11/21

WOAH! NEW EVERY MONTH. A raucous. raunchy, sometimes juvenile but always funny sketch show that will make your daddy give your mommy a pearl necklace... to clutch. Get tickets now, they're selling faster than a Stewie doll at Spencer's. DM: @Antivirginclub proof you bought tickets and we will draw you boobs.

Open Run

Are you and your improv team looking for another place to get on stage? We've got a warm and supportive room ready to give you laughs and claps! Bring your own team to Annoyance on Tuesday nights to get a rep in and giggle. If you don't have a team to bring, no worries! There's a mashup team and we're happy to throw you on it! Signups are at 8:30PM and we'll hit the stage at 9:00PM. See you every Tuesday!

12/29

When Baby New Year steals Father Time’s clock, chaos ensues as the Virgin Mary and Santa Claus team up to chase him down. Created by Chelsea Matkins and Conner Stumm, this one hour slightly improvised play has an all star cast and is guaranteed to be a hilarious hit. One night only!

Open Run

An hour long comedy show featuring some of Annoyance Theatre’s best and funniest. Show Runner: Hails Reeves

12/12, 12/19, 1/2

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 Lowery. 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.

1/22 - 2/26

Just like your favorite snack, Comedy Chex Mix serves up a crunchy combo of comedy styles that keeps you coming back for more. Each show features two dynamic high-energy improv teams whose sets are inspired by performances from two local Chicago stand-ups with Heya Toots! as your headliner every show.

Rotating improv teams Old Friends and Funny Business bring their own unique flavors to the mix, while sharp comedians like Anna Byrd, Jordan Euell, Rebecca Augustine, Yzzy Zarate, Emilia Barrosse, Nathan Matos, Becca Nix, Mary Budd, Mia Pillar, Stevie McDunn, Chloe Burns, and Evelyn Lawrence keep the stand-up lineup fresh.


It's the perfect blend of killer stand-up, spontaneous scenes, and that unpredictable flavor you didn't know you needed. Every show is different, every laugh is fresh, and every bite-sized bit hits just right.

10/3, 11/7, 12/5

Hail and well met, traveler! Grab a drink, put up your cloak, and I’ll tell you a tale. Escapades is a completely improvised choose-your-own adventure. Sprinkled throughout each story are opportunities for the audience to vote on what happens next. Whether we’re riding jetpacks on Mars or a unicorn through a gumdrop forest, you’re guaranteed a night of gasps, laughs, twists, turns, and daring rescues. Excelsior!

1/2 - 2/27

As a Christian kid, maybe you grew up with Veggie Tales, Psalty the Singing Songbook, or The Donut Man. But what wholesome content do the kids of today have? Why, Benny Bingo and the Evangelikids of course! Become an Evangelikid and meet us at the Flamingo Club House! We'll learn all about Jesus and the Gospel through songs, stories, prescriptive gender roles, and patriarchy! But when the cameras cut, it seems like some of the kids, and perhaps even Benny Bingo himself, are starting to have questions....maybe even doubts? Watch this heartwarming and hilarious original musical that explores themes of deconstruction, queerness, and individuality within the confines of an oppressive belief system — all while unapologetically leaning into joy.

Cast:
Andrew Jessop - Benny Bingo
Samantha Nieves - Samantha
Jono Mammel - Chris
Lily Ryan - Joey
Jacob Coldiron - Eddie
David Ward - Phillip
Viv Vaeth - Paget
Megan Ramsey - Stage Manager

Jess Alexander - Benny Bingo u/s
Henry Olson - Chris/Eddie/Phillip u/s
Gilary Valenzuela - Joey/Stage Manager u/s
Gabriella Smurawa - Madeleine/Paget u/s

— —

Lisa McQueen - Music Director
Barb Jackson - Director
Hugh Walker - Writer/Composer
Liz McCreight - Producer

11/21-12/27

Enjoy an evening of off-the-cuff improv with some of the best emerging talent in the Chicago area. Fire & Beer is a fully improvised comedy show that explores the dark sides of life, relationships and human beings. The show features the Annoyance House Ensemble who excel at both long- and short-form improv. You can expect lots of laughs during this unpredictable improv show.

Open Run

A Chicago based improv comedy show and drinking game based on the works of Alfred Hitchcock. Based on an audience suggestion, the cast weave together an intricate Hitchcock-like drama, while holding true to the amount of drinking shown in his movies. You'll barely be able to stand the suspense, and the cast will barely be able to stand.

Open Run

See a collage of character studies, scenes, songs and maybe even some audience interaction, all written in a week by some of Chicago’s most accomplished comedians. The “Holy Fuck Comedy Hour” is a curated hour of eclectic, comedic material written in a week with no rehearsals. Featuring a powerful collective representing a wide cross-section of the Chicago comedy community, the material varies every week.

1/11

Open your mouth and say ‘Ha!’ Iron Lung is a brand new sketch group bringing you a full hour of both live and pre-taped sketches! Originally from Mizzou, the group has taken their talents to The Windy City and put together a completely original sketch revue for The Annoyance Theater! So grab some friends and some drinks, because the doctors will see you now!

