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Second City Pride

Last night, to continue my Pride week extravaganza, I went to another Second City show, this one their Saulute to Pride. Following my knowledge from my first Second City show, I arrived an hour before the show started, fifteen minutes before the doors would open. My obsessive timing was rewarded with a seat so close I could literally reach out and touch the stage.




I was seated next to another woman around my age who was also there early, and we made pleasant small-talk. I learned that she was also from out of town, but was in for her job with a journalism non-profit. She had been a communications major, and had just graduated the previous May. Given our overlapping interests, we found plenty to talk about. Before the show started, I ordered the Pride Party Punch off their special Pride show menu. It was a delicious rum-based drink, and the sour-candy pride flag was a welcome surprise.


The show itself was the funniest and most relatable thing I had ever seen in my life. It opened with a Potter Puppet Pals-esque musical number, but instead of character names the various parts were filled in by sexualities. And pizza. The show continued to be a wealth of bits, but I'll just tell you about my favorite. My favorite sketch is based on The Wizard of Oz, and it opens with the Wicked Witch yelling at Dorothy, "I'll get you, my pretty, and your little dog, too!" Once she's off stage, Dorothy turns to her companions, outlines their peril, and then says, "But there were vibes, right? Like that was just a very intense and flirty moment between two women?"

This Gay PanicTM summons her fairy gaymother, the Good Bitch of the East, played by drag queen Lucy Stool. The fairy gaymother hides offstage and listens to another batch of compliments couched in threats and then tells Dorothy to go for it. When the Wicked Witch asks if Dorothy has any last words, Dorothy uses her last words ask the Wicked Witch on a date. After the Wicked Witch has agreed, they talk about how nervous they both were because of all the death threats and the fact that you can never tell how queer someone is, and the Good Bitch of the East imparts the wisdom that you should always trust your vibes. The show maintained that quality, but that sketch was my favorite because the idea of not being able to tell if another woman is gay was just way too real. Overall, it might be my favorite show I've ever seem.

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