THE SECOND CITY PRESENTS SHE THE PEOPLE October 5 – November 23, 2024 in The Second City’s UP Comedy Club,

ChiIL Live Shows On Our Radar

THE FUTURE IS FUNNY

LEGENDARY COMEDY THEATER THE SECOND CITY PRESENTS

SHE THE PEOPLE

Here at ChiIL Live Shows and ChiIL Mama, we've seen several iterations of She The People and we love it! Bring your besties and enjoy this fiercely funny, female powered show that will have you laughing, empathizing, and shouting "me too".  Just in time for election season, SHE THE PEOPLE is in the house. Don't miss this!

ChiIL Mama, Bonnie Kenaz-Mara and Kathleen Roman

Catherine Hellmann & ChiIL Mama, Bonnie Kenaz-Mara 

Brat summer is over. Now it’s time to Fall, Patriarchy! Laugh, cheer, and rise up as The Second City proudly presents, SHE THE PEOPLE – a theatrical revolution loaded with a dynamic blend satirical sketch comedy, epic original songs, and razor-sharp improv delivered by The Second City’s fearlessly funny queens of comedy. 

She the People isn’t just a hilarious show, it empowers audiences to take a stand and make real changes. This diverse and supercharged Second City ensemble drops an electric, unapologetic, and high-key hilarious CELEBRATION of the strength, resilience, and brilliance of women everywhere. She the People is NOW.

Photo Credit: Bonnie Kenaz-Mara 

She The People is written by the casts of The Second City with Carly Heffernan, Carisa Barreca, and Marla Caceres and features Lexi Alioto, Alex Bellisle, Marla Caceres, Mary Catherine Curran, Sayjal Joshi, and Daryn Robinson. The music director is Lisa McQueen and stage managers are Izzy Patt and Bree Bartman.

Photo Credit: Bonnie Kenaz-Mara 

The producing team includes Ed Wells (CEO), Parisa Jalili (COO/CRO), Elizabeth Howard (VP of Production), Jen Ellison (VP, Head of Creative), Jeremy Smith (Assistant General Manager & Managing Producer)

SHE THE PEOPLE plays for a limited run Saturday nights at 8 p.m. October 5 – November 23.  in The Second City’s UP Comedy Club located at 230 W North Ave, 2nd Floor of Piper’s Alley, Chicago. Tickets, starting at $29, are available at The Second City Box Office (230 W. North Ave, 1st Floor, Piper's Alley), by phone at 312-337-3992 or online at www.secondcity.com.  

 

About The Second City

The Second City opened its doors in 1959 as a small comedy cabaret and has since grown to become the world's most influential name in improvisation and comedy. It celebrates its 65th year in business on December 16th, 2024. The Second City's stages, Touring Companies, and Training Centers across North America have proudly been the launch pad and artistic home for many of the funniest performers, writers, directors, and comedic minds on the planet.

For more information on The Second City, visit www.secondcity.com and follow The Second City on TikTok, Instagram, Facebook and Twitter.

Photo Credit: Bonnie Kenaz-Mara 

Dance Like There Are Black People Watching: A Black Excellence Revue At Chicago's UP Comedy Club at The Second City February 3-April 1, 2023

ChiIL Live Shows On Our Radar

Dance Like There Are Black People Watching: 

A Black Excellence Revue

At Chicago's UP Comedy Club at The Second City

 

Directed by Rob Wilson, Dance Like There Are Black People Watching: A Black Excellence Revue begins performances February 3 with an all-Black ensemble of writers and performers that includes Kennedy Baldwin, Karl Bradley, Arlieta Hall, Spencer Hodges, Adonis Holmes, and Jason Tolliver. Bryon Henderson is Production Manager, with Devonte E. Washington joining Second City as Stage Manager and Tony Belsito returning as Musical Director. Sabrina Odigie is Assistant Director.

Click the link for discount tickets! Chicago Theatre Week participant 

Let Second City deliver a dose of brilliant Black Joy to melt the icy Chicago winter! With an ensemble of rising comedy stars, Dance Like There's Black People Watching: A Black Excellence Revue is bursting with brand-new sketches, songs, and our world-famous improvisation, here to warm your soul and make you laugh out loud.

LOCATION 

UP Comedy Club at The Second City

230 W North Avenue, Chicago, IL

3rd Floor of Piper's Alley

Click HERE for TICKETS

PERFORMANCE TIMES

Fridays and Saturdays at 8PM

FOOD & BEVERAGE INFO

In Theater Dining | We offer small bites and a wide selection of drinks–including a good dose of local craft beers.

OPENING: The Second City's Greatest Hits to Play UP Comedy Club Along With the Return of Improv Brunch and Salute to Pride

ChiIL Live Shows on our radar

The Second City announces a showcase of the Greatest Hits from previous decades with The Second City’s Greatest Hits: 90s Edition, The Second City’s Greatest Hits: 80s Edition, and The Second City’s Greatest Hits: 70s Edition. Each decade will play for a consecutive month on Tuesday and Wednesdays at 8pm, beginning in March 2019 at UP Comedy Club, 230 W. North Ave.

For nearly six decades, The Second City has been the unparalleled comedy launchpad for legions of comedy superstars. The iconic alumni have written and performed countless sketches on Second City’s stages throughout the years, and we are bringing them back to life in a showcase of the decades: The Second City’s Greatest Hits: 90s Edition, The Second City’s Greatest Hits: 80s Edition, and The Second City’s Greatest Hits: 70s Edition.



"The Second City has what is quite possibly the most jam-packed archive in the history of comedy, and, with our 60th anniversary quickly approaching, there is no better time to look back on the many incredible scenes that were created on our stages by some of the funniest people to ever walk this flat earth," said Jen Hoyt, Vice President of Production.

These three shows put a current spin on Second City classics. 90s Edition will feature sketches created by all-star alumni like Tina Fey, Steve Carell, Stephen Colbert, and Horatio Sanz. 80s Edition will bring the laughs with material originated by Chris Farley, Mike Myers, Bonnie Hunt, and Tim Meadows. 70s Edition will highlight the work by John Belushi, Gilda Radner, Martin Short, Catherine O’Hara, and John Candy, among many others.



The Second City’s Greatest Hits will perform on Tuesdays and Wednesdays at 8pm with the following schedule:

90s Edition:  March 2019, July 2019, October 2019
80s Edition:  April 2019, August 2019, November 2019
70s Edition:  May 2019, September 2019



In addition to The Second City’s Greatest Hits, UP Comedy Club is excited to announce the return of The Second City’s Improv Brunch on Sundays at noon, with bottomless mimosas and bottomless laughs beginning on March 24, 2019. To continue the excitement, The Second City’s Salute to Pride show will plant its rainbow flag in UP Comedy Club on Tuesdays and Wednesdays in June at 8pm. 



