The Second City
is a long-running improvisational comedy enterprise which originated in Chicago's Old Town neighborhood.
The Second City Theatre opened on December 16, 1959 [1] and has since expanded its presence to several other cities, including Toronto and Los Angeles. The Second City has produced television programs in both the United States and Canada including SCTV,
Second City Presents,
and Next Comedy Legend,
as well as being heavily involved in the creation of the satirical 1969 sci-fi film "The Monitors." Since its debut, Second City has consistently been a starting point for comedians, award winning actors, directors, and others in show business.
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THE SECOND CITY TICKETS
| EVENT | DATE | AVAILABILITY |
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| The Second City in the Holy City Tickets 1/28 | Jan 28, 2025
Tue, 7:00 PM |  | | The Second City Tickets 2/14 | Feb 14, 2025
Fri, 7:30 PM | | | The Second City Tickets 2/15 | Feb 15, 2025
Sat, 7:30 PM | | | The Second City Tickets 2/19 | Feb 19, 2025
Wed, 8:00 PM | | | The Second City Tickets 2/21 | Feb 21, 2025
Fri, 8:00 PM | |
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History
Second City evolved from the
Compass Players,
[2] a 1950s
cabaret revue show started by undergraduates at the
University of Chicago.
[3] The troupe chose the self-mocking name "The Second City" from the title of an article about Chicago by
A. J. Liebling that appeared in
The New Yorker
in 1952.
In 1959, the first Second City revue show premiered at 1842 North Wells Street and moved to 1616 North Wells in 1967.
Co-founder
Bernard Sahlins owned the
theater company until 1985, before selling it to Canadian Andrew Alexander.
The style of comedy has changed with time, but the format has remained constant. Second City revues feature a mix of semi-
improvised and scripted scenes with new material developed during unscripted improv sessions after the second
act where scenes are created based on
audience suggestions. A Second City innovation is the inclusion of live,
improvised music during the performance.
A number of well-known performers began careers as part of the historic troupe and later moved to television and film. In the mid-1970s, Second City became a source of cast members for
Saturday Night Live
and
SCTV,
which borrowed many of the writing and performing techniques pioneered by Second City and other improv groups.
Along with its theaters, training centers, and television shows, Second City also produces improv and sketch shows for
Norwegian Cruise Lines.
SCTV
Second City Television,
or
SCTV,
was a
Canadian television
sketch comedy show offshoot from the Toronto troupe of the Second City that ran from 1976 to 1984.
The basic premise of
SCTV
was modeled on a television station in the fictional city of Melonville. Rather than broadcast the usual TV
rerun fare, the business, run by the greedy Guy Caballero (
Joe Flaherty) sitting in a wheelchair only to gain sympathy and leverage in business and staff negotiations, operates a bizarre and humorously incompetent range of cheap local programming. The range included a
soap opera called "The Days of the Week;"
game shows such as "Shoot the Stars," in which celebrities literally are shot at in similar fashion to targets in a shooting gallery; and movie
spoofs such as "Play it Again, Bob" in which
Woody Allen (
Rick Moranis) attempts to entice
Bob Hope (
Dave Thomas) to star in his next film. In-house media
melodrama also was satirized by
John Candy's vain, bloated variety star character Johnny La Rue, Thomas' acerbic critic Bill Needle and
Andrea Martin's flamboyant, leopard-skin clad station manager Mrs. Edith Prickley.
The Second City Training Center
The Second City Training Center was founded in the mid-1980s to facilitate the growing demand for workshops and instruction from the world famous Second City theatre. Training Centers are located in Chicago, Toronto and Los Angeles. The Training Centers have grown substantially since the Second City Conservatory was established in the mid-1980s under the tutelage of longtime Chicago improv instructors and mentors
Martin de Maat and
Sheldon Patinkin. The Chicago Training Center has over 1,800 students in several disciplines, including
improvisation and
comedy writing. Former Training Center students include
Steve Carell,
Tina Fey,
Amy Poehler,
Mike Myers,
Chris Farley,
Tim Meadows,
Bonnie Hunt,
Stephen Colbert,
Halle Berry,
Sean Hayes,
Amy Sedaris,
Jon Favreau,
Hinton Battle,
Jack McBrayer,
Dave Foley and
Kevin McDonald. Classes are taught by working professionals, many of whom are current and former Second City performers.
The Second City Parents School
In the early days of Second City, several parents and Lincoln Park community members—including Paul and Carol Sills and Dennis and Mona Cunningham—started a progressive school for their children, based on
Viola Spolin's play therapy philosophy with her son
Paul Sills' theater games refinements to it. Early Second City staff, and Old Town and Lincoln Park community members, were deeply involved in the school, including the Sillses and Cunninghams, Viola Spolin, John Schultz, Mel Spiegel, and Beverly Gold. The progressive curriculum included daily theater games, and many students went on to careers in entertainment. Briefly at the original Old Town theater site at the intersection of Clark, Wells, and Lincoln Avenue, the school had several locations in Lincoln Park until it closed in the mid-1970s.
[4]
Andrew Alexander took the reins of Second City Toronto, Canada, in 1974 and formed a partnership with Len Stuart in 1976, starting The Second City Entertainment Company. Its first television production was
SCTV.
Alexander co-developed and executive produced over 185 half-hour shows for the award-winning comedy series, and produced over 150 hours of award-winning television comedy. Alexander has had co-production deals with
MGM Television, Imagine Films, Disney Studios and United Artists, and has developed television programming for
CBC,
NBC,
ABC,
CBS,
Fox,
Comedy Central,
HBO,
Showtime, and
A&E. He has produced movies and television with such notable talents as John Candy,
Dan Aykroyd,
Bonnie Hunt,
Mike Myers,
Chris Farley, Rick Moranis,
Catherine O’Hara,
Martin Short,
Harold Ramis,
Dave Thomas,
Jim Belushi,
George Wendt,
Ed Asner, Andrea Martin, Steve Carell, Stephen Colbert and Tina Fey
In 1985, Alexander and Stuart became owners of Chicago's Second City. He has produced or executive produced over 200 Second City revues in Canada and the United States. Most recently, Alexander has expanded The Second City TV & Film Division with offices in Los Angeles and Toronto and was executive producer on the recently released feature film
Intern's Academy.
He serves on the
Columbia College Board of Trustees, is Chair of the
Gilda's Club Honorary Board (Toronto), and is also an Honorary Member of the Chicago Gilda's Club Board.
For more information, visit .
Awards
The Second City has twice been awarded an
Equity Joseph Jefferson Award, once in 1997 as an
ensemble in the "New Work" category for
Paradigm Lost.
The show featured
Tina Fey,
Scott Adsit, Kevin Dorff,
Rachel Dratch, Jenna Jolovitz,
Jim Zulevic and was directed by
Mick Napier.
Stephnie Weir received the "Actress in a Revue"
Jeff Award for
Second City 4.0
in 2000.
[5]
Toronto's Second City
mainstage troupe has won four
Canadian Comedy Awards: "Best Improv Troupe" (2001), "Best Sketch Troupe" (2001) and "Best Comedic Play" winners
Family Circus Maximus
(2002) and
Psychedelicatessen
(2003).
Theatres
- The Second City Chicago
- The Second City Toronto
- The Second City Detroit
- The Second City Las Vegas (closed on Aug. 1, 2008 [6])
- The Second City Training Center in Los Angeles
Notable alumni of the Second City
See also
- Compass Players
- Improvisational theatre
- Chicago Theatre
- Viola Spolin