Something wonderful right away : the birth of Second City -- America's greatest comedy theater
(Book)

Book Cover
Average Rating
Author
Sweet, Jeffrey, 1950-
Contributors
Napier, Mick, author of foreword.
Spolin, Viola, interviewee.
Shepherd, David, 1924-2018.
Sills, Paul, 1927-2008, interviewee.
Bowen, Roger interviewee.
Published
New York : Allworth Press, [2023].
ISBN
9781621538240, 1621538249
Status
On Shelf
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LocationCall NumberStatus
Bloomingdale Public Library - Nonfiction792.0977 SOMOn Shelf

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Subjects

LC Subjects
Compass Players (Chicago, Ill.)
Entertainers -- United States -- Interviews.
Improvisation (Acting)
Interviews.
Second City (Theater company)

More Details

Published
New York : Allworth Press, [2023].
Format
Book
Physical Desc
xl, 398 pages ; 23 cm
Language
English
ISBN
9781621538240, 1621538249

Notes

General Note
Previous edition: New York: Avon Books, 1978.
Bibliography
Includes bibliographical references and index.
Description
"In the late fifties and sixties, iconoclastic young rebels in Chicago opened two tiny theaters--The Compass and The Second City--where they satirized politics, religion, and sex. Building scenes by improvising based on audience suggestions turned out to be a fine way to develop great actors, directors, and writers. Alumni went on to create such groundbreaking works as The Graduate, Groundhog Day, and Don't Look Up. Many of them also became stars on Saturday Night Live. Something Wonderful Right Away features the pioneers of the empire that transformed American comedy. This new edition tells even more of the story. Included for the first time is an interview with Viola Spolin, the genius who invented theater games that were the foundation of improvisational theater. Also included are dozens of follow-up stories about Mike Nichols, Barbara Harris, Del Close, Joan Rivers, Alan Arkin, and Gilda Radner, plus "You Only Shoot the Ones You Love," the story of how this book's author, playwright Jeffrey Sweet, became so involved in the community he covered that he was captured by it" --,Provided by publisher.

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Citations

APA Citation, 7th Edition (style guide)

Sweet, J., Napier, M., Spolin, V., Shepherd, D., Sills, P., Bowen, R., Duncan, A., Harris, B., Nichols, M., Darden, S., Gordon, M., Gordon, B., Berman, S., Close, D., Flicker, T. J., Meara, A., Stiller, J., Sahlins, B., Troobnick, E., Kolb, M., Sand, P., Arkin, A., Patinkin, S., Mazursky, P., Holland, A., Alton, B., Myerson, A., Rivers, J., Schreiber, A., Harper, V., Schaal, R., Alda, A., Steinberg, D., Klein, R., Barry, J. J., Radner, G., & Key, K. (2023). Something wonderful right away: the birth of Second City -- America's greatest comedy theater (Expanded second edition.). Allworth Press.

Chicago / Turabian - Author Date Citation, 17th Edition (style guide)

Jeffrey Sweet et al.. 2023. Something Wonderful Right Away: The Birth of Second City -- America's Greatest Comedy Theater. New York: Allworth Press.

Chicago / Turabian - Humanities (Notes and Bibliography) Citation, 17th Edition (style guide)

Jeffrey Sweet et al.. Something Wonderful Right Away: The Birth of Second City -- America's Greatest Comedy Theater New York: Allworth Press, 2023.

Harvard Citation (style guide)

Sweet, J., Napier, M., Spolin, V., Shepherd, D., Sills, P., Bowen, R. and Duncan, A. et al (2023). Something wonderful right away: the birth of second city -- america's greatest comedy theater. Expanded second edn. New York: Allworth Press.

MLA Citation, 9th Edition (style guide)

Sweet, Jeffrey, et al. Something Wonderful Right Away: The Birth of Second City -- America's Greatest Comedy Theater Expanded second edition., Allworth Press, 2023.

Note! Citations contain only title, author, edition, publisher, and year published. Citations should be used as a guideline and should be double checked for accuracy. Citation formats are based on standards as of August 2021.

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