My husband & I saw "Going Bacharach"last night (Wed 5/13) & absolutely loved it! Extraordinary &…read morememorable songs!Thank you to each member for sharing their exceptional musical talents! This performance topped our short visit from California.

We like this place!…read more Took the toddlers to see the Mrs Claus show yesterday and they had a wonderful time! Perfect for the littles and entertaining all around. Definitely recommend the show and theater. We'll be back in the future for sure.

Few notables. The entrance is a double door and then you are inside the theater. If you are late,…read moreyou are interrupting the show. So find a seat quickly and sit down. There is no staff manning the door. #Crazy Staff are within view towards the back of the theater. Tix are inexpensive and they allow for donations with purchase. Can you buy at the door? Not sure. I've never seen a ticket taker verify tix. Say you've got a bottle of booze in a brown bag and you'd like to enjoy that booze without botheration. Here's your place. A seat for you and co which you should feel free to use. If you see something worth laughing at, please do so. You aren't guaranteed laughs nor are you required to show proof of tickets! For real.. I scratch my head wondering why I pre-purchased. I should just walk in one day and see what happens. In a perfect world we are all on time and at shows 15 minutes before they begin. So that we can show our tickets, grab a nice seat and get ready to laugh. This however doesn't happen all the time. Nor does having enough content to laugh at. Buh dum tss! https://youtu.be/bcYppAs6ZdI

What do you say to a kid who's grumpy or bored? "Come on,…read moreI'll take you to the playground!" What do you say to the adult child who's grumpy or bored? "Come on, I'll take you to The Playground!" I had been before and was impressed so it seemed like a no brainer to take the manboy in my life. We quickly became regulars. Here's what we like: The Sunday night show The Free for All is free (we donate though). It's a great deal and ironically funnier than the pay shows other nights. All shows are mostly funny. Some moments were hilarious, some were clunkers. BYOB!!!! And I've even seen audience members eating there too. It's the only co op non profit improv group. The theater is really intimate and casual. This lends you to be more invested in the performance, feel the nervous energy and excitement, and mingle with the performers before and after. You don't feel like a kid alone at a sandbox watching the cool kids play, but involved. The location is great by the Belmont and Addison el stops and many bus routes. So to get to the punch(line)-great deal and pretty entertaining. And in tribute to the venue name and purpose a joke. A man and his wife are asleep in bed. They hear a knocking on their door. The man says, "What do you want?!" A voice says, "Please help...I need a push." The man angrily replies, "It's three am-get outta here!!" his wife says, "Honey, remember when our kids where stranded on the highway and a nice man gave the car a push to the rest area?" The husband answers, "Oh, all right." He trudges down to the front door and opens it and it's pitch dark, he calls out, "Do you still need a push?" "Yes." "Ok, where are you?!" "Over here....on the swingset...." :::crickets::: Giant hook ala Showtime at the Apollo pulls me from computer.

Local comics, cheap drinks, and good laughs. What's not to love?…read more The dim, ambient lit interiors and rich wood features make the Lincoln Lodge a great spot for a date night. The staff are also very kind and accommodating, and there's no forceful minimum spends like some of the other comedy venues in Chicago.

What a great spot! Full of laughs. A bit crammed but most comedy spots are. Wide variety of…read morecomedians which I loved. Fun food and drinks are also available at reasonable constant. Came with a huge group, and we were all able to be seated together which was a huge plus!

If you're looking for cookie cutter comedy this isn't the place. Head on over to one of the big…read moretwo. But, if you're looking for the great stuff, the laugh till you cry or cry till you laugh stuff, this IS THE place. Plus it's a well kept secret so far and the ticket/drink prices are a steal!

Came here for the first time a few years ago and loved the space. Now as a local I go to shows…read moreweekly. Everyone is so nice and the venue is just the right size! Bar has great prices too. I always take friends from out of town here. One of my favorites for Chicago comedy!

This little musical was outstanding!!!! I'm a huge musical buff but this was my first experience at…read morethe Chicago Shakespeare Theater. Who'd thunk it?! This show only consists of two actors. One plays the inspector of a murder and the other plays all the suspects of the murder. Most of the show is in sing-song. The lyrics and the props they use are HYSTERICAL! Both actors are piano players so the music is LIVE. It was wonderful! It may sound weird that a two person musical was entertaining, but this was actually WAY BETTER than some Broadway musicals I have seen. I would go and see this musical again and again. We enjoyed ourselves that much! The show is 90 minutes without intermission. Time goes by fast! There's no bad seat in the house. Each row is elevated on step up behind the other so the person sitting in front of you should not be obstructing you. There is one row in the balcony. Again, no obstructions there. Parking: Dont park in the West or East parking lot. Instead, enter the lot assigned for Chicago Shakespeare Theater. The theater will validate your ticket for you (at the box office) so that you get 40% off of parking (which is about $14) Regular price is $24 so you get quite a bit of savings! Definitely check this show out before its gone. You'll have an AWESOME time! It was so laugh out loud funny! You can get half off tickets through Goldstar here: https://www.goldstar.com/join?p=F123738RP