Open Run

You've been summoned...to laugh.

Jury Duty is a fully improvised courtroom comedy where the only thing on trial is sanity itself.

Each night, the cast creates a brand new legal disaster based on audience suggestion, questionable logic, and total chaos. Watch as the foreperson loses their mind, evidence makes things worse, and deliberations go off the rails.

No script, no rules, no justice. Just comedy

The trial is fake, the laughs are real

SAT 12/27

Lipstick Lounge🫦 is your new monthly haven for 💥bold sapphics💥, 💃🏽alluring femmes💃🏽, and ✨magnetic thems✨ to connect, celebrate, and ignite something special TOGETHER. This is more than a party; it’s our space to be seen, desired, and truly at home in each other’s company!!! We’ll be fully taking over 📍The Annoyance Theater📍with TWO DJS, a tattoo parlor, tooth gems, drag, market, and even a place where you can play board games when you have a touch of the overstimmys 💓

Join us for the debut night and say you where there from the start!! See y’all:

🚨⏰SATURDAY JUNE 7TH 11PM-3AM⏰🚨

⭐️Poster Design by the talented @javi.x.gutierrez ⭐️

❤️‍🔥And as always, Dama Productions is committed to creating a safe and celebratory space for our BIPOC, queer, and differently abled family.❤️‍🔥.
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Open Run

Missed Call is a premiere Chicago comedy group that writes and performs an entirely new sketch show every Friday.

Open Run

Hosted by members of Tuesday Musical Improv, this free weekly jam allows anyone to try out musical improv on the Annoyance Mainstage. Sign-ups begin at 6:45--no experience necessary!

12/24, 12/25

No Shows!

Open Run

Open Stage is an opportunity for anyone to get on stage and try out whatever they're currently working on - standup, sketch, songs - you name it. At Open Stage anything can happen and it usually does!

11/29 - 12/27

What even is Hanukkah? And how the hell do you spell it?? "OY!" is back with sketches, songs, and improv from an all-Jewish cast exploring the customs and cultures that bring Jews together all over the world, while also celebrating Jewish joy and traditions. So get off your tuchus and come celebrate the holidays with us!

1/31 - 3/28

Football: Four quarters and 100 yards of American Dream. And nowhere is the dream more alive than Tacoma Washington High School. This musical takes you through the raunchy highs and tragic lows of high school football. The season isn’t over til the whistle blows and we didn’t hear no whistle. Saturdays at 7:30 January 31st through March 7th. Limited Sunday show run tickets available.

1/21, 2/18, 3/18, 4/15

Throw on your slip because it’s time to get Dressed Up! Slip Dress is hosting a slumber party a.k.a. a monthly variety hour and YOU’RE INVITED!!! Full of sketch, improv, characters, and more, this show is the dance you do with your friend for your parents. Bold. Whimsical. Vigorously rehearsed. With material that explores shower thoughts and the charming awkwardness of being a human, we celebrate the parts of ourselves that emerge after everyone else falls asleep early. So, pack your retainer, grab your sleeping bag, and delight with us in embracing the cringe.

Open Run

A night for Annoyance students to JAM!

1/22 - 2/12

Super Scaries is back - and more terrifying than ever. Super Scaries presents a completely improvised horror musical that conjures an entirely new nightmare each night - never seen before, never to be seen again. The cast crafts a chilling tale from one audience suggestion of an ordinary object that turns out to be anything but. A cursed hairbrush that steals your best friend. A radio that won’t stop whispering your name. A key that unlocks something best left closed. Equal parts terror and hilarity, Super Scaries is a darkly funny dive into fear, fate, and the unexpected, before it's gone forever by the final note.

Open Run

Annoyance founder Mick Napier created the Trigger Happy form out of a desire to make improv look as slick and beautifully put together as a scripted show. Through a language invisible to the audience, the fully improvised show magically comes to life. There is truly nothing else like it. An Annoyance Signature Improv show.

Review: https://www.newcitystage.com/2015/01/31/review-trigger-happythe-annoyance-theatre/

Open Run

The Annoyance's very own musical ensembles. Every Tuesday at 8pm, two groups improvise brand new musicals based on audience suggestions. Featuring Musical Director Lisa McQueen and starring the Annoyance Musical Ensembles. Follow us on instagram: @tuesdaymusicalimprov

Open Run

They take edibles. Then they improvise. There's a 'too-high' button, for when it gets too crazy.

Open Run

Looking for a Stand-up Comedy Open Mic that’s a supportive room and always a good time? Look no further than the Ya'll Mic. Whether you’re a seasoned comic, an improvisor who’s always wanted to try standup, or you just decided that today’s the day for your first open mic (kudos) – The Ya'll Mic is a great venue to workshop your bits. The show is every Tuesday from 5:30pm – 7:30pm. Signup is online and the signup sheet is posted on Facebook & IG on Mondays. The list is emailed out a few hours before the show. Comics get 4 minutes of stage time (and a lifetime of memories.) While all are welcome, the room prioritizes BIPOC, LGBTQ+, and Femme comics. Come laugh with us!