Second City summons 50 years of political satire

The Second City presents “Fair and Unbalanced”

Dec. 16-18

O’Reilly… The Second City presents “Fair and Unbalanced”

Dec. 16-18

O’Reilly Theater

$15-$50

412-316-1600

http://publictheater.culturaldistrict.org

Mocking politicians is nothing new, but for the Second City, it never exactly gets old, either.

The Second City — the Chicago improv troupe that gave rise to comedy bigwigs like Tina Fey, Steve Carell and Bill Murray — has put together a collection of new and old sketches that cast member Tim Stoltenberg believes are timeless in their ability to poke fun at America’s leaders.

“It’s a collection of archive scenes that still pertain to today,” Stoltenberg said. “Political satire is the theme to a lot of the show. How can we put our own spin on it, you know? But we don’t favor one side or the other.”

Whereas many people know the Second City more for its famous alumni than its current roster of comedic talent, Katie Rich, another cast member, said “Fair and Unbalanced” is sure to draw attention to some of the troupe’s most uproarious sketches.

“It’s a ‘best of’ review. We feature things from our 50-year history. We have scenes written by John Belushi, Tina Fey and a few originals by us,” Rich said. “The scenes deal with politics. It’s mostly social and political commentary.”

Whereas some of the Nixon and Reagan jokes might seem dated, both Rich and fellow cast member Shad Kunkle promised that all the older sketches have an updated twist that will appeal to audiences of any age.

As far as politics go, “Fair and Unbalanced” straddles the line between political parties, trying not to ridicule one side more than the other. The idea isn’t to make fun of any one group in particular, but the entire system as a whole.

Drawing from what Kunkle calls Chicago’s “blue collar sensibility,” the cast member said, “Fair and Unbalanced” does what many other comedic shows fail to do: Convey down-to-earth humor while still remaining smart and clever.

“It does have that ‘everyman’ appeal. The Second City started out entertaining blue-collar guys who were just getting off from work. But we really don’t take ourselves too seriously,” Kunkle said.

Rich added that whereas the show will be tweaked on certain occasions to accommodate the city in which the cast is performing, on the whole, the comedy stays the same regardless of whether the state is red or blue.

Along with appealing to both sides of the political spectrum, both Rich and Kunkle feel that “Fair and Unbalanced” is the kind of show that will engage people of all ages, especially college students. In fact, the Second City has already made strides in attracting such an audience — gaining attention this past year through viral videos like “Sassy Gay Friend” and “Advice from a Disney Princess” — and believes this production is another step in the right direction.

“It will definitely appeal to college students. Students are the ones who enjoy Second City. Things like ‘The Daily Show,’ ‘The Colbert Report,’ ‘The Onion’ … we’re in that same vein. And they enjoy that,” Rich said.

All in all, Rich said the Second City prides itself in one thing: staying sharp.

“The Second City is definitely on the cutting edge of comedy, we have launched a lot of careers, and students are savvy to the up-and-comers in comedy,” Kunkle said. “In general the material is very smart.”