I like the idea behind this late-night show—a little of this, a little of that—but you’d think after a year of doing it, the folks of “O.I.N.K!” would actually understand how to put on a show. Each week the bulk of the night is given over to guest performers—sketch and stand-up acts from the local scene—with host Othy Schwering providing some sort of bridge between. It’s not that it’s sloppy—it is, but so what? The bigger problem is that, aside from the comedy generated by the guest acts, much of this show is intensely bad. Sometimes awful can reach its own peculiar heights of hilarity. In Schwering’s case, the schtick just sort of sits there, taking up time and space. (Schwering also performs a two-man improv set with Kannan Arumugam that is a case study of failure-to-listen.) Schwering may have offbeat comedic instincts (and he knows how to book a good lineup), but seems lost when sizing up a moment, let alone reading an impatient audience. My vote: Wait for the next Schadenfreude Rent Party instead. (Nina Metz)
At New Playground Theater, 3209 N. Halsted, (773)871-3793. Wed 10pm. $7. Open run.
Justice Denied: A Review of "To Kill a Mockingbird" Over the last seventy years, "To Kill a Mockingbird" has proved an impressively durable cultural touchstone. Playwright Aaron Sorkin retains the earlier play’s many sordid elements and adds a couple, too. As always with "Mockingbird," racism is front and center.
