As they dip into the NYC comedy scene, The Second City plans to earn New Yorkers’ laughs.
In the 1950s , a group of University of Chicago students and alumna invented a Modern comedic artform ground off unscripted negotiation and impromptu scenes . The speciality eventually became modernistic improv as we have sex it — and that same company evolved to becomeThe Second City , a legendary improv and comedy mental institution in Chicago with grad like Amy Sedaris , Stephen Colbert , Keegan - Michael Key , and Tim Robinson .
lionise its 65th day of remembrance this year , The Second City welcomes its first positioning in New York City this week .
Now open in Williamsburg , Brooklyn , the Big Apple locale is the third subdivision after Chicago and Toronto .
Mainstage at The Second City New York in Williamsburg, Brooklyn|Photo courtesy of The Second City
With 12,000 square - foot spread across two floors , the newfangled amusement hub features two cabaret - vogue theaters ( including the main Mainstage with 190 seat ) ; The Bentwood , a restaurant and couch serving American comfort classic and named after the company ’s logotype of bentwood chairs ; and a Training Center for public class on improv , sales booth - up , acting , and more .
When it come to The Second City ’s first raid in experience New Yorkers to laugh , aesthetic director , Jen Ellison , expects a knotty gang — but with a giving payoff .
“ They ’re not just going to give you the laugh , ” she tellsThrillist . “ You have to earn their cartel . drollery is about truth recounting , and New Yorkers do not give trust so freely . You have to prove you ’re worthy of the laugh . But when you get it , they express joy hard — it ’s awesome . ”
The Second City’s restaurant and lounge, The Bentwood.|Photo by Timothy M Schmidt, courtesy of The Second City
For CEO , Ed Wells , he ’s excited to bring the brand ’s signature style of sketch comedy and live improvisation IRL to a New York audience . “ This immersive and interactive experience brings hoi polloi together for two hours of laugh and camaraderie that remind us of the positive power of biotic community , ” he tellsThrillist .
For the launching , patrons can expect two productions : The Second City Presents The First City RevueandThe Best of Second City .
The Second City New York is place on 64 N ninth Street in Williamsburg , Brooklyn .
Portraits of The Second City’s iconic alumni hung in The Bentwood lounge.|Photo by Gregg Delman, courtesy of The Second City
