Chicago is filled with history – from fire-starting cows to unbelievable architectural feats, this city has an amazing past. A recent addition to the Taylor Billings Book of Chicago History (paperback copy available soon) is the extensive roots and evolution of comedy that exist within Chicago. One of the results of this evolution is the nationally acclaimed Second City. It sits conveniently at the corner of Wells St. and North Ave. and has produced an incredible list of alumni including Jack Burns,  John Belushi, Nia Vardalos, Amy Poehler, and Tina Fey, among so many others. Often, Northwestern brings in a few of the current Second City members in for a free show during Wildcat Welcome. All of the new students are invited to see a free showing in one of campus’ largest auditoriums.

Inspired by the recent good weather, however, I finally made the trip down to Chicago see the troupe perform at their home theatre this past week. A group of eight others and I made our way to the Noyes Purple Line L stop. All of us live on the same street right off of campus, and the L stop is less than a five-minute walk away. The 11 o’clock Second City show was only $14 for each of us with the student and group discount, so we all piled on to the L around 7:30pm to grab dinner beforehand. The train began its journey downtown, and in about 40 minutes we found ourselves exiting at the Red Line stop of North/Clybourn. We walked down from the train to see a plethora of pubs and cafes surrounding the theater. After a brief discussion we settled in at Corcoran’s Grill and Pub (which, I found out today, also has a location in Paris). What is great about this area is that there is a vast selection of restaurants that could actually fit a college student’s budget. We finished our dinner and crossed the street to enter Second City. A long line paraded outside of the entrance and we walked past hilarious letters of complaint framed on the walls and the long list of alumni that have performed on its stages throughout the past 50 years. The lights went down and the show began. The next hour and a half was filled with genuine laughter and thoughtful moments as the cast put on a great show. After the show, we decided to Uber back (takes about twenty five minutes) and got dropped off right at the front doors of our houses.

The comedy scene in Chicago is definitely worth exploring, so remember to take advantage of the great transportation near campus and start laughing and learning starting Welcome Week and through your four years at NU! Some students even enroll in classes through Second City and ImprovOlympic during their time at school, so keep an ear out for classes.

–Taylor Billings

photo source: School of Communication.

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