Celebrated Improv Group, Chicago City Limits Performs

	Chicago City Limits

Comedy improv troupe Chicago City Limits performs on Saturday, May 13, 2006 at 8 p.m. in the Main Theatre of the Performing Arts Center on UAlbany's uptown campus. The group's newest show, Taking Liberties, gets its inspiration from today's headlines, pop culture and the world at large. The troupe performs quick-witted improvisations created on-the-spot from suggestions called out by the audience as well as hilarious comedy sketches and songs.

Chicago City Limits (CCL) is New York's longest-running comedy revue, performing its unique style of improvisational comedy for over twenty-five years. CCL was founded in 1977 in Chicago by George Todisco and actors participating in the workshop program at The Second City. In 1979, CCL relocated to New York, performing regularly at Catch a Rising Star, the Improv, the Duplex and other noted clubs. It established its own theater in the summer of 1980 and began a continuous run that is now over 8,500 performances.

Over the years, CCL has made numerous TV appearances including The Today Show, McLaughlin, The Joan Rivers Show, The Jackie Mason Show, Comedy Central, PBS and Good Day NY. The group appeared in its own TV new comedy series, Reel News, on the USA network. CCL has also appeared at such diverse venues as Lincoln Center, HBO's U.S. Comedy Arts Festival, the Smithsonian Institution, The Super Bowl, and the Jerry Lewis Labor Day Telethon.

Mark Denton of NY Theatre has proclaimed, "I've said it before and I'll say it again: in terms of consistent, funny, warm-hearted comedy, Chicago City Limits is unmatched among the improv groups." The New York Times calls CCL, "the perfect masters of improvisation" while Variety praises them for "so much wit and intelligence." About their shows, Theatre Week claims that it's "one comic gem after another." Talkin' Broadway asserts, "The most engaging parts of the show are the improvisational numbers, which provide the cast with the opportunity to stretch creatively and show off their talents. At the same time, these pieces illustrate the most exhilarating part of an improvisational comedy show - because the cast takes its cues and shapes its improvisational pieces around audience suggestions, the audience members have the chance not only to watch the actors create comedy before their eyes, but to participate directly in the creative act."

CCL is presented under the auspices of UAlbany's College of Arts & Sciences and presented by the Performing Arts Center. Tickets are $16 for the general public and $10 for students and may be purchased through the Performing Arts Center Box Office. For further information, contact the Box Office at (518) 442-3997 or visit the Performing Arts Center website.

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