Seth Meyers credits his time at Amsterdam's Boom Chicago improv theater with launching his career, which led him to host NBC's "Late Night with Seth Meyers." Meyers met actress and comedian Jill Benjamin at the theater, where they developed a sketch called "Bar Pickup" that featured audience participation. The duo performed the sketch during a recent reunion show in Amsterdam, showcasing their signature chemistry and ability to think on their feet. In 1998, Meyers and Benjamin took their two-person show, titled "Pick-ups and Hiccups," to Chicago, where it became a critically-acclaimed hit.
Written by the local model on 2026-09-07,
using this article's own text rather than the other coverage of the
same event (that is the story summary below).
Story summary
Seth Meyers, the host of NBC's "Late Night with Seth Meyers," got his start in comedy at an improv theater in Amsterdam called Boom Chicago. In the early 1990s, two American comedians opened Boom Chicago, which was initially seen as a peculiar idea given the Netherlands' reputation for not being funny. However, the club went on to launch the careers of several notable American comedians, including Meyers, Jordan Peele, and Jason Sudeikis. Meyers credits his time at Boom Chicago with providing him with a "road map" to getting hired by "Saturday Night Live." The theater's unique approach to comedy, which involves improvising scenes based on audience suggestions, helped its performers develop skills that could be applied to other forms of comedy.
Written for “US Comedy Trained in Amsterdam” on 2026-09-07,
grounded in this article and the 2 other(s) covering the same event.
You would never think some of America's biggest comedy stars found their start in the Netherlands — a country not known for its sense of humor.
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And yet, there's Boom Chicago, an unassuming improv theater in the heart of Amsterdam that helped launch the careers of Jordan Peele, Ike Barinholtz, and Seth Meyers, now the host of NBC's "Late Night with Seth Meyers."
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In an interview with correspondent Jon Wertheim, Meyers said his time at Boom gave him a "road map" to his big break: a job with "Saturday Night Live."
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"We were just so ambitious, and wanted to be funny every night…
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I kind of forgot that they were also giving us this road map of how to do other things," Meyers told Wertheim before a Boom Chicago reunion show.
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In 1998, actress and comedian Jill Benjamin arrived at Boom Chicago while Meyers was in his second year with the troupe.
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During rehearsals, Meyers came up with an idea for a sketch called "Bar Pickup."
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"'It's two people that meet at a bar for the first time… and the guy goes into the audience and he asks women questions, and then the female goes into the audience and asks men questions,'" Benjamin explained to Jon Wertheim.
"'Where are you from?
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And based on what people in the audience had told us… you would call back information [in the sketch].
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And I think that was the fun of it.
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It was half a memory game and half an improv game," Meyers said.
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After trying the scene with a few different partners, Meyers and Benjamin were eventually paired together, and they clicked.
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"Our stage chemistry is kind of what brought us together… like I could read his mind," Benjamin said.
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"We would try to surprise each other onstage…
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we have always felt safe to antagonize each other onstage from a place of love," Meyers explained.
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At a Boom Chicago reunion in Amsterdam last summer, the duo took the stage and performed "Bar Pickup."
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Benjamin asked a member of the audience where they were from.
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"Sydney," he replied.
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Meyers walked into the back of the theater and asked the audience members questions like "Are you in a relationship?" and "Do you have a favorite song?"
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Then the sketch began, with Meyers and Benjamin working the audience's answers into the sketch.
"
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I have not met that many people from Sydney, Australia.
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You know?" Benjamin said.
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Meyers, looking puzzled, asked if she thought that was a famous line from the film "Crocodile Dundee.
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that → look → film
"Sorry," Benjamin said.
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"That was the other guy, who got stung by a stingray in his heart.
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Didn't you see?" Meyers asked, looking out into the distance, "Tonight is a memorial for him.
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While at Boom Chicago in the 1990s, Benjamin and Meyers decided to develop the sketch into a two-person show and bring it back to the United States.
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The show, titled "Pick-ups and Hiccups," debuted in Chicago and went on to become a critically-acclaimed hit.
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Meyers and Benjamin performed it in Edinburgh, Scotland, London, United Kingdom, and Singapore.
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And then came Meyers' big break: a "Saturday Night Live" recruiter was in the audience during a performance at the Chicago Improv Festival.
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Meyers landed a job at "SNL" and started in 2001.
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Meyers said a direct line could be drawn from Boom Chicago to "Saturday Night Live."
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"I give so much credit to Jill… she refused to let us go back and not have the momentum we left here with."
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The video above was originally published on February 1, 2026.
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It was produced by Will Croxton and was edited by Nelson Ryland.
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