Second City will open new theatre in Brooklyn

Move will likely put pressure on Chicago to remain the theatre’s flagship operation

Second City, the Chicago-based comedy theatre whose name is a rejoinder to East Coast snobbery in the arts and entertainment business, is heading to New York City.

The 63-year-old sketch comedy operation, headquartered throughout its history in Chicago’s Old Town neighbourhood, said Thursday it plans to open a new entertainment complex in the Williamsburg neighbourhood of Brooklyn. The theatre said that the 11,900square-foot space will feature a newly built mainstage theatre, seven classrooms for its training operation, and a restaurant and bar.

Second City also noted that this is its first physical location in New York City.

But Second City — now owned by Strauss Zelnick’s ZMC, a New Yorkbased private equity firm following the 2020 exit of longtime owner Andrew Alexander — is no stranger to satellite operations.

It opened a theatre in Toronto in 1973, and has been operating at different venues in the city since that date. In the 1990s, it had a Detroit outpost. It had a Las Vegas branch. And several decades ago, it experimented with a theatre in Los Angeles. Second City also has produced shows for the Norwegian Cruise Lines. And, for many decades, it has operated touring companies performing all over North America.

Previous owners, however, were reluctant to take on New York, in part because of the fear that it would undermine the company’s outsider gestalt, not to mention the high costs of real estate and the level of competition in the entertainment industry.

By selecting Brooklyn, which many people argue is somewhat similar to Chicago, Second City perhaps has avoided taking on the pressure and the expense of Midtown.

That said, the move is radical because it likely will put pressure on Chicago to remain the theatre’s flagship operation, especially given the proximity of the new Brooklyn company to decision-makers and career changers in the entertainment industry.

In the past, the centrality of the Wells Street mainstage never has been in doubt; with a theatre established in New York, Second City’s newly hired CEO Ed Wells likely will have to navigate the possibility of performers wanting to showcase themselves there. Much of the company’s board and ownership is based now in New York City, though Wells is based in Chicago.

Second City said its New York City location is set to open in the summer of 2023.