by Graham ShelbyThis is the final weekend for It Takes a 'Ville, the Actors Theatre of Louisville production put on in partnership with Chicago’s Second City comedy troupe. The show was created by Second City specifically for a Louisville audience.It Takes a ’Ville is one in a series of what the Second City website refers to as “customized theatricals.” Other shows the troupe has put together for theatres around the country include:
- The Second City: Can You Be More Pacific? (Laguna Beach, California)
- The Second City Does Arizona Or Close, But No Saguaro
- The Second City Does Cincinnati: Pride and Porkopolis
- Sex and the Second City
- Rush Limbaugh: The Musical
Second City writers Tim Baltz and Ed Furman came to Louisville last year and embarked on a Louisville immersion tour. They spoke to local figures in politics, sports, media (including WFPL’s Gabe Bullard), the arts, business, etc. Afterward, they returned to Chicago to write, cast and mount the show.One challenge the Second City faced in preparing It Takes a ’Ville is that the show is so Louisville-centric that no one in Chicago who watched the rehearsals got any of the jokes. It was only when the troupe performed in front of Louisvillians for the first time that they had a sense of whether or not the show could succeed.And succeed it has. It Takes a ’Ville has exceeded projections for ticket sales for Actors Theatre.The final performance is Sunday afternoon at 2:30.