For more information and to purchase tickets, please visit www.secondcity.com or call 312-337-3992



About The Second City
The Second City is the leading brand in improv-based sketch comedy. With theatres and training centers in Chicago, Toronto and Hollywood, 11 full time touring ensembles, thriving corporate communications and theatricals divisions as well as television and film operations, The Second City has been called "A Comedy Empire" by The New York Times. The Second City has a current student body of 3,500 per week and is the largest school of improvisation and sketch comedy in the world.

2019 Year of Chicago Theatre
The Second City is proud to be part of the 2019 Year of Chicago Theatre, presented by the City of Chicago and the League of Chicago Theatres. To truly fall in love with Chicago, you must go to our theatres. This is where the city bares its fearless soul. Home to a community of creators, risk-takers, and big hearts, Chicago theatre is a hotbed for exciting new work and hundreds of world premieres every year. From Broadway musicals to storefront plays and improv, there’s always a seat waiting for you at one of our 200+ theatres.

OPENING: Canadian Icon Margaret Trudeau to Stage Debut ‘CERTAIN WOMAN OF AN AGE’ at The Second City Mother’s Day Weekend

ChiIL Live Shows on our radar

Canadian Icon Margaret Trudeau to Stage Debut

Directed by Kimberly Senior 

at The Second City

‘CERTAIN WOMAN OF AN AGE’ 

will run Mother’s Day weekend

 May 9- May 12, 2019

The Second City invites you to celebrate Mother’s Day with Margaret Trudeau, the mother of Canadian Prime Minister Justin Trudeau. In a world premiere engagement, Margaret Trudeau is coming to Chicago to bring her intimate staged performance Certain Woman of an Age exclusively to UP Comedy Club at The Second City, 230 W. North Ave. Co-written by Ms. Trudeau, herself, and directed by Kimberly Senior, this solo performance follows the compelling story of one of the world’s most fascinating figures, chronicling her courageous public and private journeys.

Through vividly told anecdotes recounting her experiences as the mother of Prime Minister Justin Trudeau and former wife of Prime Minister Pierre Trudeau, catapulting her to feminist icon status, and suffering tremendous personal loss, Ms. Trudeau bravely and humorously paints a surprisingly universal picture that will empower audiences with the perspective that mental illness affects all families, no matter who they are.

"I'm thrilled to be a part of sharing Margaret's story in this intimate setting. Through her courage, insight, and humor, we all stand a little taller and are better able to face the ever-challenging world around us," said director Kimberly Senior.

Co-written by award-winning playwright Alix Sobler, the stripped-down performance will be supported by simple lighting design, projections, and photographs from historic sources as well as Ms. Trudeau’s personal archives. Following 2018’s developmental run of Julia Sweeney: Older & Wider, Certain Woman of an Age is the latest development project from The Second City, and the new work shares a Canadian connection. Canadian Andrew Alexander started the Toronto Second City in 1974, and he and his partner Len Stuart acquired The Second City Chicago in 1985.

“I first met Margaret Trudeau 25 years ago. I was asked to meet her after writing a screenplay which featured her as one of the main characters. The film never happened, but a friendship was born. As the years went by, I realized her real-life story of grace, forgiveness, love, and determination in the face of unspeakable tragedy is a magnificent story of survival and more compelling than any fiction,” said executive producer Diane Alexander. “Margaret is also one of the most charming and funny people I have ever met."

Tickets start at $45 and are available by phone at 312-337-3992 or online at www.secondcity.com. The show schedule is as follows: Thursday, May 9 at 8pm; Friday, May 10 at 8pm; Saturday, May 11 at 8pm; and a special Mother’s Day performance on Sunday, May 12 at 4pm.

About The Artists

Margaret Trudeau
Canadians fell in love with Pierre Elliott Trudeau's beautiful bride when he brought her to the world stage as the youngest First Lady in the history of the country. Yet, as time went by, Margaret was unprepared for public life, and plagued by mood swings. After three sons with Pierre, the marriage ended. She then remarried and had two more children. But the tragic loss of her son, Michel, in a skiing accident and the passing of Pierre Trudeau a few years later were too much to bear, and she became severely ill.

Today, Margaret has rebuilt her life once again. Now, she brings her formidable life story to the stage in her quest to help others, sharing her message of resilience with the goal of helping to inspire others and to erase the stigma surrounding mental health issues.

Margaret is the author of four books, including her bestselling title, Changing My Mind, which charts her life’s ups and downs, and her latest title, The Time of Your Life, which offers women an inspirational and practical approach to creating a healthy, happy, secure and satisfying future.

Kimberly Senior is a freelance director and the director of the 2013 Pulitzer Prize-winning play Disgraced by Ayad Akhtar. Most recently, Kimberly made her HBO debut with Chris Gethard: Career Suicide, which premiered at the 2017 Tribeca Film Festival. Kimberly was awarded the 2016 TCG Alan Schneider Award. She is also the recipient of the 2018 Primary Stages Einhorn Award and 2016 Special Non-Equity Jeff Award for her work as a trailblazer, champion, and role model for emerging artists.

New York Credits: Disgraced (Broadway); Chris Gethard: Career Suicide (Judd Apatow); The Niceties (Manhattan Theatre Club); Sakina's Restaurant (Audible); The Who and The What; Disgraced (LCT3); Discord (Primary Stages); Engagements (Second Stage Uptown). Regional Credits: Christmas at Pemberley (Milwaukee Rep); The Niceties (Huntington and McCarter); Sheltered (Alliance Theatre); Support Group for Men; Disgraced; Rapture, Blister, Burn (Goodman Theatre); Buried Child; The Scene; Marjorie Prime; Diary of Anne Frank; Hedda Gabler; The Letters (Writers Theatre); Other Than Honorable (Geva); Sex with Strangers (The Geffen Playhouse); Disgraced (Mark Taper Forum, Berkeley Repertory Theatre, Seattle Repertory Theatre); The Who and The What (La Jolla Playhouse); Little Gem (City Theatre); Want; and The North Plan (Steppenwolf), among others. She is the proud mother of Noah (12) and Delaney (10). Kimberly is a member of SDC. Find more at kimberlysenior.net.

Alix Sobler is a writer and performer who lives in New York City. Her play Sheltered won the 2018 Alliance/Kendeda National Graduate Playwriting Competition and received a world premiere at Alliance Theater in 2018. Other recent work includes The Great Divide, which won the Canadian Jewish Playwriting Competition, was named as a finalist in the Henley Rose Playwriting Competition, and was the runner-up for the 2017 Jane Chambers Award. It received its world premiere in September of 2016 at The Finborough Theatre in London. Her play The Secret Annex was most recently produced at the Segal Centre in Montreal in 2016. It was originally produced in 2014 at the Royal Manitoba Theatre Centre. A two-time finalist for the Eugene O’Neill NPC, she has had work read or produced in theaters across North America and England, including Roundabout Theater Company (New York, NY), the Kennedy Center (Washington, D.C.), The Print Room (London, UK), The Stratford Festival (Stratford, ON), South Coast Repertory (Costa Mesa, CA), Theater J (Washington, DC), Gulfshore Playhouse (Naples, FL), Theatre Seven (Chicago, IL), Mad & Merry Theater Company (New York, NY), Prairie Theatre Exchange (Winnipeg, MB), Brown/Trinity Playwrights Rep (Providence, RI), The Tank (New York, NY), Theatre Or (Minneapolis, MN), and others. BA: Brown University, MFA: Columbia University. Find more at alixsobler.com.

