6

Arts & Entertainment

the- musical comedy
Sex & the Second City follows
a coUpie with =the seven-year itch
and their lovelorn lawyers. —

Meadow Brook Theatre hosts spoof of dating and relationships.

Suzanne Chessler

Special to the Jewish News

S

ex certainly enters into
Second City comedy, but
the subject takes some
different comedic and musical
twists with the show titled Sex
6- the Second City. Already
performed in Chicago, it will run
May 16-21 at the Meadow Brook
Theatre in Rochester.
Sex & the Second City, rath-
er than sketch comedy, is a musi-
cal comedy. The play introduces
Denise and Richard, who are
getting divorced, and Samantha
and Mark, their lawyers who are
starting an initially anonymous
romance with the computer as
Cupid. Dating, marriage dilem-
mas and couples therapy enter
into the plot.
T.J. Shanoff collaborated on
writing three of the songs and
put the whole piece together
musically.
"This show takes some clas-
sic Second City scenes, many of
which hadn't been seen in a long
time, and presents them in a dif-
ferent context," explains Shanoff,

62

May 11 •

2006

32, raised and based in Second
directing, with many assignments Defamation League in Chicago,
City's Windy City hometown.
involving custom-made corpo-
has brought his Jewish back-
"Audiences get some great
rate shows.
ground into writing projects.
Second City scenes, some great
The writer-musician ha's
With Fiddler on the Roof his
Second City songs plus a through- directed the music behind hun-
favorite musical, Shanoff worked
line narrative, or plot, which they
dreds of productions and worked with Saturday Night Live writ-
normally don't get in a Second
with big-name entertainers, such
er Rich Talarico to complete The
City show. I helped write the
as Bill Murray and Martin Short.
Roof Is on Fiddler, a parody
opening and closing songs and
"I've been playing the piano
taking the dialogue from the play
a ballad,`I'm Living in My Own
by ear since I was 7 years old,"
without the original songs. Pop
Little World: I wrote the
says Shanoff, an only child
songs from the 1980s were used
music and collaborated on
whose parents began using
instead. •
the lyrics with Kirk Hanley,
his initials instead of his
A single guy who has spent
Maribeth Monroe and
first and middle names,
considerable time scouting
director Ron West.
Todd Jason, when he was
women on JDate, Shanoff wrote
"The ballad, which is
an infant. "I never thought
a number about computer
Writer
sung by one of the leads
it would become a career,
romance
for Jewsical, a new
musici an
to display his selfishness,
but I was able to carve out
sketch
production
for Second
T.J. Sh anoff
ends with the man real-
a niche for myself with
City not yet scheduled for Detroit.
izing he better start paying
that at the center. I've also
The theater piece is filled with
attention to the important woman found time to do radio.
different Jewish themes, current
in his life," says Shanoff, who has
"I'm now the sports guy for a
and past.
con s iderable experience with the
show airing locally [in Chicago].
When Shanoff is not busy with
Second City troupe.
For three years, I had a syndi-
theater, he's working on a new
cated program, a comedic sports- computer business —
Multi Talented
talk show. There were three of us
www.mycampfriends.com ,
After graduating from Emerson
working together. My role was
scheduled to launch this summer.
College in Boston with a major in
to be the smart-alecky, sarcastic
"I went to summer camp for
communications, Shanoff got a
sports fan, which I've actually
many years, and I'm starting a
job playing piano for the legend-
been most of my life."
social networking Web site for
ary Second City. That respon-
Shanoff, whose family has
people looking for friends from
sibility grew into writing and
been active with the Anti-
camp," says the new entrepreneur,

-

whose favorite leisure activities
are playing the piano just for
fun and going to Chicago Cubs
games. "In theory, we'll earn
our money from marketing and
advertising:'
Shanoff's most recent Second
City assignment is a show that
spotlights the big songs brought
to the stage during the 45 years
the troupe has developed pro-
ductions.
"I love every bit of my work:'
Shanoff says. "I get to be a goofy
sports fan on morning radio, play
piano at night and write theater
and plan other business projects
during the day." ❑

Sex & the Second City will

be performed May 16-21
at Meadow Brook Theatre
on the campus of Oakland
University in Rochester.
Curtain times are 8 p.m.
Tuesday-Friday, 2 p.m.
Wednesday and Sunday,
6 p.m. Saturday and 6:30
p.m. Sunday. $26-$36.
(248) 377-3300.