Calendars

Looking for a perfect holiday gift? How about a faaaabulous showcase? The price is right. Many of Chicago’s showcases are free. Those not free are often only $5 – $10. Sometimes you’ll even find free pizza and in some cases (although not this week), free pancakes. Several people have said to me that budget keeps […]

A familiar face on Comedy Central tomorrow night! Tune in to @midnight at 11 p.m. to see Dan Telfer, formerly of Chicago Underground Comedy (ChUC). He was one of Chicago’s most popular stand-ups before he moved to L.A. a couple of years back. He is recognized around the world for his “Best Dinosaur” viral video

It’s the holiday season. (Yay! Ohhhh, shit!) You can find a comedy holiday show to meet every mood incarnation of the season, from traditional Charlie Brown to non-traditional Charlie Brown to Second City’s take on the horror of office parties and every variation in between. Visitors to Chicago this week include Bridget Everett (who changed my

Thanksgiving is no exception to the Chicago rule of great comedy every night of the year. Snow, sleet, ice, insufferable temps, holidays and faux holidays. None stand in the way. Comedy, as always, is a refuge and  celebration in its own right. Escape the Thanksgiving table when the conversation turns twitchy. The next day you

Another week with THREE comedy festivals: Laughingstock, The Mary Scruggs Works by Women Festival at Second City and Corn Comedy Palooza. Some all-time greats in town this week: Elayne Boosler at the Comedy Shrine! Steve Martin and Martin Short at Rosemont Theater! Also hometown favorite Kyle Kinane! Outstanding list of out-of-towners this week continues with

Three only-in-Chicago comedy festivals this week: Laughingstock: The Chicago Comedy Music Festival Corn Comedy Palooza. Chicago Open-Mic Festival. Interview with producer David Gavri here. It’s a good week if you love comedy and books. This week, Chicago is a book-tour stop for Issa Rae, Rainn Wilson and Greg Schwem. Later this week, The Kates visit

  This week begins and ends with stand up, sketch, improv and film programs you can only see here. Visitors this week include Ray Chao, John Cleese, Patton Oswalt, Jake Johannsen, Tony Rock, Frank Caliendo, Paul Hooper, Alingon Mitra, Fortune Feimster, Kevin Williams and New Yorker cartoon guru Bob Mankoff. Paula Poundstone and Bill Maher

The best national entertainment news is all about Chicago comedians. Last week, NBC announced the creation of seeso.com, a web-based comedy subscription service for “comedy super fans” to debut in January. The original content will include a stand-up series, Take My Wife, created and produced by Cameron Esposito and Rhea Butcher. The partners in both

Especially noted: Evanston comedian Peter-john Byrnes records his album Ghost Story at ComedySportz tonight. He has his own memorable brand of smart, relatable, very, very funny comedy. Highly recommend. In more album news, Mikey Manker invites you to celebrate his album release with a party later this week. Congratulations to The Defiant Thomas Brothers! Their

EPIC Fest kicks off this week! It’s the Edison Park Infectious Comedy Fest which runs from Tuesday, October 13 to Sunday, October 18. If features some monster Chicago comedy greats, so be sure to check it out. Three of the Fest’s headliners kindly took time for an interview here. Later this week, Chicago favorites Dan

For every event below, there are fifty more that caught my eye. When something catches yours, please check out the venue’s complete calendar. You’ll be glad you did. Chicago comedy news: Beth Stelling’s Comedy Central half-hour airs on Saturday, October 10th at 11:30 p.m. CST and Dan Telfer’s third album Ocean of Panic debuted last week to

It’s Halloween month and the Comedy Calendar is a monster. I’m publishing it in smaller weekly installments because I don’t want to be known as the blogger who turned scrolling into an endurance sport. But  I also don’t want you to miss the extraordinary line-ups still ahead. Please check out  “Twelve Shows you don’t want