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The Second City Touring Company presents Deface the Nation »

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• Virginia Theatre »
  203 W. Park St. Champaign, IL 61820
  (Show on map)

When the Second City Touring Company production of DeFace the Nation rolls into Champaign’s historic Virginia Theatre Sept. 13, audiences will be treated to an evening of challenging political comedy, said Second City’s Abby McEnany.

“The whole country is very involved and interested in what’s going on with the election,” McEnany said. “It’s pretty exciting to go out and do this show across the country.” Second City is no stranger to political comedy, counting Stephen Colbert and Tina Fey among its alumni. DeFace the Nation builds on material from the company’s 49-year history, along with material developed by the touring cast in improv sessions. McEnany said that this heady, highly charged election year is the perfect time for a show where “every scene is political” since politics affects “every single person in the United States and around the world.”

Working with the Second City to produce the show was “incredible,” said McEnany, describing her castmates as “a bunch of talented people with the same goal: creating an incredible show.” McEnany is a comedy veteran, having worked with Chicago’s all-female Sirens improv troupe for nine years in addition to appearing at Maine’s ImprovAcadia. “This is my dream job, to do comedy for a living,” McEnany said.

There’s no shortage of material for a satirical political revue this year, and if any group is up to the task of putting one on, it’s Second City. McEnany is confident that the show will not only be amusing but will also do something a little stronger: “[The audience] can come and see funny satirical things that may challenge the way they think about certain topics.”