Photos by Andy Argyrakis

The comedic partnership of Steve Martin and Martin Short dates back to massively popular ‘80s and ‘90s movies “Three Amigos” and “Father Of The Bride,” but it was actually a one-off hosting of the Just For Laughs Comedy Festival right here in Chicago at the tip of the decade that prompted them to tour together. These days, their variety show of sorts is named after the Emmy-nominated Netflix special “An Evening You Will Forget For The Rest Of Your Life,” though contrary to that tongue-in-cheek moniker, those who managed to snag a seat in Ravinia’s sold out pavilion or spacious lawn (featuring a screen for the special occasion) likely went home feeling the opposite.

Deeper belly laughter was right around the corner when Steve Martin became a ventriloquist with Martin Short as his dummy Jiminy Glick for totally over the top, politically incorrect observations about several famous (and infamous) folks.

Despite Martin not exactly coming across as a “wild and crazy guy” now that he’s favoring the banjo to slapstick and the sometimes singing Short isn’t necessarily playing his flamboyant wedding planner foil Franck, both men remain just as sharp with their humorous timing on top of those other talents. At 72 and 68-years-old respectively with countless movie, television, recorded and live projects behind them, the varied format between artistic expressions was fitting, especially given Martin’s writing for “The Smothers Brothers Comedy Hour” and appearances on “Saturday Night Live,” plus Short’s extensive time on “SCTV” and “SNL.”

For those needing a refresher course on just how much each actor accomplished, the evening began with a series of sidesplitting video clips chronicling everyone’s main moments from their early days through today. But even as joyful as it was to relive so many ageless clips of these jokester geniuses, there was nothing like seeing both stars leap off the screen onto the actual stage.

No sooner than they stepped into the spotlights, Martin and Short traded passive aggressive insults, then turned their attention towards the audience to gather a few improvisational “Amigos” recruits. Stories also flowed freely, including ribbing one another about an unflattering paparazzi photo of them swimming, recalling a botched, old-fashioned stand-up attempt in front of a much younger United Service Organizations audience and lamenting the box office bomb “Clifford.”

Music played a significant part of the program with Short tapping into his theater passions alongside pianist Jeff Babko for the zany “Step Brother To Jesus” song, which he performed in an intentionally silly nudie suit. Martin took a straight-laced approach to his second life as an acclaimed banjo player, simultaneously featuring longtime collaborators the Steep Canyon Rangers for some Grand Ole Opry meets “O Brother, Where Art Thou?” bluegrass flavors (with a sprinkle of chuckles and a random interruption from Short transforming into a hysterical human bagpipe).

Deeper belly laughter was right around the corner when Martin became a ventriloquist with Short as his dummy Jiminy Glick for totally over the top, politically incorrect observations about several famous (and infamous) folks. They also swapped faux eulogies, dabbled with celebrity impressions and teamed up for Stephen Sondheim’s “Send In The Clowns” (featuring a crooning Short and Martin behind the piano when he wasn’t complaining about the lack of literal clowns), all ensuring these veteran A-listers never let Ravinia’s funny bone have a rest.

For additional information on Steve Martin and Martin Short, visit SteveMartin.com and Facebook.com/MartinHayterShort/.

Upcoming concert highlights at Ravinia include Michael Feinstein and Kristin Chenoweth (Aug. 14); “Vertigo” with Chicago Symphony Orchestra (Aug. 15); Earth, Wind & Fire (Aug. 17); Cake and Ben Folds (Aug. 22); Sugarland (Aug. 23); The Beach Boys and The Righteous Brothers (Aug. 24); Trombone Shorty’s “Voodoo Threauxdown” (Aug. 26); Lyle Lovett & His Large Band (Aug. 28); John Hiatt & The Goners featuring Sonny Landreth (Aug. 30) and Culture Club & Boy George, The B-52’s and Thompson Twins’ Tom Bailey (Aug. 31-Sept. 1). For additional details, visit Ravinia.org.

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