Comedy Show

It was a big week for comedy in Chicago. Last week, Conan O'Brien brought his crew to town for a week of tapings of his TBS show, “Conan,” as part of the Just for Laughs Chicago Festival. Big names like Aziz Ansari, Nick Offerman, Vince Vaugh and more performed their own shows. And then over the weekend, Sarah Silverman rolled through Chicago with a troupe of some of the best comedians around--Hannibal Buress, Natasha Leggero, Kyle Dunnigan, Marc Maron, Reggie Watts--for one of the better showcases of the week.

As hard as we try, we can't always control how we - collectively and as individuals - are perceived or what our path through the world will be. Those twists and turns form the through-line of The Second City's 101st mainstage revue, "Let Them Eat Chaos," which journeys across time on cruise ships, in dive bars, at violin lessons and all over Chicago to shed some light - and some humor - on the confusion. To see how the cast brought order to the chaos inherent in creating a new sketch comedy revue from scratch, we asked each to share a chaotic incident from his or...

(VIDEO: "The Worst Superpower Ever" performed by Angela Webber) It's time for a geek confession: I have never been to wOOtstock . Nope, I have never attended that wonderfully nerdy answer to LollaPalooza . I mean, I could try and say that I've never been because I've never made it out to a PAX convention, which is usually when wOOtstock takes place, but I think I'd be digging an even deeper hole for myself. No, I won't do that. What I will do, though, is tell you about a similarly geeky concert and comedy show that will...

As a gay kid growing up in a small town in Iowa, Adam Guerino spent a lot of time writing. "I think writing romance was the closest thing I had to having one," he said. "And that was my outlet. " That habit served him well when his first invitation to do a stand-up gig in Chicago - at the old Kitty Moon bar in Rogers Park - required him to perform 30 minutes of material. "I thought that sounded reasonable," he said, laughing. "What I didn't know was, maybe [after] doing comedy for three years, you'll be able to do a solid 30 minutes.

As a gay kid growing up in a small town in Iowa, Adam Guerino spent a lot of time writing. "I think writing romance was the closest thing I had to having one," he said. "And that was my outlet. " That habit served him well when his first invitation to do a stand-up gig in Chicago - at the old Kitty Moon bar in Rogers Park - required him to perform 30 minutes of material. "I thought that sounded reasonable," he said, laughing. "What I didn't know was, maybe [after] doing comedy for three years, you'll be able to do a solid 30 minutes.

It happens all the time. You see some new show or hot, young comedian/actor/musician and immediately think, "This is terrible! I can think of 20 people who are way better than this chump. Hell, even I can do better than that. " Well, one of the things we need to change in this world is people not putting their money where they chew their food. I'm just as guilty as anyone else, so I decided to put myself out there: On Tuesday, I attempted to audition for the reboot of "In Living Color," the seminal '90s comedy show that brought us Jim Carrey, Damon Wayans, Jennifer...

Can a live lit show about all things current find happiness in a jazz club steeped in a century of history? That's what Christopher Piatt aims to find out this weekend as he moves The Paper Machete to the storied music club. Piatt, a former Time Out Chicago theater editor, launched the magazine-style revue in January 2010 at Lincoln Square bar Ricochet's. The weekly show of original essays about hot topics - which has included a lineup of guests like actor Michael Shannon (“Boardwalk Empire”)

Tracy Morgan has earned a reputation as a wild card in his performances. But there's also a serious side to him, one that often comes out in interviews. This was not one of those interviews.   The serious questions we prepared for him quickly became irrelevant. He spent most of the interview half-yelling, straddling the line of is-he-serious-or-not as only he can. You can laugh (or not) when he plays the Improv this weekend.   How's it going Tracy?   I'm good, how are you?

Got the winter blues? Hey, it's January - you're supposed to. But if it's true that laughter is the best medicine, then we've got the cure: seven straight days of comedy shows including stand-up, sketch, solo performance and improv to bring some wit into your winter. Wednesday: TJ & Dave Reviewers rave about this improv show, which has been running at iO for 11 years--"Run, don't walk to the 'TJ & Dave' show" (Chicago magazine) - and also plays often in New York at the Barrow Street Theatre - "Mind-blowing; the best 50 minutes of improv comedy that we've ever seen" (Time Out New York)

As hard as we try, we can't always control how we - collectively and as individuals - are perceived or what our path through the world will be. Those twists and turns form the through-line of The Second City's 101st mainstage revue, "Let Them Eat Chaos," which journeys across time on cruise ships, in dive bars, at violin lessons and all over Chicago to shed some light - and some humor - on the confusion. To see how the cast brought order to the chaos inherent in creating a new sketch comedy revue from scratch, we asked each to share...

Got the winter blues? Hey, it's January - you're supposed to. But if it's true that laughter is the best medicine, then we've got the cure: seven straight days of comedy shows including stand-up, sketch, solo performance and improv to bring some wit into your winter. Wednesday: TJ & Dave Reviewers rave about this improv show, which has been running at iO for 11 years--"Run, don't walk to the 'TJ & Dave' show" (Chicago magazine) - and also plays often in New York at the Barrow Street Theatre - "Mind-blowing; the best 50 minutes of improv comedy that we've ever seen" (Time Out New York)

Can a live lit show about all things current find happiness in a jazz club steeped in a century of history? That's what Christopher Piatt aims to find out this weekend as he moves The Paper Machete to the storied music club. Piatt, a former Time Out Chicago theater editor, launched the magazine-style revue in January 2010 at Lincoln Square bar Ricochet's. The weekly show of original essays about hot topics - which has included a lineup of guests like actor Michael Shannon (“Boardwalk Empire”)

(VIDEO: "The Worst Superpower Ever" performed by Angela Webber) It's time for a geek confession: I have never been to wOOtstock . Nope, I have never attended that wonderfully nerdy answer to LollaPalooza . I mean, I could try and say that I've never been because I've never made it out to a PAX convention, which is usually when wOOtstock takes place, but I think I'd be digging an even deeper hole for myself. No, I won't do that. What I will do, though, is tell you about a similarly geeky concert and...

It was a big week for comedy in Chicago. Last week, Conan O'Brien brought his crew to town for a week of tapings of his TBS show, “Conan,” as part of the Just for Laughs Chicago Festival. Big names like Aziz Ansari, Nick Offerman, Vince Vaugh and more performed their own shows. And then over the weekend, Sarah Silverman rolled through Chicago with a troupe of some of the best comedians around--Hannibal Buress, Natasha Leggero, Kyle Dunnigan, Marc Maron, Reggie Watts--for one of the better showcases of the week.

It happens all the time. You see some new show or hot, young comedian/actor/musician and immediately think, "This is terrible! I can think of 20 people who are way better than this chump. Hell, even I can do better than that. " Well, one of the things we need to change in this world is people not putting their money where they chew their food. I'm just as guilty as anyone else, so I decided to put myself out there: On Tuesday, I attempted to audition for the reboot of "In Living Color," the seminal '90s comedy show that brought us Jim Carrey, Damon Wayans,...

Tracy Morgan has earned a reputation as a wild card in his performances. But there's also a serious side to him, one that often comes out in interviews. This was not one of those interviews.   The serious questions we prepared for him quickly became irrelevant. He spent most of the interview half-yelling, straddling the line of is-he-serious-or-not as only he can. You can laugh (or not) when he plays the Improv this weekend.   How's it going Tracy?   I'm good, how are you?

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