Famed actor Jim Belushi and the Chicago Board of Comedy spent Saturday making Shippensburg laugh.
A harmonica echoed through the theater as the lights dimmed. Then Jim Belushi came walking through the aisles of the house before breaking into The Blues Brothers’ song “Sweet Home Chicago.”
Jim Belushi, 59, from Chicago, Ill., charmed the audience from the beginning of the show. Belushi engaged the audience on multiple levels and created bonds with members of the crowd.
Both Belushi and the members of The Chicago Board of Comedy are alumni of The Second City, a formerly small cabaret theater that is now churning out hilarious actors, writers and directors. The Second City is the largest training center for acting and improvisation in the country.
Belushi got his start at The Second City theater and soon moved on to Saturday Night Live. He starred in numerous productions for both the silver screen and television until October 2001 when his sitcom “According to Jim” aired on ABC.
The Chicago Board of Comedy consists of four members, all of whom have been a part of critically-acclaimed television series and movies. The entertainers made the audience laugh with friendly jokes about local businesses, the town of Shippensburg and even SU’s mascot.
Belushi was overwhelmed by the H. Ric Luhrs Performing Arts Center and mentioned multiple times how incredibly lucky the people of both the university and the town were to have the facility.
There were multiple games played by the cast that kept the audience laughing all the way to the end, such as when the performers gave Shippensburg its very own musical, “Mike Ditka Vs. the Hurricane.”
The night of improvisational comedy and audience participation left those in attendance smiling and laughing all the way to the lobby, where Jim Belushi and Larry Joe Campbell talked with guests, signed autographs and posed for photos.
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