ROSEBUD WAS THE SLED, OR SUNDAY IN THE INDUSTRIAL PARK WITH GEORGE
So a safe, mildly entertaining show with quite good actors, like Second City Northwest’s Rosebud Was the Sled, or Sunday in the Industrial Park With George, is a disappointment.
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Rosebud Was the Sled follows the Second City formula, of course. There’s a nice blend of high comedy and touching, semiserious work. There are a few songs, some getting to know the cast, and a couple of running gags. A smidgen of politics is thrown in for old times’ sake. But with one dazzling exception, the show never steps beyond the bounds of comfortable, innocuous comedy.
The rest of the show is fairly mundane, covering such hot topics as pets, suburban couples at loggerheads, and encounters in elevators. Most of the sketches are entertaining if not particularly memorable. Sean Masterson and Tim O’Malley perform “Toys in the Attic,” a poignant piece about two childhood buddies going their separate ways. Masterson plays the 30-year-old would-be rocker who still lives in the attic of his parents’ house, while O’Malley wants to break out of the small-town, loser rut and better himself by taking courses at DeVry. Steven J. Carell performs “Affluent,” a wonderful–albeit safe–poke at the new administration. It’s done to the tune of what our new president made his unofficial campaign song (over the protests of the irate songwriter and Dukakis supporter Bobby McFerrin), “Don’t Worry, Be Happy.” Masterson and Fran Adams are glamorous and disgusting as a Euro-chic duo attempting an evening of ecstasy in “A Little Night Music.” Carell and John Rubano are brilliant as a dog and a parakeet, respectively, in “Pets.” The two also team up effectively in “Soft,” a piece about two hit men on a camping trip. And the finale of the first act, “Legacy,” is one of the revue’s few forays into politics, a song that points up the nation’s method of dealing with its problems: stick it to the children.
