Time Out Chicago / Issue 109: March 29–April 4, 2007
Chicago jokers know their way around a good prank.
By Steve Heisler
What better time for a practical joke than April Fool’s Day (Sunday 1); and what better people to learn from than our city’s own comedians? Follow these shining examples of real pranks, but heed the comics’ warnings to avert a backfire.
The fake celebrity
Target Unsuspecting theatergoers
Comic Angie McMahon, who runs the Saturday Night Showcase at the Cornservatory Saturday 31
Story Our improv group had entered the cage match at I.O., and the rules stated that each team was allowed a secret weapon to get more votes. One of our member’s father looked exactly like Francis Ford Coppola, so we told the theater he was coming. When Mr. Fake Coppola arrived (they had sent a limo for him), the place went nuts—like Elvis just walked through the door. One girl even started crying when he kissed her hand. In the middle of our show, he got up and gave a speech about how hard it was to laugh in the world after 9/11. We still lost by eight votes, but the next day’s Sun-Times Out and About section printed that Mr. Coppola was at I.O.
Warning Celebrity impersonators are sometimes too convincing. Keep that in mind when you hire a Naomi Campbell look-alike.
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