Bluebird brings improv stars back to Chicago
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Matt Walsh, Marc Evan Jackson, Brad Morris and Joe Canale perform at a recent Bluebird show. Photo: Courtesy of Bluebird
Chicago has exported plenty to the rest of the country — deep-dish pizza, Malört and maybe most importantly, improv.
The latest: Bluebird Improv is bringing a rare homecoming of Chicago improv veterans to the Studebaker Theater in the Fine Arts Building this Saturday.
Context: Bluebird is a collective featuring some of the world's best improvisers. The cast, which features several former Second City and iO performers, rotates from show to show.
- On Saturday, former Chicagoans Matt Walsh, Stephnie Weir, Joe Canale, Marc Evan Jackson and Brad Morris will take the stage.
How it works: Instead of taking audience suggestions, the cast starts a short conversation with the audience and creates a show full of scenes and characters based on it.
What they're saying: "Most of us came up in Chicago," Morris tells Axios. "Being able to play with heroes, old friends and make new ones is very special. I think audiences can feel it."
Zoom in: The ensemble, which also features Tim Meadows, Rachel Dratch and Edi Patterson, has toured Denver, Portland, Boston and Milwaukee over the last few months.
- "Whether in a big city or a small town, the energy at these shows is fantastic," Morris adds.
Zoom out: The city is the birthplace of modern improv, from Viola Spolin and Paul Sills' early theater games to the founding of The Second City in Old Town.
- In the 1980s, Del Close and Charna Halpern helped pioneer long-form improv at iO with "The Harold," a format that influenced generations of performers.
Between the lines: It's rare for Chicago improvisers — especially those who move on to Hollywood — to reunite for long-form shows.
- Most homecoming appearances are limited to festival sets or late-night drop-ins at The Second City, iO or Annoyance Theatre.
- "We all started out wanting to play in front of great, hungry, smart audiences," Morris says. "Now we are getting back to doing that at a time when audiences seem to want it as much as we do."
The bottom line: For longtime improv fans, Saturday's show offers something increasingly rare — a chance to see Chicago comedy veterans return to the art form and audiences that shaped them.
If you go: The show is Saturday at 7:30pm at the Studebaker Theater.
- Tickets start at $50.