On Jan. 30, the Chicago City Limits improvisational comedy group will invade the Auburn Performing Arts Center – as part of the city’s BRAVO! Performing Arts Series – bringing along its own brand of improvisational sketch comedy, driven by audience participation.

“It’s a combination of two things,” Executive Producer and Artistic Director Paul Zuckerman said of the show. “There is audience-inspired improv, but we also have some song parodies, skits and blackouts.”

Chicago City Limits was founded in 1977 by several comedians attending improv workshops at Chicago’s legendary Second City improv group – the spawning ground of stars such as John Belushi, Dan Akroyd and Christopher Guest. In 1980 the group moved to New York City and began an Off Broadway run that has encompassed more than 8,500 performances. In addition to several one-off performances on The Today Show, Comedy Central and The Joan Rivers Show, the company also boasts a touring company that has performed at Super Bowl XXIX and TheLincoln Center for the Performing Arts.

For Auburn audiences, this troupe will perform “Wikiphobia,” which focuses “on the Internet and its glory and its seamy underbelly,” according to Zuckerman.

“There is actually one skit we do actually called Wikiphobia. The audience and the cast actually create a Wikipedia page that will likely never see the light of day,” he added.

Zuckerman said the show will also feature a mock game show.

“We do an improvised Jeopardy show with the audience as the question-and-answer board. We also interview an audience member and based on one of their experiences, maybe something that happened to them that day, we create a musical on the spot.”

Although the bulk of the show consists of improvisational numbers, Zuckerman said the four-person cast and accompanying keyboard player will also perform several scripted pieces.

“We do certain things like health care, like whether you should have a pap smear or not, blowing a plane up with your underwear, Guantanamo, pirates in Somalia, Tiger Woods, Sarah Palin and watching Glee.

“I think it’s a pretty unique form of theater, it’s interactive,” Zuckerman added. “People who tend not to like theater, they usually like improv. Part of that comes from being able to see a topic they came up with acted out on stage. It’s a little bit like light the fuse and run. There is something amazing about calling something out and then having a five-minute piece acted out on stage about it.”

The Chicago City Limits presents Wikiphobia show is 7:30 p.m. Jan. 30 at the Auburn Performing Arts Center. Tickets cost $14, $16 or $18, depending on location, and are available at http://www.brownpapertickets.com/event/87898 or by calling the Auburn Parks, Arts and Recreation Department at (253) 931-3043.