In Blewt! Productions’ talent show the fate of the human race depends on eight contestants impressing three apes from the future whose intelligence has increased to the level of, well, amateur comedians. Each week the same eight performers compete in a different category, like music or stand-up. There’s a silly backstory to this lively show, anchored by loony host (and local stand-up) Jared Logan, who convincingly behaves as though he’s missing a frontal lobe. But there are also real stakes: the producers held an open audition, and after eight weeks the winning contestant gets $250. A volatile mix of the staged and the sincere, Impress These Apes delivers the best kind of inconsistency: can’t-look-away failure and spontaneous charm. It’s American Idol meets lowbrow comedy. –Ryan Hubbard a Through 2/26: Mon 8 PM, Playground Theater, 3209 N. Halsted, 866-208-6296, $10.
