I just happened to be in town, and staying in my usual Magnificent Mile area. And I never knew…read morethere was a comedy club just a few blocks away and above Gino's East. You should purchase tickets in advance, which I did online. There were two shows the night I went, one at 7 and again at 9. And there's a 2 item minimum (pretty standard for comedy clubs). I had a great time and I was there totally solo. Sara, my server, took good care of me, And when I had my small deep dish pizza come to my table, my life was complete!! Fine Chicago entertainment, and I didn't even have to uber anywhere.

I was looking for something fun to do on a Monday evening and realized there are many comedy clubs…read morein the city. I decided to go with The Comedy Bar and buying tickets was easy through Eventbrite. It was about $30 per ticket and they have a 2-item minimum buy at the venue (pretty typical for comedy clubs). We arrived about 15 minutes before the show and walked up several flights of stairs to the venue. It was pretty empty when we got there and we were asked if we wanted the first or second row... we opted for a table further back. The drink menu is varied and there's a full bar so we got a couple of their specialty cocktails ($16), which were fine. As with any stand up show, the comedy varied and some sets hit better than others. They had several comedians do short sets and then did a late night talk show-style interview after for some of them. I think it would have been more fun with a bigger/different crowd, but overall a good way to have some laughs. It was a fun evening and I'm glad we went.

Had such a fun night at The Second City! my cheeks hurt from laughing the whole night! I loved…read morebeing able to had good and drink served right to our table!

Such a fun time at The Second City! This was my first time experiencing a show here, and it was a…read morecool. The performers were quick, hilarious, and did a great job working with the crowd. I laughed a lot. I had general admission tickets, and we were seated in a great spot off-center from the stage in the raised seating section. The mix of great comedy, food, drinks, and a lively atmosphere makes this a perfect spot for a night out. Definitely a Chicago experience worth checking out!

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.

I mean Zanies kind of just speaks for itself at this point. I've attended several shows here with…read morethe latest one being Maddie Mays. They always have the best of the best lineups. A real dimly lit intimate setting with all the comedy legends post on the wall. I've never had bad service. The drinks will get you right. Definitely check out a show here if you haven't already.

Great comedy show!…read more Went to She the People (an all-women comedy show by Second City), and it was fantastic. Wait service was attentive as well. Upon arrival, IDs and vaccination cards were checked. At the entrance to the theater, the host checks your tickets and determines where you will be sitting. She asked for my party's preferences on how close we wanted to sit (the closer to the front, the greater chance you'll be asked to interact). Menu isn't super big (one page, drinks on one side and food on the other). I didn't eat a full meal here; just had some curly fries ($5) that came with ketchup and was just the right size for a snack. Fries were tasty and salty, although I ALWAYS wish I had more fries. Seating is pretty close together; multiple parties end up sharing tables since seats are positioned in rows with the occasional table in the middle of some rows. That being said, although I was sharing my table with two other parties (one on the other side of the table to my right and another behind diagonally from me), I didn't feel overly crowded at this venue. As per their website, I brought a jacket to the venue and was the most comfortable wearing it based on the temperature. The show itself was fantastic; as expected, it incorporated feminist themes into the comedy. Pretty funny show! Bathrooms were also open, clean, and had plenty of stalls.

This review is based on a recent Sunday Brunch at the UP Comedy Club…read more The building complex which includes this club, Second City Club, a fitness center and has an attached parking garage. The building is located on the corner of North Avenue & Wells Street so this place is very convenient for it's patrons. Take the escalator to the second floor and then we had to present our brunch ticket. From there, we were taken into our seating area. The table is basically the railing and the chairs are very close together. Which has it's pluses and minuses. The buffet area is well planned out and has a wide variety of options. This buffet is pretty descent for the venue. The staff was very pleasant and would check in with us for any drinks / clearing of the plates. After, the brunch, there was about an improv show. The show was about 60 minutes. I give the comedians two thumbs up. Let's face it... it's hard to stand up there and give a great show. I would recommend this brunch and show option.

