The Second City's "Love, Factually"

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I love the Christmas movie Love Actually. It's definitely one of my favorites. So I was curious to see a comedy spoof of the story. The improv group The Second City is performing "Love, Factually" at the Kennedy Center this holiday season, and I would recommend it!

Just like the movie, the show is a series of little snapshots into the lives of several couples. Unlike the film, though, they are all tied together by the writer Cassie (played by Kate Lambert) who is re-writing the stories to be more like real-life: i.e. not sappy and romantic. Throughout the show she is guided by her personal Christmas spirit, that of romance author Jane Austen (played by Inessa Frantowski). There were only eight performers, and Lambert solely plays Cassie, so that means seven people were playing all the different roles, which was pretty cool!

Most of the couples do mirror those in the film, but with a twist:
-Instead of Marc (played by Aaron Bliden) being in love with Juliet ("Keira" in this play), he has the hots for Peter.
-Instead of falling for a woman at work, Eric M. Messner's character likes the local barista.

Messner's Colin goes to not one city in America, but three (and meets women in all the locales). Photo credit: Jati Lindsay.

-Renea S. Brown is a senator rather than a prime minister, and she falls for her male assistant. And there's no Southern-charmer Billy Bob Thornton as the President of the United States, but the rival is another senator (played by Anne Bowles).
-When Sarah finally has her chance with Karl, the interruptive phone calls asking if Abraham Lincoln was a real person or wondering why a frozen dinner has to be cooked first aren't from a sick brother but are from President Trump instead.

There were no Daniel/Carol, John/Judy, or Sam/Joanna couples, but there was a story of two senior citizens who met in an old folks home. Not from the original story, but very funny!

Such a talented group! Photo credit: Jati Lindsay

Most of the show is scripted, but there were a few chances for audience participation, like:
-Jane Austen talks to a few men in the audience trying to set Cassie up with someone for a date.
-The ghosts of the spouses of the two elderly people were audience members who had to give word suggestions (on stage!) to the actors.
-While Colin starts in D.C., the two other states were determined by the audience (this time Utah and Wisconsin).
-When their versions of Jamie and Aurelia express their love to each other in the restaurant, the audience helps translate for them.
-Audience members could submit crazy stories on paper that were then used as excerpts from a tell-all book. When TV host Basil Gordon (played by Scott Ward Abernethy) interviews the washed-up rock star (played by Ian Owens) and his manager (Bliden) about the book, the audience-submitted stories become his wild tales (some were, like doing mushrooms with Lance Armstrong's wife, others were not, like calling in sick on the Monday after Thanksgiving to avoid work).

Even though Cassie tries to ruin the good ol' love stories, in the end Jane Austen convinces her that she, too, can find love, inspiring Cassie to re-write happy endings for all of the characters. And she does find love with her Amazon delivery man, à la Legally Blonde.

This show was so funny. It's not too late to get your own tickets and see it for yourself! Buy tickets here.

*My friend wrote the review for DC Theatre Scene. Read it here.