Pro hockey players may be bruisers on the ice, but a sense of humor is probably just as important in a sport in which guys are getting their teeth knocked out on a regular basis. And in that vein, a group of Blackhawk players past and present will take the stage Tuesday night at Park West for a night of improv facilitated by performers from iO Theater.
Goalie Corey Crawford, center Jake Dowell and the legend Tony Esposito are all on the lineup for “WGN Radio’s Chicago Blackhawks Night of Improv,” a benefit for the Children’s Neuroblastoma Cancer Foundation.
“What we do at iO is we take an audience suggestion and then make up a scene or a series of scenes based on that suggestion,” explained Mark Raterman, who is scheduled to appear. “One of the classic things we say is, each show has never been done before and will never be done again in exactly the same way.”
Here’s how Tuesday’s event will work, according to Raterman: “We’ll interview the players onstage and then improvise off their answers and interactions. The stereotype is that goalies are the nutty ones on the team, and I’m curious myself to see what Crawford is like behind the mask. But that said, I think anyone who goes on the ice and is willing to take a puck to the face is pretty nutty.”
Raterman plans on watching plenty of hockey in the meantime, “but we’ll mostly rely on our wits. I’ve done a gig with the Blackhawks in the past, and they’re so beloved that whatever they say ends up being a crowd favorite.”
The evening (open to those 16 and older) includes a chance to meet the Blackhawks, and WGN Radio personalities including Garry Meier and John Williams.
‘Night of Improv’
When: 7 p.m. Tuesday
Where: Park West, 322 W. Armitage
Tickets: $40 (includes one drink ticket); 800-514-3849 or wgnradio.com/events
