CHICAGO — Here’s how much of a fan Susan Friedman is of “The Daily Show”: Back in 2010, the Chicago resident decided, on a whim, to drive to Washington, D.C. for the day in order to attend Jon Stewart and Stephen Colbert’s very real “Rally to Restore Sanity And/Or Fear.”
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“I just drove in, went to the rally, and then drove back,” she said. “And when people heard that I was going, three other people said they were in. They just literally joined the car, and we didn’t even know each other!”
On Monday morning, Friedman was holding up a dish towel from that 2010 rally (yes, they gave out dish towels at that event!) while standing outside Chicago’s Athenaeum Center for Thought and Culture. The venue, located in the Windy City’s Lakeview neighborhood, is the homebase this week for Comedy Central’s “The Daily Show,” in town to cover the Democratic National Convention.
The Athenaeum is several miles north of downtown, where the DNC action is taking place at the United Center and McCormick Place. That’s why things were pretty quiet around the venue on Monday morning, with few pedestrians around the building — save Friedman, who showed up with the hope of getting in to see Monday’s taping.
“I’ve been in the queue for weeks now,” she said. “And so, I’m sort of hoping that either somebody has an extra ticket, or by the grace of God, they let me experience this. And the thing is, I’m volunteering at the DNC, and I took today off hoping that I’d be able to… I thought if I come early, maybe somebody will have pity on me.”
Friedman said she spent the past 10 days volunteering for the DNC. “The delegates and everyone arrived this weekend,” she noted. “The protesters arrived this weekend too, so downtown is where it’s really happening.”
Friedman, who had turned the 2010 dish towel into a rally sign, was also wearing a T-shirt touting Chicago’s famed Second City comedy theater. Friedman says she’s a fan of both Stewart and Second City alum Stephen Colbert — whose CBS late night talker “The Late Show” is also in town.
“And don’t forget John Oliver!” she said of HBO’s “Last Week Tonight” host. And she likes Jimmy Kimmel as well. “Where is Kimmel?” she asked. “Why isn’t he here?”
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When told that Kimmel takes the summer off, Friedman said: “He could have vacationed in Chicago! We would have taken care of him.”
Given that Chicago is seen as a comedy town — thanks in part to The Second City and other comedy troupes — having both “The Daily Show” and “The Late Show” (which is airing live from downtown’s Auditorium Theatre) is seen as a huge boon to the laffer community. “People here want to support we support the arts,” Friedman said. “We support comedy. Chicago’s a different breed.”
By late morning, staffers were scurrying around the Athenaeum, as production trucks were parked up and down the street. Security was milling around, too, although there still wasn’t much to keep an eye on. Next door, the mammoth Saint Alphonsus Church and its school were welcoming kids and parents back to class — seemingly unaware of “The Daily Show” commotion next door. (Although a Saint Alphonsus parking lot was filled with production vehicles for the program, so presumably they must have known something was a foot.)
Sitting on the steps of Saint Alphonsus was another “Daily Show” fan, Ric Corns. The Chicago resident had arrived early to meet up with a friend. Unlike Friedman, he had secured a pair of tickets to Monday’s taping, which will be hosted by “The Daily Show” correspondent Michael Kosta and feature Michigan Gov. Gretchen Whitmer as a guest.
“I’ve watched ‘The Daily Show’ on and off probably since 2004, since I was in high school,” Corns said. And I’ve always loved Jon Stewart. I loved his perspective and oddball takes. I’m still a little miffed about his rant on Chicago pizza, but I’m excited to finally go to an episode of ‘The Daily Show.’
“I’m excited to see Jon Stewart live, and it’s great to go to ‘The Daily Show’ when there is such a big event like the Democratic National Convention here,” Corns continued.
Corns said he felt an air of excitement around town. “I think it’s really positive. So far, admittedly, I haven’t seen anything controversial, or any protesters or anything like that. It feels like there’s a lot of unstoppable momentum built up now. This is a prime moment for ‘The Daily Show’ to really seize on it as well and make a lot of great commentary, especially now that we’re so close to the election.”
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