Enjoy A Belly Laugh Or Two at The Second City
You may know The Second City as an incubator for comedians like Mike Myers, Tim Meadows, Bonnie Hunt, Jim Belushi, Bill Murray and many others. The improv troupe's connection with "Saturday Night Live" has been well-documented. Once called the Compass Players when the group started in the mid-1950s at the University of Chicago, this Chicago treasure is still going strong. I have a friend who insists on attending a show whenever she's in town, and several more local friends who have taken classes at the Second City's Training Center to learn about acting and improv.
If you want to see the future of comedy, The Second City is the place to be. Many of these players will go on to become famous--you just wait and see. In the meantime, you can watch them performing smart, original improv comedy that's political, universal and a lot of fun. The theater actually holds two stages: The Second City Mainstage, which seats almost 300, and The Second City e.t.c., which holds 180. Each of these stages has a resident troupe that writes and performs its comedy revue. The main stage is a two-tier, caberet-style venue with not a bad seat in the house. While you're waiting to get inside, you can check out the collection of autographs in the lobby area from celebrity alumnae.
The current mainstage show is its 94th revue, titled "Between Barack and a Hard Place," and e.t.c. is featuring "The Pratfall of Civilization." The Second City is located at 1616 N. Wells St. Chicago, in the Piper's Alley building. From I90/94, Exit onto North Ave and go east to Wells St. Turn left on Wells. There are parking lots (you'll have to pay a fee up to $15) at the Treasure Island parking lot and at the Piper's Alley self-park garage. For more information, go to http://www.secondcity.com/?id=theatres/chicago.
