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Curtain May Be Down In Old Town, But The Second City Launches Performances Via Zoom

CHICAGO (CBS) -- The COVID-19 crisis has brought the curtain down on all theatre performances, but The Second City is bringing entertainment to your living room.

On Thursday night, the famous performing arts center started streaming comedy shows to its audiences worldwide, via Zoom.

"It's incredible to see how well our work translates to this platform. There are so many people who have yet to experience The Second City, and it's so rewarding to our talent and staff to get back to work online and give the world a taste of what we do," Andrew Alexander, CEO and executive producer of The Second City, said in a news release.

The performances are interactive. People at home can participate and even offer suggestions to the answers.
"We don't know when we'll be able to welcome an audience back into our theaters, so we've had to improvise on a whole new scale. We can actually offer audiences at home live, interactive performances featuring the world's best improvisers," Vice President of Production Jen Hoyt said in the release.

The performance on Thursday featured "Improv House Party," in which co-quarantined pairs convened digitally to, as The Second City put it, "improvise their hearts out in this wild west of comedy streaming live from everyone's bunker."

The performances are free, but donations are being accepted for The Second City Alumni Fund – a fund for performers and other members of The Second City community who have run into health or financial challenges.

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