FUN FUN FUN!!!! Good Lord almighty is this a fun musical…read more A witty, zany-filled whodunnit. In the vein of Agatha Christie crossed with an episode of Frasier crossed with Second City crossed with MURDER!!!!!! What is cool about this show is that there are only two actors --one actor investigates the crime, the other plays all 13 suspects. And to top it off, they both play the piano! And it is cheap and quick - like my Friday nights... Zing!!! It runs 90 minutes, no intermission. And tickies are only $25. Only downside is there are no sex scenes which sucks (just kidding) -- seeing if you are reading. There are no downsides to Murder for Two. It runs for another month. Get your arses to Chicago Shakespeare Theatre post-haste. Tout suite. RIGHT NOW!!!!! And while you are there, go get an Auntie Anne's pretzel from the food court. G.D. are those damn carb bombs good.

I came here for a magic show with a group of friends on a Friday. Overall, good facility! There's a…read moresmall parking lot for patrons nearby, which was nice. Bartenders were friendly. Bathrooms were clean. It was cold, but that's typical of buildings in the summer. I'd come back!

What's life without a little magic! We came by to see a show on a Sunday afternoon and we're able…read moreto enjoy the Physician's show. When you walk in there is a bar and some tables but through the double doors, you'll find a 2nd bar with a speakeasy feel. When we checked in, we were assigned our tables. We ordered drinks before hand and the drinks were brought to our tables. We also ordered the pimento cheese and crackers. We snacked on the crackers most of the show as there was quite a bit of pimento in the bowl. The show was great and was broken into 2 parts. There were a lot of great metaphors along with it being a very interactive show with the crowd. Many of the tricks and magic left us in complete awe. We can't wait to come back and see future shows!

Zanies has been around for a long time; I've been only once, though, and had a good time. Mostly…read morethat's due to location and my aversion to the CTA. It's an intimate club, and of course if you arrive on the early side there will be more seats open for them to seat you. There is a two-drink minimum, which is standard in this industry and is made quite clear when you purchase your ticket, yet I heard someone complaining about being required to purchase a drink--don't be that person. I haven't been here for one of their regular performers but would like to come back for that sometime. There are quite a few restaurants in this area of Old Town, so you'll have plenty from which to choose. No parking, so you'll rely on the CTA/taxi/rideshare or drive and find a SpotHero space or something.

Had a great time here seeing the Dysfunctional Friends Tour…read more The spot is very small and intimate, get there earlier to get seats. We sat in the second row in the back higher level which was perfect for me cuz I'm short lol even tho it was far back could see and hear fine Very cool to see the walk of people who've performed there too and get the history of the space Servers were nice too, will def be back

I cannot stop saying great things about this company and their show, "That's Weird, Grandma". It's…read moretruly a hidden gem in the theater world. To sum it up - That's Weird is a bunch of short skits written by Chicago kids then adapted and performed by incredibly talented actors. The shows are a mix of humor, out-there story lines and occasionally talks of current events, that even for a kid to write about, is very spot on. Mind you, the BFF and I don't have kids (not fans), and yet we still come back every couple of months to see their ever changing show. So yes, adults - this show is still hilarious and worth seeing, even for us "grown-ups". Do yourself a favor, go see a show, and bring your friends. You're going to be addicted. PS: "The Long Day" will forever be the best sketch of them all. If you're ever lucky to see it, you'll probably tear up laughing as well.

Where else can you see plays about grannies who lean like cholos (performed as a rap), a Whopper…read moreJr. who attempts to save the life of John F. Kennedy (classic tragedy), and a bunny who ninja-fights bears (very Matrix-y) all in one night AND support creative writing programs in Chicago public schools at the same time? Barrel of Monkeys! This is the real have fun, do good deal - BofM runs creative writing programs in Chicago schools and turns the kids' stories, poems, and plays into performance pieces. The show, called That's Weird, Grandma, is held at the Neo Futurarium Monday nights at 8 and is a total steal at $10. I was first tuned in to That's Weird, Grandma after seeing one of the Barrel of Monkeys actors in The Neofuturist's Daredevils' Hamlet (Brennan Buhl, who, mark my words, will be famous). I managed to snag tickets through Free Night of Theater. My expectations were low - I tend to find Too Much Light Makes the Baby Go Blind shows uneven - some are fantastic and some are meh. I sort of saw That's Weird, Grandma as the little brother of TMLMTBGB. The first few skits seemed to confirm my bias, but after that, I was blown away. I've seen several shows recently (including one at Steppenwolf) and That's Weird, Grandma has been far and away the best. I laughed so hard I cried. Literally. And the best part? You get to vote for your favorite and least favorite plays, so the duds are quickly jettisoned from the show. Go see this. See it next Monday. Bring your friends. Buy a t-shirt. Do it for the kids. Won't somebody please think of the children?!?!