SPECIAL EVENT: The Second City

In response to popular demand, the Sun Valley Center for the Arts will be bringing back Chicago’s legendary comedy theatre company, The Second City, to perform at the Sun Valley Opera House on two consecutive evenings — Saturday, March 24, at 8 p.m. and Sunday, March 25, at 7 p.m.

The Second City on Tour features the next generation of comic greats performing a diverse array of sketches and songs, as well as unexpected comic brilliance with off-the-cuff improvisation. From the battle of the sexes to the battles at the voting booth, The Second City provides a hilarious and insightful look at contemporary American culture.

This year, Company of Fools and the Sun Valley Center for the Arts have invited The Second City to perform their “Look Both Ways Before Talking” show. As The Second City tells it, “Let someone else face your small-talk fears head-on! Instead of avoiding Grandpa and de-friending your old high school pals, in this brand-new sketch comedy and improv revue we’ll dive right into every touchy subject you're thinking about but are afraid to say out loud ... or online.”

Edgy, thought-provoking and always spectacularly funny, The Second City is celebrating nearly six decades of producing cutting-edge satirical revues and launching the careers of generation after generation of comedy’s best and brightest.

The Second City opened its doors on a snowy Chicago night in December of 1959, but no one could have known that by the next century, The Second City would have established itself as the world’s premier comedy institution. With theatres in Chicago, Toronto, Detroit and Las Vegas; training centers in each of those cities as well as Los Angeles; a corporate division that offers creative services to the business world; a TV and film division; and touring troupes that bring its unique brand of improv-based sketch comedy all over the world, The Second City has become, in the words of The New York Times, “A Comedy Empire.”

The touring troupes at The Second City have been the springboard for alumni including Alan Arkin, Joan Rivers, Robert Klein, Peter Boyle, Harold Ramis, John Belushi, Bill Murray, Dan Aykroyd, Gilda Radner, John Candy, Martin Short, George Wendt, Julia Louis Dreyfus, Chris Farley, Ryan Stiles, Mike Myers, Rachel Dratch, Tina Fey and more. 

In addition to stellar talent, The Second City’s other chief export is comedy that is both hilarious and thought provoking; smart and silly; sophisticated and wild. The formula is simple: 6 actors, joined by a musical accompanist and a sound and lighting director, perform a two-act revue featuring sketch comedy, songs and improvisation. Drawing from the vast archives of material that The Second City has created over 40-plus years, the company’s touring troupes are also creating on-the-spot, topical comedy with every performance.

Performance Schedule
Saturday, March 24          8 p.m.           
Sunday, March 25              7 p.m.                                     

Content Advisory:
The Second City has been known for nearly 60 years for its political and social satire, some of it relating to issues and situations more appropriate for an audience aged 17 and older. The show may contain adult or mature content.

THE SECOND CITY’s housing sponsor is the Wood River Inn & Suites.