6:00 PM
6:00 PM
6:00 PM
6:00 PM
FRI
12/5 - 12/19
Musical, Variety
6:00 PM
Mainstage
Step into the one glamorous but now lovingly frayed Blue Velvet Lounge, where the only thing not improvised are the jazz standards crooned by lounge singer Seth Lowry. As Seth’s velvet voice fades, the ensemble sweeps in, spinning spontaneous scenes inspired directly by the songs just performed. One moment, you’re eavesdropping on the eccentric regulars tucked into the lounge’s candlelit corners; the next, you’re whisked far beyond the club to follow the unexpected lives of the characters you just met—bartenders with secret ambitions, mysterious strangers with tangled pasts, and dreamers who stepped into the Blue Velvet for reasons they can’t quite explain. Playful, surprising, and steeped in a retro-cool vibe, this show blends live music and improvised storytelling into a one-of-a-kind night where every note inspires a new twist—and every visit to the Blue Velvet reveals something you’ve never seen before.
Blue Velvet Lounge
Show Program - Cast & Creative Team
Fee Basanavicius
Fee Basanavicius is a Chicago based comedian/actor/writer/producer/director. She’s performs weekly improv with Improvised Jane Austen (iO, Saturdays @8pm) Fire & Beer (Annoyance, Saturdays @8pm) & Tippling House, (Home Comedy Theater house team, Fridays & Saturdays @8pm). Fee is also 1/2 of the 2-woman sketch group: Trash Panda Comedy (soon to be featured at Sketch Fest Chicago Nov 5th at 7:30pm). Check out their pilot on YouTube! She also co-hosts Y’all Open Mic at The Annoyance every Tuesday 5:30pm-7:30pm (starting back up in January 2026). For more details and info on her other projects visit her Instagram: @fbasanavicius
Sayjal Joshi
Sayjal Joshi is an Indian-American actress and improviser who grew up and went to theater college in Greensboro, NC where she co-founded a really cool improv comedy club called The Idiot Box. Credits include FOX’s Empire and Presumed Innocent, The Kennedy Center, The Goodman, Woolly Mammoth Theatre, The Second City e.t.c., The Second City National Touring Company, Norwegian Cruise Lines, The Annoyance, Laugh Out Loud Theater, The Improvised Shakespeare Company, and critically acclaimed Asian-American sketch ensemble, Stir- Friday Night! Writing and podcast credits include The Paper Machete, Just for Laughs, and Hello, from the Magic Tavern. She has a cat called Mouse, a dog called Bowie, and an awesome husband called Steve.
Seth K Lowery
Seth (they/them) is excited to be featured as the Blue Velvet Lounge Singer! They spend their time doing a combination of music and comedy and are so thrilled to get to marry the two in this awesome show. Seth is a full-time vocal coach specializing in contemporary singing styles, gender-affirming speech, and working with diverse learners. They have experience in musical theatre portraying roles such as Prince Herbert (Monty Python's Spamalot), Marcellus Washburn (The Music Man), and Mr. Mushnik (Little Shop of Horrors). Their first foray into comedy was here at the Annoyance Theatre, where they came up through the Annoyance Training Center. Since then, they have been performing improv, sketch, and cabaret, and they're glad to be represented as a sultry, hot, Queer person.
Tracey Rideout
paul grondy
Hello reader of Actor Bios. Good for you. You are assuming the full responsibility as a lover of live theater. If you saw Paul Grondy in the original cast of Blue Velvet Lounge, congratulations you are part of 90's improv lore. Paul has done a number of improv shows since the mid 90's, just ask him. Thank you for reading this entire Actor Bio.