The Second City (Original 1959 Mainstage Cast)
1959-1961 · Chicago, IL
Also known as Second City Excelsior Cast
The original eight-person ensemble that opened Second City on December 16, 1959 with 'Excelsior & Other Outcries.'
Known for
- Opened December 16, 1959 at 1842 North Wells Street, a converted Chinese laundry. Opening revue was 'Excelsior & Other Outcries,' directed by Paul Sills.
- Original cast: Howard Alk, Roger Bowen, Severn Darden, Andrew Duncan, Barbara Harris, Mina Kolb, Eugene Troobnick, Allaudin (William) Mathieu as musical director.
- Barbara Harris was the theater's first performer — opened night one singing 'Everybody's in the Know.'
- Brought the revue 'From the Second City' to Broadway in 1961 — Barbara Harris and Severn Darden earned Tony nominations.
- Defined the template of the Second City two-act satirical revue ending in an improv set — the template that still runs today.
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Notes
Distinguished from Second City the institution (schools/second-city-chicago): this entry is the specific ensemble that opened the theater. Second City has had dozens of mainstage casts since; each generation is effectively its own troupe. Future research should probably add separate entries for landmark mainstage casts (the Belushi/Ramis 1970s era; the Fey/Colbert 1990s era) if space permits.
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