meeting off the ground, things just took off in March.
“Writers, actors and creators kept coming out of the woodwork,” Allen said, adding that the writing process was “entirely collaborative.”
“Bill Panichi constantly brought in archived sketches for us to read and dissect, which gave us a great foundation,” she said.
“Carmen, Rene and Tina turbocharged the whole process once they got involved – they brought serious organization and momentum,” McDonald said. “Scott Nation was also a core member who attended every meeting and was a consistent actor and contributor from early on.”
Panichi was “delighted” with the addition of new cast members. They “instinctively knew how to go beyond the written words. They wrung every ounce of laughter out of the material using expressions, gestures, costumes and props.”
As an apparent homage to the first Saturday Night Live, the show is hosted by a well-known influencer who appears several times, offering us divine musings. Not unlike George Carlin popping up throughout SNL’s debut, this host summons us into the fray in one of the more successful components of the show. There were definitely others but there were also some weak spots, perhaps due to nerves and the inevitable growing pains.
The more successful skits such as “Conspiracy Running,” “Cheery Time Children’s Hour” and “Table for Two” worked well because performers embodied unique, memorable characters that leaned into clever writing and their setting.
Compare that to “Week Day Update,” which was well-written but disjointed because the actors, other than wearing blazers, didn’t take on the persona of news anchors. If the lines were performed straight, ala Chevy Chase (or other SNL alums) on Weekend Update, the jokes would have landed better. For a contemporary example, look up anchor/reporter Carissa Codel’s “Reading Viewer Comments” on Instagram. Funny stuff.
Some of the humor was a little dated or excessive. There were references to a temporary Lincoln display that’s been gone so long, I wondered how many in the audience understood the joke.
And I while I do appreciate expertly executed bathroom humor, too many of the skits veered into blue territory. “Going there” strikes me as unoriginal but, if you are going to include dialog and skits about people’s private parts and sex habits, remember less is more.
The commercials, which were fun, might have played better as videos or in darkness. Listening to a voice-over while watching actors on a fully lit stage moving tables and chairs around made it hard to catch everything, especially with the noise distractions in the venue. Where you sit might make a difference, and I am sympathetic to the tech limitations in the space.
While there’s always room for growth, this is a welcome endeavor. It’s undoubtedly not CCC’s first and only run, and I look forward to what comes next.
Want to go?
The remaining shows are at 7 p.m. Friday, July 17 and 24 at Arlington’s Catering & Historic Venue, 210 Broadway, in downtown Springfield.
Tickets are $15 per person and can be purchased using the Eventbrite app via the QR code or at the door. Seating is limited, and I hear remaining tickets are going fast, so if you’re even remotely curious, best get your tickets.
