“If it’s great, awesome. If it’s terrible, awesome. The worst thing it could be is mediocre.”
This was more or less the consensus my friends and I came to as we eagerly awaited the start of Improv Asylum’s mainstage performance. Boston’s Improv Asylum, founded in 1998, touts itself as “the funniest show you’ll ever be a part of.” With shows six nights a week, the venue holds space for improv, sketch comedy and even a “karaoke jukebox musical.” Located in Boston’s North End surrounded by Italian restaurants, Improv Asylum seems to appeal to a bewilderingly large variety of patrons. The audience at my show ranged from a group of young boys celebrating Owen’s 13th birthday to a happily unemployed Austrian couple enjoying the tail-end of their 8-month-long honeymoon.
To the delight of my friends and I, the show was hilarious. With the exception of a few slightly weak moments, the cast excelled at turning prompts and suggestions from the audience into hilarious skits. They were especially adept at making well-timed callbacks to earlier moments in the show. One recurring character was a middle-aged chain-smoking high school student, a clear audience favorite. They incorporated a variety of classic improv games and exercises – during my favorite sketch, the actors had to break out into song when an off-stage actor rang a bell randomly rang during the scene. One of the mainstage cast’s newest members, Rhett Sosebee, improvised a hilarious song about smelling dirty laundry in a locker room that I’ve thought about at least once a day since seeing the show. Another highlight was the live piano player, who played background music that perfectly matched the energy of each sketch on the fly. The crowd broke into uproarious laughter as the musician played “Seize the Day,” the galvanizing song from the 1992 Disney movie, “Newsies,” as one of the actors tried to guess which motivational phrase his scene partner was acting out.
Boston has always had a thriving comedy scene, with clubs like The Wilbur and Laugh Boston bringing in crowds of chuckle-chasers with incredible consistency. However, what sets Improv Asylum apart from the rest is their incorporation of audience participation. Every skit is inspired by prompts and stories from the audience, meaning that every show is unique and customized to its crowd. In this way, the audience becomes part of the show without ever setting foot on stage, creating a beautifully collaborative and immersive experience.
The tickets are admittedly a bit on the pricey side (particularly for college students), coming in at about $35 after taxes. However, I would say that the experience is well worth it. The actors are clearly professionals, and the ambiance of the venue is fantastic. Pro tip: if you go to any Saturday show, you can get free standby tickets for their midnight show Raunch, an 18+ “uncensored” improv show. I decided to go to Improv Asylum because I had a friend in town who wanted to see “something we could talk about after,” and this show certainly fulfilled that criteria. If you’re looking to splurge on a night of good, clean fun, I would highly recommend catching a show at Improv Asylum before or after grabbing dinner at a nearby Italian restaurant with a few of your giggliest pals.
Contact the editors responsible for this story: Anabelle Meyers, Norah Catlin
