Usually before a comedian takes the stage, the music quiets, the lights dim and " especially if they're a headliner " someone announces them onto the stage. If the comedian has an opening ac…
"I started here in Chicago at Zanies 30 years ago," said stand-up comedian and St. Louis native Kathleen Madigan proudly from the Chicago Theatre stage Saturday night in jeans and a black sh…
Most people don't particularly relish delving into the failures they've experienced in life, especially not in front of a group of strangers. But most people aren't stand-up comics. On any g…
It's seven o'clock on a Friday night and the WinTrust Bank on Damen and Melrose is closed. The doors are locked and the lights are mostly off. Inside the bank there's movement. In the dim li…
"Thanks for coming," comedian Michelle Wolf said, taking the stage for the first of two sold-out shows at Pilsen's Thalia Hall on an especially cold and snowy Saturday night. "I almost didn'…
Can the anthropomorphic heroes of Nickelodeon's staggeringly successful "PAW Patrol" rescue the American theater by turning a legion of device-addicted toddlers into future theater patrons? …
"I ain't saying [stuff that's] bad onstage now," comedian, actor and Chicago native DeRay Davis said early on in his 20-minute opening set Saturday night at the 4,250-seat Arie Crown Theater…
Amy Schumer is five months pregnant and wants to make sure everyone in the audience knows it. At the top of her show at the Chicago Theatre Thursday night " the second of two sold out nights…
There's never a bad time for a good laugh and the right comedian can help you close out 2018 in happy tears. Great stand-up comedy is a nightly occurrence across Chicago, and this New Year's…
With many comedians embracing increasingly restrictive cell phone policies in recent years, it was a bit refreshing Friday night at The Vic to see French-Moroccan superstar Gad Elmaleh settl…
The paranoia of comedians is growing. Taking your phone out of commission and emptying your pockets to step through a metal detector is becoming the new norm for attending a big-name comedy …
Ever gotten your hair cut by a barber who you wished would just stop talking and focus on your hair? Comedian " and professional barber since age 13 " T. Murph is the opposite of that guy. H…
Russell Peters: This Canadian comic has been working for decades and has a book ("Call Me Russell"), a TV show ("The Indian Detective") and several specials under his belt, including "Notori…
If a comedy club were to exist in the technologically advanced African nation of Wakanda " the fictional homeland of Marvel's "Black Panther" " the lineup of comedians put together by produc…
"Are you filming me?" comedian-podcaster (or podcaster-comedian, depending on who you ask) Marc Maron asked an audience member with a mix of annoyance and genuine curiosity early in his hour…
In a neon green hoodie, jeans and white tennis shoes, comedian Michael Che, a stand-up comic best known for his "Weekend Update" co-hosting gig on "Saturday Night Live," took the stage at th…
Walking through a metal detector and watching purses and backpacks get thoroughly searched " not that half-hearted open/shut that you often see at music festivals and sports venues but a rea…
"Are you kidding? Nobody will give me a platform. It's hilarious," Kathy Griffin says, in a way that makes it clear that it's both hilarious and decidedly not hilarious at the same time. We'…
With public trust in the media taking a hit amid constant accusations of "fake news," many news outlets find themselves on the defensive on a daily basis. But there is one publication that c…
"If y'all ready for 'A Dope Comedy Show,' let me hear you say, 'Hell yeah!'" The voice booms over the sound system as comedian Dave Helem " a Chicago native now living in Los Angeles " steps…
One of the many questions answered on the Zanies website FAQ page is whether any of the locations host an open-mic night. Though there is some information about a showcase at the Rosemont lo…
Five songs into musical comedy legend "Weird Al" Yankovic's second sold-out night at the Vic for his "Ridiculously Self-Indulgent, Ill-Advised Vanity Tour," I scanned the crowd and caught a …
"I wanna leave y'all with a good joke, but it's hard for me to choose," says comedian Calvin Evans as he closes out a 45-minute set Tuesday night at Zanies. "Because all of my jokes are good…
"Problem is … I got a problem with everything." So says comedian and Arlington Heights native Sebastian Maniscalco early on in his wide-ranging (but primarily problem-focused) set Friday n…
It's 11 o'clock on a Saturday night inside the Wintrust Arena " the stadium and event center that opened in the fall next to McCormick Place and is the home court for the DePaul Blue Demons …