Famous people's places / Detroit – Downtown
The Second City Detroit
Closed – archive entry · 2005
Detroit branch of the Chicago improv institution, open from 1993 to 2005 next to the Fox Theatre, where Keegan-Michael Key was a mainstage cast member.
01 / The story of this place
Make time for these
The Second City, the famed Chicago improv and sketch comedy theater that launched generations of Saturday Night Live and SCTV performers, opened a Detroit franchise in 1993 inside the Hockeytown Cafe building beside the Fox Theatre on Woodward Avenue. Comedian and actor Keegan-Michael Key, later of Key & Peele, worked his way up through the company in the 1990s to become a mainstage cast member here before moving on to Chicago and national television. The Detroit troupe struggled with attendance in its later years, and Second City closed the location in 2005, relocating its Detroit-area operations to Novi. The Woodward Avenue theater itself was renamed City Theatre in 2004 and continues to operate today as an event and rental venue owned by Olympia Entertainment, the company that also runs the Fox Theatre and Hockeytown Cafe next door.
- Detroit franchise of Chicago's Second City improv theater
- Operated 1993–2005 beside the Fox Theatre
- Keegan-Michael Key was a mainstage cast member here
- Closed in Detroit in 2005; troupe moved to Novi
- Venue renamed City Theatre, still operating as an event space
Famous Detroiters
Famous people tied to this place 5
Lexicon entries for the people who lived, worked, performed or liked to spend time here.
- Keegan-Michael Key born 1971 · actor, comedian, writer, producer
Performed here
Detroit branch of the Chicago improv theater, in the Hockeytown Cafe building by the Fox Theatre; Key was a mainstage cast member. It moved to Novi in 2005 and later closed.
- Sam Richardson born 1984 · actor, comedian, writer, producer
Performed here
Detroit branch of the Chicago improv theater (downtown 1993–2005, then Novi); Richardson performed here before moving to Chicago.
- Larry Joe Campbell born 1970 · actor, comedian
Performed here
Detroit branch of the Chicago improv theater in the Hockeytown Cafe building by the Fox Theatre; Campbell was among the alumni of its Detroit and Novi stages.
- Tim Robinson born 1981 · comedian, actor, writer
Studied here
Detroit branch of the Chicago improv theater, by the Fox Theatre; Robinson took weekend classes here and joined its touring company. It moved to Novi in 2005 and later closed.
- Maribeth Monroe born 1978 · actress, comedian, writer
Performed here
The Second City's third mainstage, in the Hockeytown Cafe complex next to the Fox Theatre; it moved to Novi in 2005 (closed 2009). The downtown room later reopened as a comedy club.
Sources & fact check · Checked: 2026-09-25
An independently written bilingual guide. This collection is not an attendance-based ranking.
03 / Events
Events at this place
Published events automatically linked from our event guide. Times are local to the venue.
We have no published upcoming events linked to this place yet. That does not mean the venue has no events; check its official calendar too.
Source and former website ↗