About UP Comedy Club

Since opening its doors as part of The Second City’s resident stages in 2012, UP Comedy Club has developed and produced a diverse array of sketch comedy shows, stand-up performances, festivals, and original works from voices of every kind. Programming has included the box office smash #DateMe: An OkCupid Experiment, critic and audience favorite She the People: Girlfriends’ Guide to Sisters Doing It for Themselves, The Second City’s Black History Month Show, and The Second City’s Nut-Cracking Holiday Revue. The theater is also home to the annual NBC Universal + The Second City’s Break-Out Comedy Fest, which showcases the hottest emerging and seasoned comedic acts in the worlds of stand-up, sketch, and improv.

OPENING: NEW She the People: The Resistance Continues at Second City

ChiIL Live Shows on our radar

Revamped She the People Re-Conquers UP Comedy Club at The Second City

I'll be ChiILin' with Chi, IL's infamous Second City for the relaunch of The Second City's She The People: The Resistance Continues on March 14th, so check back soon for my full review. She The People is one of my favorite Second City shows to date and I can't wait to see the new material they've added. The women of She the People are breaking ceilings and taking names. If you've heard the old cliche that feminists are humorless, you'll never believe it again. This show is fierce, funny and unapologetically feminist. You'll never look at advertising, pop culture, and dating quite the same way again. Don't miss this! 

Bonnie Kenaz-Mara (AKA: ChiIL Mama) and Chicago artist, Kathy Blankley Roman, ChiILin' at the press opening of Chi, IL's She The People, January 2018.

The Second City’s knockout show She the People: The Resistance Continues is electrifying UP Comedy Club with a refreshed name, updated material, new cast members, and all of its signature witty, empowering bite. The all-female, all-funny show directed by Carly Heffernan welcomes Mary Catherine Curran, Sayjal Joshi, and Kaye Winks who join original cast members Carisa Barreca, Alex Bellisle, and Katie Caussin.

“The Second City has never been lacking for new material, and just like entertainment juggernaut Blue Man Group or the most recent tour of Miss Saigon, art must evolve to stay true and relevant and inspiring to its audience,” said Second City CEO and Executive Producer Andrew Alexander. “People coming back to She the People for the second or third time will be delighted to see that about half of the show is brand new.”

"Our goal is, and always has been, to satirize the woes of being a woman in this wild world while also empowering the audience to take a stand and make real change. The show bounces around everything our writing team knows are hot button topics these days--dating, body positivity, motherhood, and what might prove to be the most important election of our lifetime. It's a call to action bundled up inside a party, and we're all proud to be part of it." says director and head writer Carly Heffernan.

She the People first hit The Second City in September 2017. After its smash run in UP Comedy Club, the show brought its tour-de-female-force to Woolly Mammoth Theatre Company in Washington, DC, where it earned a Helen Hayes award nomination and became the highest grossing show in the theatre’s history. “It’s a fast-paced, wild ride of a show that throws off sparks,” said MD Theatre Guide. DC Metro called the show “a dip into the often hilariously unbelievable or absurd situations that women– queer women, women of color, plus-sized women– find themselves in on a daily basis, and it does so not just playfully, but with a deep intelligence and purpose that never veers into the pedantic.”

She the People was originally written by Carisa Barreca, Alex Bellisle, Marla Caceres, Katie Caussin, Carly Heffernan, Maria Randazzo, Rashawn Nadine Scott, Tien Tran, Kimberly Michelle Vaughn, and Lauren Walker. Additional material for the re-launched production was written by Carisa Barreca, Alex Bellisle, Katie Caussin, Mary Catherine Curran, Carly Heffernan, Alexis J. Roston, and Kaye Winks.  Other team members include Mary Mahoney (Music Director/Original Music/Sound Designer), Abby Beggs (Lighting Designer), and Jaci Entwisle (Stage Manager).

She the People plays in The Second City’s UP Comedy Club (230 West North Avenue). Tickets start at $31.00 and are available by phone at 312-337-3992 or online at www.secondcity.com. 

The show schedule is as follows:

Thursdays @ 8:00pm
Fridays @ 8:00pm
Saturdays @ 8:00pm
Sundays @ 7:00pm

About the Artists
CARISA BARRECA (Ensemble/Assistant Director/Choreographer) is thrilled to be a part of She the People. She is an alumna of The Second City's e.t.c. stage, where she wrote and performed in three critically acclaimed revues. She has had the honor of performing at Lyric Opera of Chicago
with Sir Patrick Stewart and Renée Fleming in The Second City's Guide to the Opera, at Goodman Theatre and the Kennedy Center with Twist Your Dickens and wrote and performed in Hubbard Street Dance Chicago and The Second City's collaboration The Art of Falling. Follow her @Cinderisa.

ALEX BELLISLE (Ensemble) is thrilled to be working on She the People! A Chicago-based actress and comedian, Alex is one-half of the improv and sketch duo Girlish, which has performed its self-titled show around the country, including at the New York International Fringe Festival. Other credits include The Best of The Second City, Feminine Wilds, PANTS!, No Selfie Control and Just Being Honest. Alex can be seen performing with various improv groups around Chicago, including Gone Gone at The iO Theater.

KATIE CAUSSIN (Ensemble) is originally from Springfield, VA, and received her degree in Theater from Radford University. She has been an actor in Chicago for over 20 years, many of them with The Second City as part of their Touring Company and Theatricals shows. Most recently, she returned from a month-long run of She the People at the Woolly Mammoth Theater in Washington, D.C.  Previously, she appeared as Mrs. Cratchit in Twist Your Dickens at Goodman Theater and toured around the US in The Realish Housewives of (Your City Here). Katie has also performed with Second City for the USO in the Balkans and at both the iO and Annoyance theaters in Chicago. On camera, Katie has appeared in an episode of Chicago Justice on NBC and has been featured on the Onion Network’s Special Report webseries.

MARY CATHERINE CURRAN (Ensemble) is so excited to join this cast of badass women! MC studied Theatre Performance at the University of Maryland and trained at The Second City Conservatory and iO Theater in Chicago. She has improvised, written, performed, and directed shows all over Chicago, at the Annoyance (Steamworks, Bite Size Broadway, Burlesque is More) and iO (Virgin Daiquiri, Lil' Tooties, One Woman Space Jam). MC just finished the debut run of The Second City's Love Factually at the Kennedy Center in Washington, DC. Follow @itismarycatherine on Insta and @yomarycatherine on Twitter for great content.

