Northwestern University to Celebrate THE MEE-OW SHOW 50th Anniversary

Northwestern University will present a day-long celebration in honor of the fiftieth anniversary of The Mee-Ow Show, the nation's longest-running college improv show, for Saturday, April 6 at McCormick Auditorium on the university's Evanston campus. The Mee-Ow Show Fest, produced by a diverse committee of Mee-Ow Show alums, will include a series of presentations and panel discussions featuring renowned Mee-Ow Show alumni such as Kristen Schaal, Ana Gasteyer, Dermot Mulroney, Daniele Gaither, Josh Meyers, Heather Anne Campbell, Jason Winer, Craig Bierko, J.P. MANOUX, Elizabeth Kruger, Dan Patterson, Pep Rosenfeld, Anjali Bhimani, Romy Rosemont, Justin Spitzer, and Peter Grosz, among others.

Tickets to Mee-Ow Show Fest will be priced at $35.00 for the general public and $15.00 for current Northwestern students, for the events on campus. Tickets to the Mee-Ow Show Fest and the Mee-Ow Show reunion party at Double Clutch Brewery in Evanston will be priced at $125.00. Tickets can be purchased at: https://www.eventbrite.com/e/mee-ow-show-fest-tickets-784710649677?aff=oddtdtcreator

Established in 1974, the initial show featured musical comedy and comic skits with a full orchestra and then evolved into a revue composed of improv games and sketches in 1975. Born out of the anarchic spirit of Chicago's renowned The Second City, The Mee-Ow Show was an anti-establishment vehicle for a variety of talents who were just beginning their comedy careers. Julia Louis-Dreyfuss and Paul Barrosse, who both transferred to 'Saturday Night Live,' were featured in The Mee-Ow Show in 1980. Talents including Craig Bierko, Dermot Mulroney, Seth Meyers, Ana Gasteyer, Kristen Schaal, Peter Grosz, Josh Winer, Kristen Schaal, Pep Rosenfeld, Romy Rosemont, Abby Kohn, Eric Gilliland, and many more, were featured in subsequent Mee-Ow Show casts.

Mee-Ow Show alums have created and or appeared in a wide variety of popular TV shows, including 'Veep,' 'Roseanne,' 'Modern Family,' 'The Office,' 'Bob's Burgers,' 'Sex/Life,' 'Superstore,' 'Mad Men,' 'Glee,' 'Rick and Morty,' and countless others.

"The Mee-Ow Show could only have happened at Northwestern; it is a true Chicago improv show with the full complement of Northwestern theater talent, and it has become an integral part of the campus calendar, expertly reflecting its times," said Joseph Radding, co-author of 'The Mee-Ow Show at 50: From Cultural Rebellion to Comedy Institution,' which will be published by Northwestern University Press in October, 2024.

Mee-Ow Show Fest's line-up includes a series of 'Cat Chats' and presentations, including:

● History of the Mee-Ow Show - presentation by Joseph Radding, co-author of forthcoming Mee-Ow Show book

● TV Makers and Storytellers (including Liz Cackowski, Jason Winer, & Justin Spitzer)

● Real Life and The Next Gen of Comedy (including Ana Gasteyer, Saskia Young and Richard Radutzky)

● Improv Worldwide (featuring Pep Rosenfeld, founder, Boom Chicago & Dan Patterson, founder, Whose Line Is It Anyway?)

● Actors & Storytellers (featuring Dermot Mulroney, Kristen Schaal and Josh Meyers)
● All-Alumni Improv Jam - hosted by Daniele Gaither (Groundlings, Mee-Ow Show '91-'92) and Orly Lewittes (Mee-Ow Show '24) and featuring the cast of The 2024 Mee-Ow Show

"It speaks to the value of the Mee-Ow Show experience that so many show alumni are coming to the reunion to celebrate its 50th year," said Jill Alexander, a Los Angeles-based actor and writer who appeared in the Mee-Ow Show all four years of her Northwestern tenure, from 1994-1997. "The collaboration, commitment and organizational skills honed in putting up the best college improv show in the country develop a wealth of confidence and leadership ability, which is why Mee-Ow Show alumni are stand-outs in their chosen pursuits. From comedy to firefighting, Mee-Ow Show people get it done. They produce. Period."

The Mee-Ow Show is produced in the winter quarter of Northwestern's academic year, and has historically involved productions at both McCormick Auditorium ('Still Life,' the first Mee-Ow Show, was the first production in the then-new McCormick) and at Shanley Pavilion. In 1986, The Mee-Ow Show became the first Chicago-style improv show to perform at the venerable Edinburgh Fringe Festival, with 'Oedipuss 'n Boots,' directed by Dan Patterson, who went on to create "Whose Line Is It Anyway?" an original improv TV show that ran for many years on British and U.S. television.

ABOUT THE MEE-OW SHOW

Founded in 1974, The Mee-Ow Show is America's longest-running college improv show, produced, written and performed each year entirely by Northwestern University students. Celebrating its fiftieth year, The Mee-Ow Show has collectively involved more than 1,500 creative talents and has helped spawn the comedic careers of such diverse talents as Julia Louis-Dreyfus, Seth Meyers, Kristen Schaal, Ana Gasteyer, Daniele Gaither, Dermot Mulroney, Craig Bierko, Peter Grosz, Anjali Bhimani, Abby Kohn, Dan Patterson, Pep Rosenfeld, among many others.

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