''Happy Happy Good Show'' was an

improvisational comedy Improvisational theatre, often called improvisation or improv, is the form of theatre, often comedy, in which most or all of what is performed is unplanned or unscripted: created spontaneously by the performers. In its purest form, the dialogue, a ...

revue A revue is a type of multi-act popular theatrical entertainment that combines music, dance, and sketches. The revue has its roots in 19th century popular entertainment and melodrama but grew into a substantial cultural presence of its own duri ...

held at the Victory Gardens Studio Theater in

Chicago (''City in a Garden''); I Will , image_map = , map_caption = Interactive Map of Chicago , coordinates = , coordinates_footnotes = , subdivision_type = Country , subdivision_name ...

during the summer of 1988. The cast and writers were largely made up of writers on strike from ''

Saturday Night Live ''Saturday Night Live'' (often abbreviated to ''SNL'') is an American late-night live television sketch comedy and variety show created by Lorne Michaels and developed by Dick Ebersol that airs on NBC and Peacock. Michaels currently serves a ...

'' after the 1987–1988 season. The show is most notable for showcasing the performance talents of

Bob Odenkirk Robert John Odenkirk (; born October 22, 1962) is an American actor, comedian and filmmaker best known for his role as Saul Goodman on ''Breaking Bad'' (2008–2013) and its spin-off ''Better Call Saul'' (2015–2022). For the latter, he has re ...

Robert Smigel Robert Smigel (born February 7, 1960) is an American actor, comedian, writer, director, producer, and puppeteer, known for his ''Saturday Night Live'' " TV Funhouse" cartoon shorts and as the puppeteer and voice behind Triumph the Insult Comic D ...

, and

Conan O'Brien Conan Christopher O'Brien (born April 18, 1963) is an American television host, comedian, writer, and producer. He is best known for having hosted late-night talk shows for almost 28 years, beginning with ''Late Night with Conan O'Brien'' (19 ...

, as the three had previously only showcased their writing talents. The revue was directed by Mark Nutter. Video clips of ''Happy Happy Good Show'' were shown on ''

Late Night with Conan O'Brien ''Late Night with Conan O'Brien'' is an American late-night talk show hosted by Conan O'Brien. NBC aired 2,725 episodes from September 13, 1993, to February 20, 2009. The show featured varied comedic material, celebrity interviews, and music ...

'' in 2006, when the program was taped for a week in Chicago.

Cast

Rose Abdoo Rose Marie Abdoo (born November 28, 1962) is an American actress and comedian, known for her roles as Stars Hollow's local mechanic, Gypsy, on ''Gilmore Girls'' and as Spanish teacher Señorita Rodriguez on ''That's So Raven''. Life and career ...

* Hugh Callaly * Debby Jennings * Dave Reynolds *

Jill Talley Jill Talley (born December 19, 1962) is an American actress and comedian. She is a main cast member on the animated series ''SpongeBob SquarePants'', in which she voices Karen Plankton. Her other voice roles include Sarah Dubois on Adult Swim's ...

* with Joe E. Dale

Reviews

A review of the show in the ''

Chicago Tribune The ''Chicago Tribune'' is a daily newspaper based in Chicago, Illinois, United States, owned by Tribune Publishing. Founded in 1847, and formerly self-styled as the "World's Greatest Newspaper" (a slogan for which WGN radio and television ar ...

'' was fairly negative, stating that "most of the skits in this show fall flat, underdeveloped and incomplete, little more, really, than blueprint works-in-progress."

Notable sketches

Several of the sketches are clear progenitors of sketches in other media worked on by the writers. * A sketch set at a

nude beach A nude beach, sometimes called a clothing-optional or free beach, is a beach where users are at liberty to be nudity, nude. Nude beaches usually have mixed bathing. Such beaches are usually on public lands, and any member of the public is allow ...

where genitalia are strategically blocked by furniture is very similar to the famous "Nude Beach" sketch that aired on ''Saturday Night Live'' during the 1988–1989 season

* A sketch in which the cast would make outlandish predictions for the future is thematically similar to ''

s recurring List of Late Night with Conan O'Brien sketches#In the Year 2000/3000, In the Year 2000 sketch. * A sketch called "Chicago Superfans" about Chicago residents whose conversations would invariably turn back into a discussion of the

Chicago Bulls The Chicago Bulls are an American professional basketball team based in Chicago. The Bulls compete in the National Basketball Association (NBA) as a member of the league's Eastern Conference Central Division. The team was founded on January 1 ...

Chicago Bears The Chicago Bears are a professional American football team based in Chicago. The Bears compete in the National Football League (NFL) as a member club of the league's National Football Conference (NFC) North division. The Bears have won nine NF ...

. This sketch would eventually become

Bill Swerski's Superfans "Bill Swerski's Superfans" was a recurring sketch about Chicago sports fans on the American sketch comedy program ''Saturday Night Live''. It was a prominent feature from 1991 to 1992, and its characters have made various other appearances since ...

on ''Saturday Night Live''.

References

*
Most Lines Lack Punch in Mediocre "Good Show"
' from the Chicago Tribune, July 9, 1988 (reprinted May 5, 2006). *

' from the

Chicago Sun-Times The ''Chicago Sun-Times'' is a daily newspaper published in Chicago, Illinois, United States. Since 2022, it is the flagship paper of Chicago Public Media, and has the second largest circulation among Chicago newspapers, after the ''Chicago T ...

, April 28, 2006. {{authority control American comedy troupes Improvisational troupes Sketch comedy troupes Theatre companies in Chicago Performing groups established in 1988