My rule for this calendar was there had to be comedy every day! As if it’s a challenge. It would be harder in Chicago to find a day without comedy. Certainly in July, you won’t need to restrict fire power to the Fourth. Comedy fireworks are all month and no mosquitoes. (Please confirm details to […]
Your Chicago Comedy Calendar for July 2015 Read More »
My husband and I have a tradition of bringing in the New Year with an argument. Stay in or go out? In 2015 we broke the tradition. We were in complete agreement about staying in, inviting friends over and watching Second City alum Cathryn Michon’s Muffin Top. The film is a unique rom-com. Its theme,
Q&A with Director Cathryn Michon: how Muffin Top became a rare and powerful rom-com Read More »
Because of Derek Sheen, I will never again think of an escalator as an escalator. Instead, I will take the “wizard stairs.” Thanks to this Seattle-based comedian, the next billion times I say something in some mortifying way I didn’t mean (and believe me, those billion times all are likely to occur by next Tuesday),
Derek Sheen to record live album at Chicago’s Comedians You Should Know on June 24, 25 Read More »
Why aren’t philosophers listed in the Yellow Pages? I need a philosopher to articulate the reasons for my existential dread. I could use a philosopher combined with a lawyer. Lawyers construct arguments as beautiful as geometric theorems to force us to address the wrongs that created the dread in the first place. What if I
A Q&A with comedian David Heti, and it was more than OK Read More »
[This post is in response to a ChicagoNow assignment: in one hour, “Write about your tomorrow. Not figuratively, literally write about anything that you hope, fear, believe, expect — anything — that you may experience tomorrow.”] 1. I have more energy in the late evenings than in the mornings, so sometimes I sleep in my
Top ten secret things about tomorrow Read More »
[Note: this post is is a one-hour challenge from ChicagoNow: “Write about a time you made a mistake or were wrong about something.”] Growing up, I never thought I was funny. Worse, I thought I wasn’t allowed to be funny. Funny was reserved for people who had been chosen. I was somehow under the impression
Good girls can’t be funny! Read More »
On Sunday, Hillary Clinton made the announcement we all were expecting: we’re going to be seeing a lot more of her on Saturday Night Live. Well, that’s not exactly what she said, but happily, it’s the same thing. But which Hillary will it be? Will it be Amy Poehler? Will she return? She has seniority,
Which Hillary Clinton gets your vote: Amy Poehler or Kate McKinnon? Read More »
UPDATE BELOW How can you get your hands on The Next To Last Joan Rivers Album which Stand Up! Records will release exclusively on Record Store Day (April 18)? Here’s the scoop. Record Store Day (RSD) was founded in 2007 and is celebrated every year on the third Saturday in April. Albums with exclusive content
When I was in seventh grade, I was obsessed with the book Having A Baby Can Be a Scream. Granted, most of it went over my head, but it didn’t matter. Comedy was something of a religion in our house and I recognized the voice of a deity when I read one. I didn’t know
Think you know Joan Rivers? Can we talk? Rare album releases April 18, 2015. Read More »
Jamie Campbell will release his new album, Tell Me You’re Proud of Me on March 10. Two things you wouldn’t guess about Jamie. First, he’s shy. You wouldn’t guess because with a microphone, the shyness is gone. When Jamie takes the stage, his warmth and charisma fill the room. He’s a tough guy with a
Chicago can be proud of comedian Jamie Campbell Read More »
In just the past few weeks, Maz Jobrani has been profiled by the Los Angeles Times, the New York Post, Mother Jones and NPR. For the past fifteen years, the Iranian American comedian has been profiled by casting directors and airport officials all over the world who tend to see him as a terrorist. For those
Comedian Maz Jobrani is not a terrorist but he is radically funny Read More »
Life is better when it’s funny. Life is infinitely better when you know the comedy of Rod Man. Rod Man, born Rod Thompson, is the 2014 winner of NBC’s Last Comic Standing. He will appear at the Improv in Schaumburg from Thursday, January 29 to Saturday, January 31. Tickets are selling out fast. As of
Rod Man, Winner of Last Comic Standing, Appears in Schaumburg this Week Read More »
Most New Year’s resolutions are unappealing, but this year I can’t resist. Fighter-trainer Kurt Grasa (oops, don’t look up what his last name means in Spanish) promises to make me “an all-around whole participant on this planet” in five minutes a day with his just released “Mixed Life Arts” program. His methods are somewhat unusual.
Comedian Paul Thomas Warms Up January Read More »
