The Second City comedy troupe delivered three acts of sharp, raucous sketch and improv comedy Saturday night at CY Stephens Auditorium.

The group of six comedians, three women and three men, accompanied by their onstage pianist, covered material that effortlessly circulated between witty, timely political statements and cheeky sexual humor.

The comedians also drew laughs from their references to the state of Iowa.

After a party, a naive woman claims she doesn’t understand a man’s sexual advances because she’s from Iowa. A man offering a bicycle tour of an active volcano assures people that it’s OK, because he’s from Okoboji. Former Iowa football coach Hayden Fry appears to a hobo as her guardian angel.

The group’s topical sketches garnered the biggest reactions from the crowd.

One sketch featured a mother at her son’s computer, talking to her son’s friends on MSN Messenger. Clueless of the teens’ Internet jargon, she responds to an “LOL” message with “FDR.”

Another sketch had a man and a woman share their fears about the world, such as climate change, nuclear strike and pollution. The two share a bizarre sexual buzz from telling each other their fears, which is kicked off when the man asks, “If George W. Bush could link 9/11 to Iraq, why couldn’t Osama Bin Laden link the Iraq war to Ames?”

The group’s political savvy translated into a couple of musical numbers.

The first was the women’s prayer to Mother Earth, telling her they would love to take care of her, except “we just don’t want to do our chores.”

Another song condemned the current law on gay marriage in the United States – with a doo-wop refrain of “Gay law, gay law, gay law, gay law.”

The comedians also stretched their improv muscles, with suggestions from the audiences prompting them to become spear-hunting suburbanites, school playground scrap fighters and chocolate-selling prostitutes.

Reception from the audience was overwhelmingly positive throughout the night.

“It was hysterical,” said Collin Lamkey, junior in agronomy. “Ames needs a lot more stuff like this.”

Second City is a Chicago-based comedy institution with many famous alumni, including John Belushi, Mike Meyers, Tina Fey and Stephen Colbert.