The Second City theater company of Chicago has set the standard for improvisational comedy since the early 1960s, and no single institution has made a greater impact on the development of American comedy since. The comedy troupe has produced a stellar array of improvisational and stand-up comedians, actors, writers, and directors who have had a profound influence on comedy worldwide.

The troupe's roots go back to the progressive campus of the University of Chicago in 1951, where a group of performers and writers began presenting plays. After two years, the group migrated from the university's Southside campus to a Northside converted chop suey house, pooled their resources, and launched the Playwrights Theatre Club, which produced 25 plays over the next two years. When the fire department ordered extensive remodeling, the Club broke apart, forming two new groups: the Compass Players, an improvisational troupe that played nightclubs around Chicago...