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July 9, 2005

I.O. Rebranding and 25th Anniversary

Bowing to years of pressure from the International Olympic Committee, the renowned ImprovOlympic theater is becoming simply the I.O. Theater, with a new web address - http://www.iochicago.net/. The theater's LA branch will become IO West.

I.O. will be celebrating its 25th Anniversary this summer with a star-studded Reunion Show at the Chicago Theater. Scheduled to appear are Ike Barinholtz, Andy Dick, Kevin Dorff, Rachel Dratch, Tina Fey, Neil Flynn, Ian Gomez, David Koechner, John Lutz, Brian McCaan, Adam McKay, Seth Meyers, Joel Murray, Mike Myers, Amy Poehler, Andy Richter, Horatio Sanz, Brian Stack, Rich Talarico, Stephnie Weir, and The Upright Citizens Brigade.

I.O.'s 25th Anniversary Reunion Show
Saturday, August 27, 2005, 8 pm
Chicago Theatre, 175 N. State Street, Chicago, IL
Tickets: $25-$75

(The I.O. website notes that the theater had its 20th Anniversary show in August 2001. Was that anniversary late or is this one early?)

Deanna Issacs' The Business column in the Chicago Reader this week covers the history of the ImprovOlympic, the rebranding, and the anniversary show. The article is not available online, but Chicago readers can pick up a copy and find the article in section 2.

Update:
Chicago Tribune: No laughing matter: Club gets new name after Olympian spat
Chicago Sun-Times: No joke: ImprovOlympic changing name to avoid suit

Posted by Fuzzy at July 9, 2005 1:18 PM