Ex-gov. to take stand (and stage) in 'Rod Blagojevich Superstar'

Improv actors know how to think on their feet.

That skill will come in handy next week, when a cast from The Second City opens the six-week run of "Rod Blagojevich Superstar" at the Metropolis Performing Arts Centre in Arlington Heights.

As a jury deliberates whether the former governor is guilty of federal corruption charges, the actors will keep the play up-to-date with an ad-libbed ending.

"We will have to make some last-minute adjustments, but (the cast) is used to it," said Ed Furman, who cowrote the show with TJ Shanoff. "We've been updating it since it opened last year."

Most of the show, which spoofs the 1970s musical "Jesus Christ Superstar," is scripted. It takes the audience through the former governor's life and ends when Roland Burris takes the U.S. Senate seat. Starting next week, after each show, Blagojevich (played by actor Joey Blain) will come back on stage and take the witness stand, where he'll improvise and answer questions from the "prosecution" - otherwise known as the audience.

So regardless of whether the real Blagojevich is found guilty or not guilty, the show will go on.

"(Blagojevich) is just inherently entertaining. Maybe we'll need a sequel," Furman said. "We'll see how it turns out."

Blagojevich actually came to the hit show when it first opened at The Second City in Chicago last February, and appeared in the scene where it's supposed to be Blain making a grand entrance. Afterward, the former governor took a seat in the audience and watched the rest of the show.

"He didn't laugh a lot," Furman said. "I saw him smile a couple of times ... but I don't think he was slapping his knees."

"Rod Blagojevich Superstar" opens Friday, Aug. 6, at the Metropolis Performing Arts Centre and runs through Sept. 18. Visit metropolisarts.com for more information.