The company's latest show features a sketch on a woman's right to choose that deserves to become a comedy classic

MISSION TOTALLY POSSIBLE written and performed by PHATT al, Andy Assaf, Andy Hull, Nkasi Ogbonnah, Hannah Spear and Jillian Welsh (Second City). Now running at the Comedy Bar Danforth (2800 Danforth Ave). $33-$48. comedybar.ca. Rating: NNNN

What a difference a week makes.

Now that the Supreme Court of the U.S. has struck down Roe Vs. Wade, Jillian Welsh’s brilliant Second City song from the POV of an unborn fetus should play differently than it did on the show’s opening night. “You don’t have to have me,” she sings in a sweet voice, sensibly laying out all of her reasons. The tune is incredibly catchy, but the content is even stronger. I wouldn’t be surprised if the song elicits ovations now. It even has the potential to be taken up and performed by the company’s sister companies in the U.S.

Directed by terrific alumna Ashley Botting, the new revue – aptly titled Mission Totally Possible – features a mainstage cast in which the women (Welsh, Ngasi Obgonnah and Hannah Spear) have seniority over the men.

That might explain the prevalence of first-rate female-forward sketches like this. In another, the actors play women at a church bake sale who have learned to get rid of shame about their sexuality and celebrate it. In one of the show’s funniest sequences, set in a law firm’s kitchen, one woman (Spear) watches another (Welsh) bravely unpeel a hard-boiled egg, which sets off an aria of self-criticism as she compares herself to the egg-peeler. (The way it’s revisited in the second act sends up the idea of women’s self-confidence even further.)

And if you’ve ever worn a sports bra, you’ll relate to a sketch the women revisit several times throughout the show – each time with bigger laughs.

Not that the men are slouches. This is one of the most balanced revues I’ve seen from the company. Pretty much everyone gets a chance to shine. In an early monologue, Andy Hull plays a beer-drinking, backwards-baseball-cap-wearing guy from Parry Sound who runs into former high school friends. In a few minutes, he creates a portrait of a small-town type who has grown up (government job, kids) but is still a sweet hoser at heart. It’s poignant and truthful, and, like many scenes in the show, beautifully underscored by new music director David William MacIntosh.

Hull also stands out in two other sketches, one in which he plays a guy reluctantly visiting a therapist for the first time and dealing with his toxic masculinity, and another in which he plays a wedding singer who still resents something the groom (Andy Assaf) did when they were in college.

Many sketches have as much heart as they do laughs. That’s certainly the case in a scene involving a Black woman (Ogbonnah) coming home late from a date and dealing with her judgemental granny (PHATT al, making a triumph mainstage return after a few years away). Both characters have strong points of view, and the ending feels earned and poignant.

Not every scene works. The post-opening song sketch about children who want their parents to get a divorce doesn’t belong in that prominent spot. And a sketch in which Spear and PHATT al reflect on something they recently did gets by on energy, great physicality and fun performances, but it could also be cut.

Still, this is one of the best directed and produced revues I’ve seen. Besides MacIntosh’s score, the costumes and wigs do a lot of work at establishing and furthering scenes. An improvised sketch in which Welsh plays Martin Scorsese (!) directing two actors in movies, with genre and subject suggested by the audience, goes to some amusing places. And a coming out sequence, in which Welsh is disowned by her parents then meets Spear is wonderful, their entire life together condensed into a silent film-like sequence. And the company has finally integrated live-streaming into its show, with a sketch that goes to some scarily fun places.

But considering what’s going on in the world right now, you’ll be talking about that reproductive rights sketch as you leave the theatre.

Glenn started writing for NOW’s theatre section in 1997. Currently, he edits and contributes to the film and stage sections. He sees approximately 280 live stage shows and 150 movies a year. His mother once described his job as “Seeing The Lion King"

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