Super great time at the comedy show. Exclusively on Wednesdays. we got to see up and coming…read morecomedians along with some on netflix and other shows. Food was good, got the birria bowl & honey shrimp bowl!

Best live stand-up I've been to. Each and every person was amazing. I highly suggest watching and…read morethe $20 is more than well spent.

OMG! SO not what we were expecting, but so much more! We saw Romeo & Juliet--but what we saw was…read morenot the traditional play but a very modernized, highly sexualized (in the best, funniest, way) performance, based upon the basics of Shakespeare's most well-known tragedy. Let's put it this way--fight scenes were conducted with dild*** instead of swords, the language was VERY blue, with many references of LGBTQ orientation--and we laughed so hard through the WHOLE thing that my face hurt afterward. I could not recommend this experience enough for people with open minds and hearts. The venue is very small and intimate--three rows of benches--so you almost feel like you're part of the performance. If you pay for the top tier ticket, you're in the front row, and may actually BECOME part of the performance in a small way. As for refreshments, you use QR codes on your benches to order beverages delivered directly to you throughout the show, and they offer seasoned nuts or popcorn if you want something to munch on.

Ignore what you read online, doors do not open until 15 minutes before showtime. But timing is…read moreeverything. We arrived 45 minutes early, not a soul in sight so we went shopping for a bit. We got back 15 minutes before showtime and were almost the last ones seated. It didn't really matter, the venue is quite small and I don't think there is a bad seat in the place. We sat "stage side" which means the front row. (Strongly recommend these seats). Everyone is given a shot (alcohol/not flu) upon entering. Nasty red stuff but it's just setting the stage for what was to come. The actors were in full swing even before showtime. Interacting with the audience, just working the room getting us ready to get loud. It worked! There is no food for sale but a themed drink menu is available. You can order at the bar but they encourage you to use a QR code found on the seat underneath your butt. Everyone was ordering at the same time and the system crashed. I should have taken that as a warning and skipped the drink. By the time I was able to order and the time I waited for my drink, the show was half over. I ordered a "hemoglobin": Evan Williams bourbon, cherry schnapps, black cherry syrup, and lemon juice garnished with a cherry. It was awful. Robitussin comes to mind. In this case, "Pre-gaming" would have been the way to go. The premise - one actor drinks 5 shots of whiskey and proceeds to put on a show. There was definitely some imbibing going on backstage with the other actors. As the show progressed, the laughs from not only the audience but also the actors increased exponentially. There is a lot of audience participation that I'll not ruin for you. Do be warned, if you are easily offended, you probably want to skip this one. the language is pretty raunchy but it was funny. Would we go again? Maybe to see a different show but I doubt it. It's kind of one of those experiences that you need to see once. After that, it's just redundant. (BTW, I don't know if I'm allowed to say this here but look for a Groupon. I'm always up for a deal!)

A dear friend of ours bought tickets for my wife and I to come here for our birthdays. I knew…read morenothing about this until we read a bit about it before the show. The online reviews and hype about this place and this show are pretty positive, but I have a different view... This is WAY better than the reviews say (yeah, I know they are all like 4 stars - this is better than that!). The staff is awesome. They are good comedians, personable, friendly, and great at improvisation. The venue is small, but intimate and totally worth it. The food is great, and the drinks are surprisingly reasonably priced. The best thing about this show is the "batsu", meaning that those comedians who don't do the best job get punished. Yes, punished, in the most hilarious ways. They do a lot of somewhat standard improv, but it is also different. They get some audience participation (no, you won't be punished in any seriously bad way if you fail - just take it in stride and there is nothing bad). They incorporate some drinking, some games, some chance, some audience voting and a lot more. This is a great show! Super funny, original, with good foods and drinks. I will definitely be coming back!! Yeah with my tutu...

Where to start lol an experience to remember! I guess this is improv? I'm not sure how to describe…read moreit; first, there was a short line to get in, they were checking I.Ds, they told us some rules and we got sat at our table. The place was smaller then I expected, dark, felt like a nightclub without the loud music and open dance floor. The show started a bit after we got seated and it was interesting.. it was fine I didn't find it that funny BUT it was entertaining seeing people act absolutely absurd. Their playlist was really good, I was loving that! The food was surprisingly very good. We got sushi, edamame, and shrimp. It was really good! I would bring friends here who are into improv!

