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Chicago’s Second City Comedy Troupe May 18 and 19

Story by Sam Calhoun

The story of The Second City might well be equated with the old saying, “from rags to riches.” Who would have thought that a converted Chinese laundry—the “rags” part of the equation—on Chicago’s north side in 1959 would give way to what the New York Times hails as “a comedy empire?”—the “riches” part of the equation.

But the space that used to house dirty laundry now is home to dirty jokes and The Second City, arguably the nation’s most crisply pressed comedy institution. On Friday and Saturday, May 18 and 19, Blowing Rock will get a piece of the Windy City giggles when the legendary comedy theater troupe appears at the Hayes Performing Arts Center to perform its current show, Truth, Justice, or the American Way, at 8:00 p.m. both nights. Directed by David Pompeii, the performances will feature some of the best sketches, songs and improvisations from The Second City’s 48-year history.

Tickets are $35 and are currently available online by clicking to www.hayescenter.org or by calling the box office at 828-295-9627.

The Second City is the premier training ground for the comedy world’s best and brightest. The alumni list reads like a Who’s Who of American comedy. Mike Nichols, Elaine May, Alan Arkin, Joan Rivers, Robert Klein, Peter Boyle, Harold Ramis, John Belushi, Dan Aykroyd, Bill Murray, Gilda Radner, George Wendt, Martin Short, John Candy, Bonnie Hunt, Tim Meadows, Chris Farley, Mike Myers, Tina Fey, Steve Carell, Stephen Colbert, Julia Louis Dreyfus, Horatio Sans and Ryan Stiles all got their start on The Second City stage.

An evening with The Second City will provide audiences with the chance to see comedy stars who may be included in that esteemed list in the future, as well as humorous satire, cutting-edge improvisation and clever musical numbers. No topic is off limits for The Second City.

The Second City cast for Truth, Justice, or the American Way includes Laura Grey, Sarah Haskins, Jordan Klepper, Michael Lehrer, Aimee McKay and Tim Sniffen.

In addition to touring all over North America and producing regular shows in Chicago, Toronto, Las Vegas, Detroit and Los Angeles, The Second City has been producing television and film for nearly 50 years. In 1963, The Second City produced Second City Reports in London, England. A feature film, The Monitors, followed in 1968. Second City’s biggest television success, SCTV, is considered one of the all-time classic sketch comedy series in the history of television. Throughout the 1980s and 1990s, The Second City produced specials, pilots and series including Second City’s 25th Anniversary Special for HBO; the syndicated series My Talk Show and Sports Bar; Second City specials with Bill Murray and Avery Schreiber filmed live at the Mainstage Theater in Chicago; and Second City’s 149 ½ Edition for A&E starring Steve Carell, star of The Daily Show with Jon Stewart.

In late 2006, The Second City signed a two-year development deal with NBC/Universal Studios to develop original comedy programming.

For more information about The Second City, click to www.secondcity.com. For more information about the Hayes Center performance, call 828-295-9627 or click to www.hayescenter.org.

Want To Go?

Dates: Friday and Saturday, May 18 and 19
Time: 8:00 p.m.
Location: Hayes Performing Arts Center, Blowing Rock
Cost: $35