(Second City)

By DCist contributor Michael Balderston

It was the summer of 2016. Donald Trump and Hillary Clinton were not yet the nominees for president. Bars were not yet hosting crowds to watch Senate Intelligence Committee hearings. A touring company from Second City arrived at the Kennedy Center to debut their satirical show, An Almost Accurate Guide to America.

How times have changed! But the famed Chicago comedy troupe that gave the world John Belushi, Bill Murray, and Tina Fey remains, and will once again take up residency at the Kennedy Center for a dive into a now changed America, Second City’s Almost Accurate Guide to America: Divided We Stand.

The past year has inflamed an already polarized nation, and the Second City team will poke fun at the issues facing the many different Americas—hopefully closing the gap, joke by joke.

“It feels like a great time to do social and political satire in Washington,” said director Billy Bungeroth. But Second City has more on its mind than the president’s tweets. Bungeroth stressed that this show would be relevant “no matter what crazy bullsh!t happens in the news.”

Ryan Asher, returning from last year’s program, admits the troupe has its work cut out for it. “It’s hard to make a joke that both sides can laugh at.”

“With something like this show, people come out to have a good laugh, a good time,” says Tyler Davis, also returning from last year. “But we’re also getting out viewpoints and things that people don’t actively think about in their everyday lives.”

It can be an antidote to a frightening political climate. “Being able to laugh at it and laugh together is extremely important,” Asher added.

While Asher and Davis are both excited to be back in Washington, there’s a sense of apprehension. “I’m wondering how it will feel just to walk in front of the White House,” Davis said.

Even though the show is setting up shop in the middle of the “swamp,” its focus goes beyond the Beltway. “This is a show about the people in America,” said Bungeroth. “We spend so much time talking about Donald Trump or his detractors and we don’t talk enough about the people are affected by his policies. We’re more interested in talking about those people.”

It’s still a comedy show though. “Although there’s a lot of issues and a lot of very real things in the show… it has to be compelling or hilarious,” said Bungeroth.

“We’re going to wear wigs and we’re going to be funny as hell,” Asher declared.

“The Second City’s Almost Accurate Guide to America: Divided We Stand” will be at the Kennedy Center from June 17 to August 13. $49-69.
Buy tickets here.