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Party Earth Review With a list of alums that includes everyone from Bill Murray and Jon Belushi to Steve Carell and Tina Fey, Second City is undeniably one of the most influential comedy theaters in the country. Founded in 1959 by a small group of University of Chicago students, the prolific club and its nightly menu of comics, laughs, and ... more
1616 North Wells Street
Chicago, IL 60614
Comedy Club
Info UP Comedy Club is an eclectic comedy club in Chicago’s Old Town neighborhood. Opened in 2012, the club features a variety of comedic performances seven days a week. UP Comedy Club is located on the third floor of Pipers Alley, adjacent to the legendary Second City comedy theater. UP Comedy Club has a similar interior design ... more
230 W. North Ave
3rd Floor
Chicago, IL 60614
Comedy Club / Theater
Info Structured as sporting matches, with teams trying to out-funny each other, ComedySportz improv shows have locations in many cities. As the home of improv comedy, Chicago counts a ComedySportz troupe among its many performers. The ComedySportz troupe shares its theater with other comedians. The Lakeview theater features ... more
929 W. Belmont
Chicago, IL 60657
Comedy Club
Info Part of the Improv Comedy Club chain, which has locations in 23 cities, the Improv Comedy Club is located inside Woodfield Mall in Schaumburg. The chain has its roots in 1960s New York, but the Chicagoland location is a recent addition. This spacious club, which can seat 400, hosts regular improv and stand-up shows ... more
5 Woodfield Rd Store K120B
Schaumburg, IL 60173
Comedy Club
Info A new branch of Hollywood’s world-famous comedy venue, the Laugh Factory opened in Chicago in January 2012. Owned by Jamie Masada, the venue’s Hollywood parent is known for hosting some of the most famous comics on the planet, and the new Chicago outpost is clearly not going to lag far behind. Open seven ... more
3175 N. Broadway St.
Chicago, IL 60657
Comedy Club / Theater
Info Improv comedy has a big history in Chicago, and multiple venues, like the iO Theater, are devoted to the art form. Across the street from Wrigley Field and sharing a block with some of Wrigleyville’s most popular bars, the iO Theater is a smaller cousin to famous Second City farther south. The “iO” stands for Improv Olympic ... more
3541 North Clark Street
Chicago, IL 60657
Comedy Club
Info Zanies Comedy Club is a stand-up comedy venue in Chicago’s Old Town neighborhood. Opened in 1979 by Austrian immigrant Rick Uchwat, the venue has been considered one of the best clubs out there by comedians and audiences alike. Zanies Comedy Club offers stand-up comedy and only stand-up comedy. A step away from the legend ... more
1548 North Wells Street
Chicago, IL 60610
Chicago has long been where aspiring comedians go to learn their craft and the alumni lists of Second City and iO, the two most famous Chicago comedy clubs, are a veritable who's who of comedy.
Comedy clubs in Chicago are dominated by improv and sketch comedians, but the big standup acts come through as well appearing at Zanies or the relatively new Up Comedy Club and Laugh Factory Chicago. Witty, clever, and timely satire are the hallmarks of Chicago comedy, but audiences can find everything from absurd and high-concept shows to offensive and immature performances.
The most famous theater in town is Second City, located in Old Town, which offers shows almost every night on multiple stages. Over the years, audiences at Second City have laughed at the work from legends like Jim Belushi, Dan Aykroyd, Bill Murray, and Mike Myers as well as current stars like Steve Carell, Stephen Colbert, and Tina Fey. The shows on the Mainstage are a mix of improv and sketch comedy that has been finely tuned for comedic rhythm by the professional performers. Meanwhile, upstairs in Donny’s Skybox, Second City allows its many students to put on shows that tend to be more experimental spanning all forms of comedy and all levels of quality.
The iO Theater in Wrigleyville offers two stages of all improvised shows featuring hundreds of aspiring comedians hoping to follow in the footsteps of alumni Amy Poehler, Seth Meyers, Andy Dick, and Chris Farley. Although lesser known than Second City outside of comedy circles, iO is renowned by comedians and has helped develop long-form improv into an art form that can take the audience and the performers on a journey they could never predict. Both iO and Second City offer classes in improv and sketch comedy and help fill their seats each night with students watching their friends perform. Although this can sometimes cause the humor to be somewhat insular, it also means that any night of the week there is a packed house laughing with you.
Seeing shows at Chicago comedy clubs are all about witnessing the next big thing before they make it and every year hundreds of twenty-somethings come to Chicago hoping to get discovered and then head off to bigger stages in New York or LA. As a result, there are shows everywhere, from theaters like ComedySportz, Improv Chicago, Gorilla Tango Theatre, and the Playground Theater, to the back rooms of countless bars around town, to comedians’ apartments that will host open mic nights for friends.
Comedy can be done just about anywhere, and the kids in Chicago are always looking for stage time. This results in a comedy calendar that is always full of shows good and bad. To be sure, many performances are incredibly hilarious and smart but you can also find a lot of puerile, prurient, and predictable comedy as well. Just about every theater allows you to at least buy alcohol, if not bring your own to the show, which helps just about any performance be at least moderately funny.
And you never know, you just might see the next Chris Farley learning the craft of comedy.