CHICAGO _ In a continued period of unprecedented volatility at the famed Chicago comedy theater, more senior staffers have made their exits from The Second City.
The high-profile departures, confirmed Friday morning by Andrew Alexander, the owner of the privately held company, include Erica Daniels, the president of Second City Theatricals, and Michael Gart, Second City's chief financial officer. Alexander said that David Quinn, who had been controller, is to be the new CFO.
Gart was formerly the senior vice president of finance and CFO at Tribune Media Services. (Tribune Company formerly owned this newspaper.)
These departures follow on the recent exits of Lisa Beasley, Aasia Lashay Bullock and Scott Morehead, performers in Second City's current e.t.c. Stage revue "A Red Line Runs Through It," as reported Tuesday. One more actor, Peter Kim, now has left that show.
Those resignations _ highly unusual for Second City _ were in the wake of performers not getting along back stage, and also reacting to an epidemic of crude audience comments ricocheting around the theater. Tyler Alexander, the son of Andrew Alexander and an executive at the theater, told staffers he was taking a sabbatical.
"Following the disruptions in the e.t.c. show, I became more involved personally," the senior Alexander said, by way of explanation of the new departures. "And while I know a lot of change has come at the same time, I decided we just had to be running more efficiently, going forward."
Daniels has been in charge of Second City's theatrical arm, which develops touring shows and special revues like the current "Unelectable You," an election-themed collaboration with Slate. That show has not been selling well, Alexander said, saying that he now planned to be "more involved in the theatrical side of things."
Second City Theatricals, which was founded by Kelly Leonard, who now works within the Second City Works corporate division, has had some hits. But In general, those shows are riskier ventures than the traditional Mainstage and e.t.c. Stage revues that routinely play to sold-out houses.
Alexander paid tribute to Daniels, formerly the associate artistic director and longtime casting director at the Steppenwolf Theater Company. Daniels, who came to Second City in April 2015, is a well-known figure within Chicago's close-knit theater community. "Erica," Alexander said, "is a terrific lady."
Neither Daniels nor Gart could be reached for comment Friday.