We were at The Trickery last weekend for a magic show - our age group ranged from teens to senior…read morecitizens and we all had a blast. The highlight of our weekend in Chicago. Aaron and Steve are truly amazing magicians and performers - highly recommend!

We attended Trickery on Saturday 04/18/26. Aaron was adept at working with a diverse audience to…read moreinclude them and maintain control of his performance in a very intimate setting. Because it's BYOB you'll get the 20-somethings that feel they have to get loaded beforehand and then act the fool while attending (do you hear that "Neil"? No one wants the focus on you acting like it was your first experience with alcohol) but Aaron was skilled at bypassing them without causing tension or escalating bad behavior. Aaron's attitude is one of someone who has worked hard to make this little venture work, and he deserves respect and recognition for his obvious commitment and work ethic. His act included variations of tricks performed by other magicians, with his own twists. He is an expert at sleight of hand and distraction, which is considerably more difficult in a room about the size of an average residential living-room. He had an appropriate sense of humor aligned with an audience coming to Boystown, an overtly gay neighborhood in Chicago (if you're not familiar). However he wasn't garish, flaming, flamboyant, or offensive; he managed a perfect balance of innuendo humor and audience engagement without being cheap or ingenuine. The snarky one-liners will likely go over your young kids' heads (although bring them to an early show, your 9 year old doesn't belong in Boystown at 10 pm on a weekend), and he carries himself with class avoiding the use of profanity or graphic terms. Again, I can't overstate that his tricks were amazing, impressive, and captivating - as magic should be. You leave the show shaking your head and wondering how it's done - which truly makes it "magic". You would be hard-pressed to spend $36.36/person for an hour of live entertainment that can match Aaron's performance. Pro-tip: If you're driving there you will need to use an app to reserve parking, as there aren't garages like downtown Chicago and every street is filled with so many signs there's no way you will return and find your car not-towed or not-ticketed. Chicago does this on purpose to generate revenue; you'll see "street cleaning" on Tuesday from xx hour to xx hour, no parking when snow is over 2 inches OR any time from Dec 1 through April 1, loading zone, 15 minute stopping/standing with flashers, no parking, residential permit zone only, bike lanes, bus stop restrictions, etc. If you find street parking and think you've beaten the system, think again. Nobel Prize Laureates, Rhodes Scholars, Ivy League PhDs, Mensa members - you can meet them all at Chicago Central Auto Pound retrieving their vehicles. Stephen Hawking couldn't drive, but if he could and he parked in that neighborhood all the quantum mechanics in the world wouldn't make his towed car reappear from the Chicago Parking space-time continuum. The nice thing is if you do reserve parking and give yourself enough time you can walk to many, many restaurants and bars in the area that are open even after the 10 pm show ends. Thank you Aaron for a wonderful experience, you made my wife's birthday memorable for both of us.

I enjoyed the show quite a bit! Note that they have a metal detector situation at the door and a…read moretwo drink minimum. They had several comedians come on stage, and a host comedian who introduced each act. The comedians were funny and it was a great time! If you don't want to be picked on by the comedians, then don't sit in the front row!

3-4 out of the 7 comedians were decent or better. Tickets were cheap at $25/piece but the 2 drink…read moreminimum is stupid. Just include it in the price of the ticket. My wife and I don't drink but we ended up spending $50+ on mocktails which was about the same as the tickets and was an unexpected surprise. Stupid policy. The chairs are also very uncomfortable. Try to get a booth - they looked comfier.

I didn't eat here but I did order an espresso martini which was delicious!! I was here for an…read moreimprov show that my daughter was in. It's a delightful theater and we had so much fun! I ordered from the server in theater who was super nice! There are also bars you can order from if you prefer. They have many shows here all week, so I'm sure that there is something for everyone! Definitely visit this place!

Good location. So…read moremuch talent. Nice fully stocked bars. Super clean all around. Chicken tenders were not good. Nice bartenders.