SAYJAL JOSHI (Ensemble) hails from North Carolina where she earned her BA in theater from the University of North Carolina at Greensboro and co-founded Greensboro’s first improv comedy club, The Idiot Box. For sixteen years, she has been writing, performing, and teaching theater, sketch, improv, film, guitar comedy, and stand-up all over the universe. Credits include The Second City e.t.c., the Kennedy Center, Goodman Theatre, Woolly Mammoth Theatre Company, Cincinnati Playhouse in the Park, Zanie’s Comedy Club, The Laugh Factory, The Second City Touring Company, The Annoyance Theater, iO (formally Improv Olympic), ComedySportz, Laugh Out Loud Theater, and the critically acclaimed Asian-American sketch ensemble Stir-Friday Night. Follow her @SayjalJoshi.

KAYE WINKS (Ensemble) is #blessed to be alongside the fabulous ladles of She the People! Kaye trained with the Moscow Art Theater. She recently performed her hit solo show TOKEN to sold-out audiences at The Second City Training Center and toured it to UCB LA, Out of Bounds Comedy Festival, and United Solo Theater Fest In NYC. She is proudly repped by Shirley Hamilton and NV Talent.

CARLY HEFFERNAN (Director/Head Writer) is an award-winning alumna of The Second City
Toronto, where she wrote and performed in four Mainstage revues. She recently co-wrote the hit show The Second City Guide to the Symphony and toured with it across Canada and the United States. She directed the critically acclaimed Second City Toronto Mainstage revue Come What Mayhem!, as well as for The Second City Touring Company and several Norwegian Cruise Line shows. Carly currently writes for Second Jen (City TV), The Irrelevant Show (CBC Radio) and Air Farce Canada 150 special (CBC).

MARY MAHONEY (Music Director/Original Music/Sound Design) is thrilled to be working with the talented women of She the People. Mary has worked as a Musical Director for sketch and improv comedy all over the continent while touring with Second City Theatricals aboard the Norwegian Dawn and with The Second City Touring Company. A former music faculty member of Western Washington University, she is now a proud faculty member at The Second City Training Center.

ABBY BEGGS (Lighting Design) is excited to be joining The Second City on this show. When she's not in the booth at The Second City, she can be found stage managing, directing, and composing music for theater around town. Stage management credits include: L’enfant et les Sortilèges, L’incoronazione di Poppea (Roosevelt University), The Out of Tooners (Off-Color Theatre Company}, Gallo (Guerilla Opera), Blue Window (Brown Box Theatre Project), The Scene, Good People, and Barefoot in the Park (Dorset Theatre Festival), among others.

JACI ENTWISLE (Stage Manager) is excited to return to Second City for She the People, having
previously worked on #DateMe in UP Comedy Club, as well as on stage management teams in
Sonoma (Transcendence Theatre Company), Philadelphia (Quintessence Theatre Group) and
Chicago (Goodman Theatre, Remy Bumppo Theatre Company, A Red Orchid Theatre, American Blues Theater).




About The Second City
The Second City is the leading brand in improv-based sketch comedy. With theatres and training centers in Chicago, Toronto and Hollywood, 11 full time touring ensembles, thriving corporate communications and theatricals divisions as well as television and film operations, The Second City has been called "A Comedy Empire" by The New York Times. The Second City has a current student body of 3,500 per week and is the largest school of improvisation and sketch comedy in the world.

FINAL LINEUP ANNOUNCED for the 4th Annual NBCUniversal Break Out Comedy Festival at The Second City's UP Comedy Club

Chi IL Live Shows On Our Radar:

The Second City announces lineup for the

4th Annual NBCUniversal Break Out Comedy Festival

Hosted by Godfrey, David Pompeii and Azhar Usman

June 7 - 9 at Second City’s UP Comedy Club

The Second City announces the lineup for the NBCUniversal Second City Break Out Comedy Festival, which spotlights rising talent from across the country. The festival will be hosted by incomparable comic Godfrey (Comedy Central, VH1, BET), Second City alumnus David Pompeii (Comedy Central, Key and Peele) and special guest Azhar Usman (Comedy Cellar of NY).

“The Second City Diversity and Inclusion program was formally introduced over 25 years ago as part of Second City’s ongoing mission. The Bob Curry and Break Out Festival events, which are the centerpieces of the initiative and a vital part of the overall programming at Second City, are not to be missed. The weekend is exploding with fresh, diverse voices,” said Dionna Griffin-Irons, Director of Diversity Talent and Development. “The stories and narratives that will be seen on stage June 6-9 at Second City are the perfect antidote to the political and social climate in America these days.”

4th Annual NBCUniversal Second City Break Out Comedy Festival
Second City’s UP Comedy Club (230 W North Ave, 3rd Floor of Piper’s Alley)
June 7 - 9, 2018
Tickets: $10-$25, 312-337-3992, www.secondcity.com

Thursday, June 7 at 7:30pm ($20-$25): Hosted by David Pompeii
with special guest Azhar Usman
Friday, June 8 and Saturday, June 9 at 7:30pm and 10pm ($20-$25): Hosted by Godfrey
Saturday, June 9 at midnight ($10): Hosted by Azhar Usman

Back for its fourth year, this dynamic partnership with NBCUniversal and Second City will again showcase some of the hottest emerging and seasoned diverse comedic acts in stand-up, sketch and improv from around the country. This year’s Break Out Comedy Festival features hosts Godfrey (Comedy Central, VH1, BET), David Pompeii (Comedy Central, Key and Peele), Azhar Usman (Comedy Cellar of NY).

On Thursday, June 7, 7:30pm, Second City alum, David Pompeii will host with special guest Azhar Usman. Veteran Chicago stand-up comics will perform, along with up-and-coming new talent. Performers include newcomer Vincent Bryant Second City trained comedians Anthony Bonanza, Joel Boyd, Amy Ramelli and Lauren Walker, award-winning journalist Mariam Sobh (WBBM radio), Marz Timms (founder of Pimprov), and Bob Curry Fellowship Toronto alum Carol Zoccoli.

Friday, June 8, 7:30pm and 10pm, will be hosted by Godfrey with introductory emcee Alex Kumin (Chicago Reader’s Stand Out Comics to Watch). The show will feature Second City alum Mona Aburmishan, Jayson Acevedo and Stephanie Branco (Second City’s Urban Twist), current Bob Curry fellow Aaron Branch, newcomer Max Desolhn, Adam Mamawala (Funny or Die’s Top 30 Under 30 Comedians to Watch), Naperville native Vik Pandya, Felonious Munk (Blipster Life, Comedy Central), and Wisconsin comic Esteban Touman,

The Saturday, June 9, 7:30pm and 10pm performance will be hosted by Godfrey and will include introduction emcee Alex Kumin, Kerry Codett (BET’s The Rundown with Robin Thede), New York-based comic Paul Elia (Conan), Houston comic Mickey Housley, Chicago comedians TMurph, Calvin Evans and Shannon Noll, Azhar Usman and Toronto-based comedian Carol Zoccoli.

