Chicago comedy club The Second City is getting its second-coming in New York City with the opening of its newest location in Williamsburg.
Photo by Gregg Delman/The Second City
Stephen Colbert, Tina Fey, Steve Carell and Mike Myers are just a few of the names on the alumni list of comedy powerhouse The Second City. On its 65th anniversary on Feb. 12, the iconic Chicago performance club announced its second-coming in New York City with the opening of its newest location in Williamsburg.
“Funny, satirical, and electric,” is how The Second City’s Creative Director Jen Ellison describes the club’s identity. “People from Chicago will be familiar with the ambiance of this new space, but the ambiance will make it New York. There’s a different flavor to what people laugh at here. New Yorkers make comedians earn it.”
The Second City found its new home at 64 North 9th St., the former home of record store-turned-concert hall Rough Trade.
It will feature The Second City’s first-ever two-level theater with a balcony to accommodate 190 spectators, a second cabaret-style theater and a 50-seat black-box theater. Backstage, there will be a training center for the school of improvisation that has separated the company from other comedy hubs throughout its history. The audience can also access a curated cocktail bar and a restaurant.
The new Brooklyn comedy club will host improv, stand-up, audience-interactive shows, scripted and musical sketches. The roster will include the club’s alumni, talent from the flagship school in Chicago, New York’s known names and comedians built from the ground up, right there at The Second City.
“We’ll comment on politics, culture, whatever everyone is thinking of right before coming into the show, but we’ll always make it funny,” said Ellison, who juggles writing for television, film and late-night shows, and teaching writing, while running the theater. “We’ll be adding fuel to the…
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