Category Archives: improvisation

“American Buffalo” on Broadway

Posted on May 20, 2022 by dgsweet

In 2001, I served on a grand jury. At one point, an ADA played for us a recording from a wiretap. It was a conversation between two members of a violent drug gang. One was assigning the other to kill … Continue reading →

Posted in Broadway, Chicago theater, drama, improvisation, playwriting, Second City, theater, Uncategorized | Tagged , , , , | 2 Comments

Thoughts Triggered by “Next Stop, Greenwich Village”

Posted on October 13, 2021 by dgsweet

I’ve been working on a revised edition of Something Wonderful Right Away, my oral history of the founding and early days of Second City. It was originally published in 1978 and, inevitably, many of the people I interviewed for the … Continue reading →

Posted in improvisation, movies, New York, off-Broadway, playwriting, Pulitzer Prize, Second City, theater | Tagged , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , | Leave a comment

Life Sucks

Posted on March 29, 2019 by dgsweet

Once upon a time, when a musical opened on Broadway, it was common for a combo to release an LP (everybody remember what an LP is?) of jazz impressions of the score. Shelley Manne released Jazz Performances of Songs from … Continue reading →

Posted in Broadway, Chekhov, improvisation, off-Broadway, playwriting, Uncategorized | Tagged , , , , , , , , | Leave a comment

Second City and the President

Posted on March 4, 2019 by dgsweet

I’m working on a new edition of Something Wonderful Right Away.  Here’s an excerpt of a new passage: The satiric voices that first were heard at Second City once made mock from the sidelines.  Today, satiric comment from Second City … Continue reading →

Posted in improvisation, Second City, television, Uncategorized | Tagged , , , , , , , , | 1 Comment