Many of the improv comedians that go on to stardom at Saturday Night Live on NBC are Northwestern University graduates that reach the national stage via Chicago’s Second City.
So it’s only fitting that Northwestern should invite the renowned sketch comedy and improv ensemble to come up to Evanston to perform for the thousands of alumni when they arrive for the annual homecoming celebration.
That’s what they’re doing this weekend with performances of “The Second City Does Northwestern: Wildcat on a Hot Tin Roof” at Cahn Auditorium this Thursday, Saturday, and Sunday.
Second City director and writer T. J. Shanoff promises a no-holds-barred event that will satirize everything purple, “from Waa-Mu to the dance marathon, from Wildcat sports to the NU dating scene.” No Northwestern tradition is expected to escape unscathed, he says.
The Thursday evening performance, at 8 p.m., will include a special walk-on guest appearance by Northwestern women’s lacrosse coach Kelly Amonte Hiller. The other two performances are on Saturday and Sunday at 2 p.m.
While Northwestern students are eligible for discounted tickets for $10 for Thursday’s performance, other tickets, including those for the general public, are priced at $30 and may be purchased online.