Blagojevich to be in The Second City show

Illinois' ousted Gov. Rod Blagojevich, the target of comedian's jokes since his arrest and impeachment, is getting in on the jokes with Chicago's famed The Second City.

The former governor will participate in Saturday's performance of "Rod Blagojevich Superstar," Blagojevich spokesman Glenn Selig said Tuesday.

The show is a takeoff on the rock opera "Jesus Christ Superstar" and follows Blagojevich's rise and fall. Its run was supposed to end June 14, but the improvisational comedy group extended performances to Aug. 9 because of its popularity.

Selig declined to say how much Blagojevich will be paid, but said he will make a donation to Gilda's Club, a cancer support organization founded by Gilda Radner, a comedian and Second City alumna.

"The play is a satire and he plans to watch it along with everyone else and expects to get a good laugh and at the same time help Gilda's Club," Selig said.

A Second City spokeswoman did not immediately return a message from The Associated Press. A woman who answered the telephone at the box office said Saturday's first of two performances was sold out, but tickets were available for the later show.

Former Illinois first lady Patti Blagojevich is also getting attention in the second week of NBC's reality show "I'm a Celebrity ... Get Me Out of Here!"

She told castmates on the show that she and her husband had lost their jobs and she was participating to support their daughters.

Rod Blagojevich has pleaded not guilty to charges that he schemed to sell or trade President Barack Obama's former U.S. Senate seat and used the muscle of the governor's office to get campaign donations. He was impeached and ousted from office in January.

NBC had wanted the former governor on the show, in which viewers vote the quasi-celebrities out. But U.S. District Judge James B. Zagel, who is presiding over Blagojevich's corruption case, refused to let him leave the country, so his wife joined the cast instead.