History book “The Mee-Ow Show at 50” released on Tuesday through the Northwestern University Press.

The book tracks the history of each Mee-Ow Show from 1974 to 2024, emphasizing its 50-year legacy. It was co-authored by two Northwestern alumni: Joseph Radding, who did artwork for the first Mee-Ow Show, and Paul Warshauer, a founder of the troupe.

“I didn’t realize how much I got out of my experience at Northwestern until doing this book,” Radding said. “It has allowed me to reconnect and connect with people in a way that I wish I could have done when I was in school.”

The Mee-Ow Show is the longest-running student comedy group in the U.S., producing two combination sketches, improvs and musical shows twice during Winter Quarter. The organization is renowned for its comedy, with several members eventually joining the cast of Saturday Night Live and winning Emmy Awards.

Warshauer originally posted on social media about wanting to create a book documenting the history of Mee-Ow in 2020. Radding said the post caught his attention, and the pair decided to co-author the book.

“When this opportunity arose, I immediately saw that this was a story that was worth telling,” Radding said. “Having been there the first year, and knowing how it’s changed, I saw the possibilities, and it was something I wanted to do.”

To write the book, Radding said the two collaborated with Northwestern University Archives and University historian Kevin Leonard to find information about the shows that have taken place since Radding and Warshauer graduated. The authors used the Mee-Ow alumni network as their primary source when recounting each show.

Warshauer said they interviewed over 100 members, including the group’s star-studded members like Seth Meyers and Julia Louis-Dreyfus.

“A lot of the material that’s in the book comes from (the interviewees’) personal testimony, which was something we both agreed was important,” Warshauer said. “We weren’t going to just write the history — we’re going to do the history in their words as well.”

The final sections of the book are dedicated to covering the 2024 show that happened in February. Communication senior Shai Bardin and Communication senior Brenden Dahl, the current co-directors of Mee-Ow, were both featured in the book.

Mee-Ow strictly performs during Winter Quarter. This year, the group plans to build off of the momentum from last year’s 50th anniversary and the buzz of the new book.

“Getting to learn more about the history of Mee-Ow was really awesome,” Bardin said. “I was part of this tradition and this bigger institution. It felt like a big deal.”

Radding said he has been in communication with Bardin about keeping a careful record of Mee-Ow’s creative process in the upcoming year.

Interviews with Mee-Ow alumni have not stopped and for now, Radding said he has no plans to.

He said his goal is to one day produce a second edition that continues Mee-Ow’s story.

“I’m going to keep writing the history of this so that when the time comes for the next edition of this book, I’ll be able to do that,” Radding said. “Or, if it’s the 100th anniversary, I expect I’ll be passing those notes along.”

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