Stand-up Scene: For these comics, a fine career choice
At Uncharted Books in Logan Square, I am crammed in so tightly that my back is touching the spines of dozens of used books. I feel a dusty copy of...
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Stand-up Scene: Look who’s back in town
It is alumni week in Chicago. At least, that is what I'm calling it. About a half dozen veterans of the city's stand-up comedy scene are back in town and...
Standup Scene: Maria Bamford is riding her own kind of comic wave
As soon as Maria Bamford bows and exits the stage at the Athenaeum Theatre in Chicago Thursday night where she is headlining, the stand-up comic veteran will — to use...
Stand-up Scene: How will they play in South Bend?
"Will it plays in Peoria?" This famous line — which hearkens back to the Vaudevillian era — is meant to ask the question of whether or not an act or...
16 Chicago Comics You Should Check Out This Fall
Where to catch a local laugh through Thanksgiving.
Stand-up Scene: Mortality is a tricky subject for comedy
"Stop me if you've heard this one," says comedian Sean White at Timothy O'Toole's last Saturday night. "So my brother is dying on the floor of Starbucks ..." Lest you...
Stand-up Scene: Confessional jokes are therapy for the rest of us
Drew Michael is staring out at the crowd at Zanies and describing us as a "sea of drunk silhouettes." From from where he's standing I imagine it to be a...
Stand-up Scene: What’s funny is up to you
"Comedy is more personal than food," Jerry Seinfeld once said when asked whether he believed he was one of the top five comics that ever lived. "Somebody either hits you...
Standup Scene: Comedy audiences take risks too
Jeff Arcuri is a joke machine tonight. As the host of "This Week's Show" every Thursday at Bar Celona in Wrigleyville, it's his job to amp up the crowd, and...
Standup Scene: Take a risk in honor of Robin Williams
I was on my way to see a comedy show last week when I learned of the death of Robin Williams. You can say many things about the standup of...