On Saturday, June 9, midnight, the late night show will be hosted by Azhar Usman and will feature up to five performers who be selected from the Break Out Stand Up Social event earlier that day.

All shows will also feature select graduates of the Bob Curry Fellowship Program.

Break Out Stand Up Social Event
Second City’s UP Comedy Club (230 W North Ave, 3rd Floor of Piper’s Alley)
Saturday, June 9th
12pm - 2pm
FREE Event

Break Out Comedy Festival’s panel and social event for newcomers and emerging comics to network, connect with local and out of state comedians to compete for a chance to perform in Saturday’s Late Night (midnight) show, hosted by Azhar Usman. Up to five comics will be selected after the panel event to share their material and set for selection.

The Bob Curry Fellowship Showcase
Second City’s e.t.c. Theater (230 W North Ave, 2nd Floor of Piper’s Alley)
Wednesday, June 6 at 8pm
Tickets, $15, 312-337-3992, www.secondcity.com

The 5th annual cohort of the Bob Curry Fellowship program, comprised of 16 of the best and brightest new voices in comedy, will perform together in the Bob Curry Fellowship Showcase, directed by Second City Co-Artistic Director, Matt Hovde. The showcase will highlight ten weeks of master improv training, with original material and best of Second City archival scenes.

The 2018 Bob Curry Fellows are: Angela Alise, Trumane Alston, Damian Anaya, Aaron Branch, Menaka Delekar, Jillian Ebanks, George Elrod, Steve Han, Maya Haughton, Javid Iqbal, Asia Martin, Julia Morales, Yazmin Ramos, Ana Silva, Max Thomas and Shadee Vossonghi.

Building upon a unique partnership established with Universal Television, the Bob Curry Fellowship is a professional mentoring and development program focused on cultivating the best new voices in improv and sketch comedy. A highly competitive and rigorous process, applicants must audition to be considered for the program. In 2018, over 250 applicants submitted with sixteen diverse actors and improvisers from a diverse, array of multicultural, ethnic backgrounds being selected. The Bob Curry Fellowship is offered bi-annually at Second City Toronto, and an inaugural program launches at The Second City Hollywood this summer.

The success of The Bob Curry Fellowship program is felt on Second City’s stages, as several participants in the fellowship have been cast in The Second City’s professional companies. Tyler Davis and Tien Tran are graduates of the fellowship who now perform in the current Second City Chicago Mainstage production of Dream Freaks Fall from Space, with numerous other fellows touring with the Second City Touring Company and Second City Theatricals.

About Bob Curry
Bob Curry was Joseph Jefferson Award-winning actor and director. In 1966, Curry became the first African-American to join The Second City’s resident company before joining what evolved into the first-ever touring company. In 1986, he received a Jeff Award for the Northlight Theatre production of Boesman and Lenam, tying for Best Supporting Actor with Danny Glover. An inspired director, Curry coached many actors of color in the Chicago theatre community on several projects, and he directed Paul Robeson at Kennedy-King College shortly before his death in 1994.

About NBCUniversal Talent Development & Inclusion
NBCUniversal Talent Development & Inclusion hosts a variety of programs and events and partners with other entertainment entities to develop, nurture, showcase and provide networking opportunities for new and diverse actors, writers, directors and other talent.  The programs include Late Night Writers Workshop, NBCUniversal Short Film Festival, NBCU Emerging Directors Program, Writers on the Verge, StandUp NBC, Scene Showcase, the Casting Apprentice Program and the Diverse Staff Writer Initiative, among others.  For more information, please log onto www.nbcunitips.com.

About The Second City
Since opening its doors 1959, The Second City has grown to become the world’s premier comedy club, theater and school of improvisation, entertaining 1 million theatergoers a year around the globe. Alumni of The Second City’s resident stages, touring companies, and theatrical divisions include some of the biggest names in entertainment, and in addition to the sold-out shows playing nightly on resident stages in Chicago and Toronto, the comedy empire has staged productions with a wide range of illustrious creative partners and theatre companies, including the Lyric Opera of Chicago, Hubbard Street Dance Chicago, The John F. Kennedy Center for the Performing Arts, Goodman Theatre, Center Theater Group Los Angeles, Portland Center Stage, Toronto Symphony Orchestra, La Jolla Playhouse, Woolly Mammoth Theatre, and even the Chicago Bulls.

OPENING: The Second City's She the People Is Back at Up Comedy Club 1/11-4/1/18

The Second City presents the return of

The Second City’s She the People: 

Girlfriends’ Guide to Sisters 

Doing it for Themselves

The hit sketch show is back to take on women’s issues with wit and wisdom

January 11 – April 1, 2018

*Run Time: 100 minutes (2 Acts with a brief intermission)**

Here at ChiIL Live Shows, we love sketch comedy and funny women. Can't wait to catch this remount of The Second City’s hit, She The People.

Back by popular demand, The Second City’s She the People: Girlfriends’ Guide to Sisters Doing It for Themselves, a sketch show created, designed and performed entirely by the women of Second City, returns to the stage in 2018. Under the direction of Carly Heffernan with musical direction by Mary Mahoney, She the People runs January 11 – April 1, 2018, in The Second City’s UP Comedy Club. Tickets start at $26 and can be purchased at the box office, by phone at (312) 662-4562 or online at www.secondcity.com. UP Comedy Club is located on the 3rd Floor of Piper’s Alley at 230 W North Ave, Chicago.

We’ll bet you 72 cents on the dollar (or much, much less!) you’ll cheer for the women of The Second City as they roast the patriarchy! This mimosa-and-madness-fueled foray takes on everything from having it all to having that sick feeling your government is trying to send you back to the Middle Ages. It’s time for women everywhere to collectively reclaim comedy!

She the People is written by Carisa Barreca, Marla Caceres, Carly Heffernan, Tien Tran and Lauren Walker. Casting will be announced at a later date. 

She the People plays on Thursdays, Fridays and Saturdays at 8pm and Sundays at 7pm at UP Comedy Club, located at 230 W North Ave, 3rd Floor of Piper’s Alley, Chicago. Tickets, starting at $26, are available at the Second City Box Office (230 W. North Ave, First Floor, Piper's Alley), by phone at 312-337-3992 or online at www.secondcity.com.

