Congress has cut federal funding for public media — a $3.4 million loss for LAist. We count on readers like you to protect our nonprofit newsroom. Become a monthly member and sustain local journalism.
This is an archival story that predates current editorial management.
This archival content was written, edited, and published prior to LAist's acquisition by its current owner, Southern California Public Radio ("SCPR"). Content, such as language choice and subject matter, in archival articles therefore may not align with SCPR's current editorial standards. To learn more about those standards and why we make this distinction, please click here.
Check It Out: FrankenMatt at Second City
FrankenMatt. Photo courtesy the guys themselves.
Second City is a name synonymous with theatre and comedy. From early roots in Chicago and Toronto, Second Citizens have gone on to become some of the most recognized and revered comedy faces to dot the landscape of the past few decades. Perhaps no other improv / sketch comedy theatre has been as nationally influential in bringing about the current comedy scene we have today. And with outposts all across America, Second City has always put itself in a position to succeed.
It is a shame, then, that many people are either unaware or uninterested in the Los Angeles incantation of such a storied theatre giant as Second City. Perhaps it is the location; tucked away quietly on the second floor of an unassuming string of buildings overlooking Hollywood Boulevard, it is simultaneously right in the mix and far removed. There are no gaudy flashing bulbs drawing the eye and and it's beholder up the staircase and into the well-kept theatre. Only a small sign and arm-length awning await the average showgoer to the 6560 Hollywood Blvd. address.
Support for LAist comes from
Luckily, there are still dedicated comedians walking the halls of Second City LA, ensuring that the long-lasting legacy of supremacy will not fade on their watch. Two such perfect examples are Matt Craig and Frank Caeti, who combine to form the successful (for a reason) two-man sketch comedy team FrankenMatt. Their shows, like their namesake, are a monstrous two-headed hybrid of funny that will leave you thrashing in your seat from laughter. And FrankenMatt's latest sketch show offering is nothing short of amazing.
With sketch comedy, you sort of expect one of two experiences: a heavily-themed show that follows basic plot principles and maintains the same characters throughout, or a disjointed show where characters are used and dropped along the hodgepodge path of scenes that make up a whole show. But with FrankenMatt, you get something different. The show is sculpted loosely around the journey of two friends on a road trip to Seattle, but is full of quick scenes and small vignettes that add flavor and show versatility, without interweaving themselves into a larger narrative.
The sketches also do a superb job balancing reality with pure absurdity, and action-oriented scenes with lots of movement, to more static and dialogue-driven sketches. Some of the funniest moments come when the duo is really branching out (be it in using small props to create hilarious additional characters), but these are then quickly balanced with side-splitting moments of conversation about the best slang term for smoking pot.
FrankenMatt is so unlike almost every other sketch show currently on tap, with its Family Guy-esque non-sequiturs and cut-aways, with its moments of technical crispness and dedication to showmanship, with its all-or-nothing approach to absurdity and heightening. It is not a show to be easily missed, especially if you have never been to 6560 Hollywood Blvd. to help cement the legacy of a truly great American comedy institution.
FrankenMatt
8p, Saturday, December 20th.
Second City Hollywood
6560 Hollywood Blvd.
Hollywood, CA 90028
Tickets at the door are CASH ONLY, or you can buy here.
If you can't make this Saturday, be sure to pencil in their future dates: 1/17, 1/24, and 1/31.
As Editor-in-Chief of our newsroom, I’m extremely proud of the work our top-notch journalists are doing here at LAist. We’re doing more hard-hitting watchdog journalism than ever before — powerful reporting on the economy, elections, climate and the homelessness crisis that is making a difference in your lives. At the same time, it’s never been more difficult to maintain a paywall-free, independent news source that informs, inspires, and engages everyone.
Simply put, we cannot do this essential work without your help. Federal funding for public media has been clawed back by Congress and that means LAist has lost $3.4 million in federal funding over the next two years. So we’re asking for your help. LAist has been there for you and we’re asking you to be here for us.
We rely on donations from readers like you to stay independent, which keeps our nonprofit newsroom strong and accountable to you.
No matter where you stand on the political spectrum, press freedom is at the core of keeping our nation free and fair. And as the landscape of free press changes, LAist will remain a voice you know and trust, but the amount of reader support we receive will help determine how strong of a newsroom we are going forward to cover the important news from our community.
Please take action today to support your trusted source for local news with a donation that makes sense for your budget.
Thank you for your generous support and believing in independent news.
Chip in now to fund your local journalism
(
LAist
)
Trending on LAist
-
With less to prove than LA, the city is becoming a center of impressive culinary creativity. -
Nearly 470 sections of guardrailing were stolen in the last fiscal year in L.A. and Ventura counties.
-
Monarch butterflies are on a path to extinction, but there is a way to support them — and maybe see them in your own yard — by planting milkweed.
-
With California voters facing a decision on redistricting this November, Surf City is poised to join the brewing battle over Congressional voting districts.
-
The drug dealer, the last of five defendants to plead guilty to federal charges linked to the 'Friends' actor’s death, will face a maximum sentence of 65 years in prison.
-
The weather’s been a little different lately, with humidity, isolated rain and wind gusts throughout much of Southern California. What’s causing the late-summer bout of gray?
Best of LAist