Denver is rolling with laughter as “The Second City: Comedian Rhapsody” has taken the stage at the Garner Galleria Theatre inside the Denver Performing Arts Complex. Running until Aug. 11, this show brings the best of Chicago’s legendary comedy troupe, The Second City, to the Mile High City in a sharp, balanced revue featuring a six-person cast, live music and exceptional comedic timing.
Among the talented cast is Cassidy Russell, who was born in Boulder and has been a part of The Second City Touring Company for over a year. Her journey into comedy began in middle school, where a supportive theater director introduced her to improv.
“There’s just something really cool about getting to discover things in the moment and having the ability to create the role you want to see yourself in,” Russell said. “The cool thing about The Second City is that, in addition to improv, we create most of the scripts for the sketches we perform, so we really get to perform the sorts of material we want to perform.”
Russell’s passion for improv and sketch comedy shines through in “Comedian Rhapsody,” which she describes as “a mix of sketch and improv. This specific version of the tour has a lot of summer-themed things. It doesn’t hit you over the head with summer but it’s definitely where our heads were when we were writing.”
While the touring cast delights Denver audiences with their sharp sketches and improvisational genius, one Denver native is making their mark back in Chicago at the iconic Second City. Zelda Sidener—who uses they/she pronouns and is the child of Drew Sidener, director of creative services at CBS News Colorado and Nicole Vap, executive producer of content development at CBS News and Stations—has long sought to carve out a niche in the comedy world.
Sidener’s love for comedy began during their school at George Washington High School, where they participated in variety shows and honed their performance skills. This love of comedy, combined with the practical realization that their singing abilities might not be good enough to pursue a career in musical theater, led Sidener to take a different path.
“When I was 18 and first looking into colleges, I was a theater kid who was concerned that I was not a good enough singer to do musical theater, but I had always enjoyed comedy,” Sidener said over the phone from Chicago. “So, I began looking into colleges that offered comedy-focused programs, and Columbia College Chicago had a comedy writing and performance major. At that point, it seemed like that was the best path forward, so I applied.”
In addition to the private, nonprofit university’s curriculum, Sidener was attracted to Columbia College Chicago’s study abroad program. However, “it is not really abroad because you are still in Chicago, but it is an incredible opportunity to spend an entire semester at Second City,” Sidener said. “You take comedy classes and improv lessons, and at the end of it all, you stage a big sketch show. When I heard about the opportunity, I wanted to do it as soon as possible.”
Sidener’s favorite class was comedy history, where they delved into the origins of American comedy, from vaudeville to modern sitcoms. The class is taught by Anne Libera, Second City’s director of comedy studies and author of “The Second City Almanac of Improvisation.” One of the classes’ most memorable assignments involved watching episodes of classic television comedies, like “The Honeymooners,” “I Love Lucy” and “The Dick Van Dyke Show.”
“We then had to develop script ideas for those three shows and we were allowed to use anachronisms from the current day,” Sidener said. “The example that my professor gave was her idea for an episode of ‘I Love Lucy’ called ‘Lucy Gets a Vibrator.’ I developed a script for ‘Dick Van Dyke’ called ‘Rob Gets Pegged,’ and everyone loved that.”
Now, Sidener is part of The Second City family in a different capacity. “I’m still in Chicago. I actually work at Second City now,” Sidener said. “Luckily enough, after I graduated, I was recently able to get a job in their box office. I started working as a customer service representative at the beginning of June, so I haven’t been there for long, but it’s been amazing.”
Working at Second City has been an inspiring experience for Sidener. Although they have worked at a few other places before this, “Second City is great because everybody who works there is so cool and creative,” Sidener said. “Also, I have way more LGBTQ+ coworkers than I’ve ever had in my life before, which is really great and important because I’m lesbian, so it’s cool to see others in the community around the workplace.”
Although Sidener isn’t currently performing improv or sketches, their goals are clear. Sidener wants to work as a film and television writer, so they are working on a television script and putting together their portfolio. Sidener dreams of writing sitcoms that stick with people, drawing inspiration from their favorite shows including classics like “The Dick Van Dyke Show” and contemporary hits like “Parks and Recreation” and “It’s Always Sunny in Philadelphia.”
As Sidener continues to flesh out their material in the Windy City, The Second City is living it up in D-Town with a week and a half left of performances. The dynamic energy of “Comedian Rhapsody” is a testament to the troupe’s commitment to fresh and varied material about highly relatable subject matters.
“There are so many different things we talk about on the show because we are doing comedy about things we are very passionate about,” Russell said. “Whether it is cicadas or fireflies, it is all over the place—although those are both bugs, so that is a bad example, but pretend I said something witty—but it is just really fun, and I am enjoying our time in Denver. Don’t be a stranger; come out and shout suggestions our way!”