About the Artists
CARLY HEFFERNAN (Director) is an award-winning alumna of The Second City Toronto, where she wrote and performed in four Mainstage revues. She recently co-wrote the hit show The Second City Guide to the Symphony and toured with it across Canada and the United States. She directed the critically acclaimed Second City Toronto Mainstage revue Come What Mayhem!, as well as The Second City Touring Company and several Norwegian Cruise Line shows. Carly currently writes for Second Jen (CityTV), The Irrelevant Show (CBC Radio) and Air Farce Canada 150 special (CBC).

MARY MAHONEY (Music Direction/ Sound Design) has worked as a Musical Director for sketch and improv comedy all over the continent while touring with Second City Theatricals aboard the Norwegian Dawn and The Second City Touring Company. A former music faculty member of Western Washington University, she is now a faculty member at The Second City Training Center.

ABBY BEGGS (Lighting Design) When she’s not in the booth at The Second City, she can be found stage managing, directing and composing music for theatre around town. Stage management credits include: L'enfant et les Sortilèges, L'incoronazione di Poppea (Roosevelt University), The Out of Tooners (Off-Color Theatre Company), Gallo (Guerilla Opera), Blue Window (Brown Box Theatre Project), The Scene, Good People and Barefoot in the Park (Dorset Theatre Festival), among others.

Tickets: Starting at $26
Groups of 16 visit the Group Events page for party package options.

Box Office: 230 W. North Ave, First Floor, Piper's Alley
phone at 312-337-3992 or online at www.secondcity.com.

About The Second City
Since opening its doors 1959, The Second City has grown to become the world’s premier comedy club, theater and school of improvisation, entertaining 1 million theatergoers a year around the globe. Alumni of The Second City’s resident stages, touring companies, and theatrical divisions include some of the biggest names in entertainment, and in addition to the sold-out shows playing nightly on resident stages in Chicago and Toronto, the comedy empire has staged productions with a wide range of illustrious creative partners and theatre companies, including the Lyric Opera of Chicago, Hubbard Street Dance Chicago, The John F. Kennedy Center for the Performing Arts, Goodman Theatre, Center Theater Group Los Angeles, Portland Center Stage, Toronto Symphony Orchestra, La Jolla Playhouse, Woolly Mammoth Theatre, and even the Chicago Bulls.

HELP OUT: PORCHLIGHT MUSIC THEATRE BENEFIT 8/28 AT UP COMEDY CLUB

COME FLY WITH PORCHLIGHT MUSIC THEATRE AS IT LAUNCHES ITS 23rd SEASON WITH 

CHICAGO SINGS: 

SINATRA AND THE RAT PACK, 

MONDAY, AUG. 28 AT UP COMEDY CLUB

The Annual Benefit Concert, this Year Devised and Directed by Artistic Director Michael Weber and Keely Vasquez with Music Director David Fiorello, Features Top Theatre Talents from Sinatra’s ‘Kind of Town” Performing the Hits of Ol’ Blue Eyes and the Rat Pack

Porchlight Music Theatre is proud to announce the 12th Annual Chicago Sings concert; Chicago Sings: Sinatra and the Rat Pack, Monday, Aug. 28 at 7 p.m., at Second City’s UP Comedy Club, 230 W. North Ave, devised and directed by Artistic Director Michael Weber and Keely Vasquez and music directed by David Fiorello. Doors open at 6:30 p.m. for the annual benefit concert that includes performances, a paddle raiser and table side food and drink service at an additional charge. 



Chicago Sings: Sinatra and the Rat Pack from Porchlight Music Theatre on Vimeo.

General admission tickets are $75 and are on sale now at PorchlightMusicTheatre.org or by calling 773.777.9884. Sales from this one-night-only performance benefit Porchlight Music Theatre’s youth education programming.

Luck is your lady at Chicago Sings, a one-night-only fund raising celebration kicking off Porchlight’s 2017 – 2018 season. For more than ten years, Chicago Sings honors artists and organizations that have made music that changed the world and this year’s Chicago Sings Sinatra and the Rat Pack pays homage to the coolest guys and gals from Broadway to Hollywood to the nightclub stages of Las Vegas, Frank Sinatra and his Rat Pack. The venue also has ties to the Rat Pack, as UP Comedy Club houses Sinatra’s original Booth Number One from the historic Pump Room where a few lucky Chicago Sings guests may enjoy the performance with the first round of drinks included (see inset below.)  The iconic booth was the place to be seen and to watch the crowds at the legendary nightclub for more than five decades. Diners of Booth One included Paul Newman, Humphrey Bogart, Sammy Davis, Jr., Joan Crawford, Audrey Hepburn, Liza Minnelli, John Belushi, Mick Jagger and, many more, most notably, “The Chairman of the Board,” himself. 

Audiences will have the world on a string and fly to the moon at the jazziest swingest party in this toddlin’ town. The music of Frank, Dean Martin and Sammy Davis Jr., is reimagined for one night only in Sinatra’s “kind of town” at Chicago Sings Sinatra and the Rat Pack. 

More than a dozen leading Chicago talents perform new and traditional versions of the Rat Pack’s hits, performers currently include Stephen Allen, Lucy Godinez, Mark David Kaplan, Heidi Kettenring, Eric Lewis, Rob Lindley, Yando Lopez, Christine Mild, Hollis Resnik, Peggy Roeder and Stephen Schellhardt with others to be announced.*

WIN SEATS IN BOOTH ONE AND PARTY LIKE THE RAT PACK
Chicago Sings guests when purchasing tickets at PorchlightMusicTheatre.org may additionally order raffle tickets for $25 per ticket to win a chance for them, and up to five friends, to sit in the world famous BOOTH ONE for Chicago Sings: Sinatra and the Rat Pack with the first round of drinks picked up by Porchlight Music Theatre! Seating limited to six people, all of whom must have purchased general admission tickets to the event.

Porchlight will announce the winner on its page via Facebook LIVE Monday, Aug, 28 at 11 a.m. - Facebook.com/PorchlightMusicTheatre/.

*Songs performed and artists may change without notice.

ABOUT PORCHLIGHT MUSIC THEATRE
Porchlight Music Theatre, now in its 23rd season, is nationally recognized for developing innovative new works, reimagining classic productions and showcasing musical theatre’s noted veterans and rising stars. Porchlight elevates the genre in Chicago by providing intimate and powerful theatrical experiences for its growing and diverse audiences. With the vision of Artistic Director Michael Weber, Porchlight builds on its role as Chicago’s only Equity not-for-profit company exclusively specializing in music theatre. Porchlight’s rich history includes the staging of more than 60 productions with 15 Chicago premieres and five world premieres. Through Porchlight’s “Off the Porch” new works program, the musicals of the next generation are developed and given a first audience. The School at Porchlight is Chicago’s center for music theatre training in the areas of performance, writing and appreciation for adults and youth. The company’s many accolades include 17 Black Theatre Alliance nominations and three awards, as well as a total of 126 Joseph Jefferson Award nominations resulting in 39 Jeff Awards including four consecutive Best Production awards for Dreamgirls (2016), Sondheim on Sondheim (2015), Ain’t Misbehavin’ (2014) and A Class Act (2013).


