The Second City Toronto

Founding and Early Struggle (1973 to 1974)

Bernard Sahlins and Joyce Sloane, partners in the Chicago Second City, opened the Toronto location in 1973 at Adelaide Street East. Without a liquor license, the original venue struggled immediately and closed within months. In early 1974, British-born producer Andrew Alexander acquired the rights from Sahlins for $1, borrowed $7,000, and reopened the company at 110 Lombard Street, the Old Firehall, a converted tavern that served as the company's home for over two decades.

SCTV and the Golden Era (1974 to 1990)

Alexander rebuilt the company with a cast that included Dan Aykroyd, Jayne Eastwood, Joe Flaherty, Andrea Martin, Gilda Radner, and Robin Duke. In 1976 Alexander partnered with Len Stuart to form The Second City Entertainment Company, whose first production was SCTV, the influential sketch television series that ran from 1976 to 1984 and launched most of its cast into American television and film. Subsequent casts at the Old Firehall continued producing major talent: John Candy, Martin Short, Catherine O'Hara, Eugene Levy, Sandra Shamas, and Mike Myers all trained and performed at the Toronto company. In 1985 Alexander and Stuart co-acquired The Second City in Chicago, uniting the two flagship companies under common ownership.

New Venues (1997 to Present)

After more than two decades at the Old Firehall, The Second City Toronto moved to a new purpose-built hall in the theatre district in 1997. In November 2022 the company opened at One York Street, a contemporary space with two stages inside a condo complex in downtown Toronto, marking its third major home in the city.

The Second City Toronto is Canada's preeminent sketch and improv training company, combining The Second City's long-running revue format with an intensive training conservatory that has produced an extraordinary proportion of Canada's major comedy talent across five decades.

The Second City Toronto is the most influential comedy institution in Canadian history. Its alumni include Dan Aykroyd, John Candy, Martin Short, Catherine O'Hara, Eugene Levy, Mike Myers, and Gilda Radner, whose combined careers span Saturday Night Live, SCTV, Hollywood film, and decades of television. The SCTV series, produced out of the Toronto company beginning in 1976, is considered one of the most innovative sketch comedy programs ever made. Second City Toronto alumni have collectively shaped the comedic sensibility of North American entertainment for fifty years.