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The Second City to Perform at
Hope College on Friday, Feb. 22
Posted February 11, 2002
HOLLAND -- What do Mike Myers, Bill Murray, Gilda
Radner and Chris Farley all have in common?
Before Saturday Night Live, they were all cast
members of The Second City. A traveling team of comedians,
The Second City's National Touring Company will perform at
Hope College on Friday, Feb. 22, at 8 p.m. in the
Knickerbocker Theatre.
The Second City is composed of six to seven actors
who create and perform comedy segments much like what is
seen on Saturday Night Live. The actors use improv comedy
to brainstorm for ideas, creating a series of short comedy
scenes, or sketches. The actors then polish these improv-ed
"scenes" in practices and later perform them in front of an
audience, using very few props or costumes.
Through sketch comedy, The Second City spoofs and
lampoons current events and American cultural figures. They
have been so influential that the "New York Times" has
written, "The entire recent tradition of American Theatrical
Satire can be summed up in three words, 'The Second City.'"
The Second City has also been the starting point
for legends like John Belushi, Dan Ackroyd, Chevy Chase,
Joan Rivers, Robert Klein and Catherine O'Hara.
The Touring Company's current show, "The Best of
Second City," features the favorite songs, sketches and
improv shorts from The Second City's 35-year-old repertoire.
The group is also offering a Saturday morning comedy
workshop for Hope College and area high school students,
which is being arranged through the schools.
Tickets for The Second City are $10 for the
general public and $5 for Hope students, and will be
available beginning Wednesday, Feb. 20, at the theatre lobby
ticket office in the DeWitt Center. The ticket office is
open Monday through Friday from 10 a.m. to 5 p.m. and
Saturday from noon to 5 p.m., and can be called at (616)
395-7890.
The Knickerbocker Theatre is located at 86 E. 8th
St. in downtown Holland.
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