Porchlight Music Theatre is partially supported by generous contributions from the Actors’ Equity Foundation, the Arts Work Fund at the Chicago Community Trust, the Bloomberg Philanthropies, Chapman | Spingola, Attorneys at Law, the Elizabeth F. Cheney Foundation, , the Gaylord & Dorothy Donnelley Foundation, James P. and Brenda S. Grusecki Family Foundation, the MacArthur Fund for Arts & Culture at the Prince Foundation, The Saints, Service Club of Chicago, and the Topfer Family Foundation. The season program is partially supported by a grant from the Illinois Arts Council Agency, a state agency and by a CityArts Grant from the City of Chicago Department of Cultural Affairs & Special Events.

Second City Comedy 2nd To None

There's a reason Second City is a world renowned breeding ground for comedians. They're very good at what they do and have a gazillion famous alums. Still, if you live here in Chicago it's easy to forget the ongoing shows in the onslaught of stellar short runs. So we're going to give a little love to the reigning kings & queens of improv and sketch comedy. 

I was just there a few days ago for a press preview/World Premier of What's Happy Got to Do With It? with the fabulously funny and insightful Doctor G (Author, Deborah Gilboa) in Second City’s ETC Theatre. Thanks to Second City for wining and dining us and hosting this program geared towards parents. Deborah Gilboa has a down to earth persona and an uncanny ability to impart truly useful nuggets of parenting wisdom without coming across as a know it all. Thanks to our friends over at The Silverman Group for the heads up. 

I have a background in improv and theatre arts and actively acted throughout high school, college and a bit beyond, though I never did work for Second City. I can't tell you though how many of my college improv colleagues and Chicago theatre pals have passed through those hallowed halls! Many of them are STILL teaching there and/or can be seen on stage. 

Here's Second City's Up Comedy Club current lineup:


UP COMEDY CLUB
(of course live theatre doesn't technically have a rating system like films, but do note, these shows are self rated "R" and make a better parents' night out than a family foray.)



Click here for all the stand up going down.

Nick Thune

THE SECOND CITY'S DEEP CUTS

SECOND CITY'S NEWEST ARCHIVAL SHOW (ending 10/12)

Join the cast of The Second City's Deep Cuts as they navigate the daily apocalypse of the internet age, where the end of the world is simply fodder for top ten lists and worldwide politics are boiled down to philosophical T-Rex memes. Too busy googling your ex-boyfriend to make a new memory at prom? Too many Big Macs ruining your profile smile?  It's easy to go to the hit single, but the deep cuts are where it really gets rewarding.

CAST: Bente Engelstoft, Peter Kim, Kelsey Kinney, Adam Peacock, Dewayne Perkins, Rashawn Nadine Scott

DIRECTOR: Anthony LeBlanc

MUSICALDIRECTOR: Vinnie Pillarella

STAGE MANAGER: Meghan Teal

Follow along with #SCDeepCuts.

90 minutes with a brief intermission.

Suggested Rating: R

The Second City’s Incomplete Guide to Everything 
Open Run
Tuesdays at 8pm
Saturdays & Sundays at 4pm Location: UP Comedy Club, Piper’s Alley, 3^rd Floor, 230 W North Ave
Tickets: $24 - $29 
Box Office: 230 W North Ave; by phone at 312-662-4562; online at www.upcomedyclub.com 

From the great books to the worst presidents, The Second City has spent half a century laughing in the face of our past, present and future.  And now it’s all in one show…sort of.  UP Comedy Club presents The Second City’s Incomplete Guide to Everything, a hilarious collection of scenes and songs that skewers everything that you learned in college – or that you should have learned in college on the days you slept in.  

Incomplete Guide is directed by Ryan Bernier with Musical Direction by Vinne Pillarella.  The cast of The Second City’s Incomplete Guide to Everything includes Second City veterans Sayjal Joshi, Shad Kunkle, Beth Melewski, Tim Stoltenberg, Daniel Strauss and Niccole Thurman.

Suggested Rating: R
Run Time: 90 minutes; brief intermission

Second City’s Game Night
Open Run
Wednesdays at 8pm
Location: UP Comedy Club, Piper’s Alley, 3^rd Floor, 230 W North Ave
Tickets: $24 

Box Office: 230 W North Ave; by phone at 312-662-4562; online at www.upcomedyclub.com 

Everyone wins at Second City's Game Night! Get ready to join in the fun with Chicago's best improvisers for an evening of unscripted improvisational comedy. Join in the fun by earning points for your team and playing classic game shows. So raise your hand for a chance to get on stage and to win a prize!

Game Night features Joey Bland, Brendan Dowling, Paul Grondy, Megan Hovde, Tim Paul and Sue Salvi with musical direction by Matthew Cohen. Meghan Teal is the stage manager.

Run Time: 90 minutes; brief intermission

Second City Improv All Stars
Open Run
Mondays at 8pm
Location: UP Comedy Club, Piper’s Alley, 3^rd Floor, 230 W North Ave
Tickets: $17 
Box Office: 230 W North Ave; by phone at 312-662-4562; online at www.upcomedyclub.com 

See Chicago’s finest improvisers under the direction of the legendary Mick Napier in an evening of unscripted and unequaled improvisational comedy.  This show is highly interactive, hilarious and thoroughly original.

Suggested Rating: R
Run Time: 60 minutes

The Second City’s Holidazed and Confused Revue
November 16 – December 27, 2014
Thursdays at 8pm
Fridays at 8pm
Saturdays 8pm and 11pm
Sundays at 7pm
Location: UP Comedy Club, Piper’s Alley, 3^rd Floor, 230 W North Ave
Tickets: $24 
Box Office: 230 W North Ave; by phone at 312-662-4562; online at www.upcomedyclub.com 

UP Comedy Club presents the hilarious sketch comedy show Second City's Holidazed and Confused. Laugh this season with family and friends as Second City skewers all that is right and wrong about the holidays.

Suggested Rating: R
Run Time: 90 minutes; brief intermission.

UP COMEDY CLUB PRESENTS ALL-STAR LINE-UP OF STAND-UP COMEDY AND THE PORCHLIGHT MUSIC THEATRE SMASH-HIT BEST MUSICAL! A COMPLETELY IMPROVISED MUSICAL COMEDY

UP Comedy Club is known for bringing the best stand-up comedy talent in the country to Chicago. The remainder of this fall’s line-up features many of the best known names in comedy today, including Ian Bagg, Maz Jobrani, D.L. Hughley, Christopher Titus, Todd Barry, Kyle Kinane and Loni Love. Each show includes a feature stand-up comic and a local emcee that hosts the evening.

