Welcome to The Second City Archives, in which we post an exclusive clip each week of some of comedy’s biggest superstars performing early in their careers on the legendary Chicago stage. Second City has generously given us a glimpse into their extensive archive of live performances, and over the coming weeks we’ll be sharing some rare and retro comedy never before seen on the web.
This week we’re debuting a newly unearthed clip from Second City’s 1993 revue Take Me Out to the Balkans featuring ensemble performers Fran Adams, Steve Carell, Stephen Colbert, Paul Dinello, David Razowsky, Ruth Rudnick, and Amy Sedaris. In the above clip, Carell, Colbert (who doubled as Carell’s understudy), Dinello, and Razowsky perform a catchy tune called “The Obvious Song†that’s as funny as it is harmonious. This took place less than ten years before both Carell and Colbert hit it big on television with The Dana Carvey Show, The Daily Show, and in the case of Colbert, Dinello, and Sedaris, Exit 57 and Strangers with Candy. Little did they know that 20 years later Carell would be crossing over into big-screen drama while Colbert would be chosen as the heir to the Late Show throne.