The U.P. isn't just a vacation destination in Michigan... it's a laugh riot right here at home in Chicago!

Mark your calendars:

In addition to this all-star line-up, UP Comedy Club also presents Porchlight Music Theatre’s BEST MUSICAL! A Completely Improvised Musical Comedy, running October 2 – November 6, 2013.

BEST MUSICAL! A Completely Improvised Musical Comedy

Wednesdays at 8pm

October 2 – November 6, 2013

The audience suggests the song titles, then watches the cast create hit after show-stopping, high-kicking musical hit in Act I based off of their suggestions. Votes are cast for "Best Song" and the cast returns for Act II with a fully improvised and hilarious musical comedy (complete with costumes & choreography) around the very song the audience selected.

BEST MUSICAL! is 2 hours with a brief intermission; suggested rating is PG-13. Showing every Wednesday at 8p.m., tickets are $20. Tickets for the UP Comedy Club can be purchased over the phone at (312) 662-4562 or online at www.upcomedyclub.com    

TODD BARRY

November 8-9

New York City-based comedian and actor Todd Barry is widely recognized for his roles as the bongo-playing “Third Conchord” on HBO’s Flight of the Conchords and Mickey Rourke’s deli boss in 2009 Oscar winner The Wrestler, and renowned throughout the entertainment industry for his nuanced, measured, and thoroughly original approach to stand-up. Drawing audience members in with his deadpan self-deprecation and ability to pile punchline upon punchline, his decidedly low-key stage persona belies a deeply intelligent, often biting, occasionally absurdist worldview, one lauded by discerning fans who seek a fresh yet honest update to traditional observation and social commentary.

Boasting multiple stand-up appearances on The Late Show with David Letterman, Late Night with Conan O’Brien, Jimmy Kimmel Live!, and two Comedy Central Presents specials, Todd’s resume also includes such hit TV shows as Louie, Delocated, Bored to Death, Tim and Eric, Chappelle’s Show, Sex and the City, and evenSesame Street. Among his additional feature-film highlights are Todd Phillips’s Road Trip, Louis CK’s Pootie Tang, and Mitch Hedberg’s Los Enchiladas.  You can see him soon at Sigourney Weaver's right hand man in Amy Heckerling's Vamps, and as Paul Rudd's co-worker in David Wain's Wanderlust. Internationally he has performed at the Edinburgh Festival Fringe, the Melbourne International Comedy Festival, Montreal’s Just For Laughs Festival, the Vancouver International Comedy Festival, and Kilkenny, Ireland’s Cat Laughs Festival. 

Todd has been heard on both The Howard Stern Show and The Bob & Tom Show, and his albums Medium Energy, Falling Off the Bone, and From Heaven are available from Comedy Central Records, Amazon and iTunes. He has earned the U.S. Comedy Arts Festival’s Jury Award, praise from Ricky Gervais as one of the best comedians of 2009, and accolades from The Onion’s A.V. Club, which declared Medium Energy one of the best comedy albums of the decade.

KYLE KINANE

November 14-16

Kyle Kinane’s comedy career has taken him across the US, Canada, and England.  He has performed in the Leicester, Vancouver, Washington DC, Portland, Just For Laughs/Chicago, and the USCAF/Aspen comedy festivals, and his nights are now occupied with performances at popular venues such as the Upright Citizens Brigade theatre in Los Angeles and the national chain of Improv comedy clubs. He has appeared on TV in "Last Call with Carson Daly," "The Very Funny Show" on TBS, "The World Stands Up" on the BBC, and “Bob’s Burgers” on Fox. On film he can be seen and heard in the Judd Apatow film “Funny People,” and the recent summer film, “Epic.” He is a regular opener for headliners such as Patton Oswalt and Brian Posehn.  Askmen.com rated him #5 on their top 10 list of upcoming comedians.

Showtimes: Thurs. 8 p.m. / Fri. 8 p.m. & 10:30 p.m. / Sat. 8 p.m. & 10:30 p.m.

Tickets: $20

         

LONI LOVE

November 21-23

Both Variety and Comedy Central have named Loni Love among their Top 10 Comics to Watch, and Campus Activity magazine honored her as its Hot Comic for 2009. Love is not only one of the most hilarious and lovable comics performing stand-up on the comedy club and college circuits but also a busy TV host, guest and actress who has also appeared in films and dramatic plays. Love starred in her own half-hour special for Comedy Central in 2007 and has also been seen on the channel’s “Premium Blend,” “Weekends at the DL,” and “Chocolate News.” Her many television appearances include “The Tonight Show with Jay Leno,” “The Late Late Show with Craig Kilborn,” “The Best Damn Sports Show Period,” VH1′s “I Love the 70′s/80′s/90′s,” “Vh1′s The Great Debate,” and “Comics Unleashed” among numerous others. In 2009 Loni became a CNN correspondent for the show “D.L. Hughley Breaks the News,” covering the inauguration of President Obama, as well as doing correspondence for the “Dr. Oz Show” and ”The Doctors.” Love’s primary passion is performing for live audiences. She puts it simply: “I love to make people laugh!”

Showtimes: Thurs. 8 p.m. / Fri. 8 p.m. & 10:30 p.m. / Sat. 8 p.m. & 10:30 p.m.

Tickets: $20

UP Comedy Club Improv and Sketch Comedy Shows

The Second City's Improv All-Stars

Mondays at 8pm

See Chicago's finest improvisers under the direction of the legendary Mick Napier in an evening of unscripted and unequaled improvisational comedy. This show is highly interactive, hilarious and thoroughly original. Suggested rating R.

Tickets: $16

What the Tour Guide Didn't Tell You

Tuesdays at 8pm
Saturdays & Sundays at 4pm

The Second City does The Second City in this hilarious hometown revue that pulls from 52 years of classic scenes and songs that lovingly make fun of the city we call home. Whether its wholesale political corruption or a hapless ball club on the north side of town, What the Tour Guide Didn't Tell You is a great way to get a laugh filled look at the Windy City.

Tickets: $28

TEAM STARKID: 1NIGHT 2LAST 3EVER

September 15-October 27, 2013

Sundays at 7pm (except September 22 and October 20)

After their success this spring with Airport For Birds, Team StarKid is BACK­­ at UP Comedy Club with all new material. Known for creating heartfelt parody musicals for YouTube, Team StarKid now brings you a sketch show with a bit of Pop-Nostalgia, featuring that classic boy-band, 3Ever! There are enough laughs as a Fruit-by-the-Foot is long (approximately 90 minutes)! So grab your Skip-It, pack a lunch, and join us at The Second City’s UP Comedy Club for 1Night 2Last 3Ever.

Tickets: $20-$50

UP Comedy Club is located at 230 W. North Ave 3^rd Floor of Piper’s Alley Chicago, IL 60614