Shows & Events | Annoyance Theatre & Bar

Baby Wine	FRI	9:30 PM	BABY WINE is one of Chicago's longest running LGBTQ+ comedy variety shows. Hosted by Baby Wine's core ensemble, each week a rotating lineup of queer performers open the show with a variety of acts ranging from standup to sketch to music to improv to drag. Baby Wine closes out the show with a no holds barred, long-form improv set. Come lol with us babe!
Best of Annoyance Sketch	SAT	9:30 PM	An hour long comedy show featuring some of Annoyance Theatre’s best and funniest. Show Runner: Hails Reeves
Burlesque is Gore 2024	FRI	8:30 PM	A spooky-fun Halloween themed sexy burlesque show!
Burlesque is Gore 2024 HALLOWEEN SPECIAL	THU	10:30 PM	A spooky-fun Halloween themed sexy burlesque show!
CHIP Chats	SAT	8:00 PM	CHIP Chats is a PowerPoint comedy show loosely based on TED Talks- but where TED stands for Technology, Entertainment, and Design, CHIP stands for Comedy, Hilarity, Insanity, and Pointlessness- and we deliver on those promises. We here at CHIP Chats can guarantee that by the end of every show you will either learn something or not! Like TED Talks, but much Worse.
Cafe Lounge Underwater	TUE	9:30 PM	Cafe Lounge Underwater brings three brilliant minds to the stage in a brand-new sketch show-with almost no performing experience. But hey, they’re all pretty tall.Where they fall short in structure, they fill the gap with jokes at Miss Piggy’s expense. Come see Cafe Lounge at the Annoyance Theatre and Bar, Tuesdays at 9:30 PM-we know you’re not busy!
Colosseum	SAT	10:30 PM	A night of Roman fuckery. Watch philosophers roast each other, improv gladiators battle, and kneel to Cesar in this truly unruly night of alt-comedy.
Comedian Cabaret	THU	9:30 PM	Comedian Cabaret is back for spooky season with our 13th show: Dancing With The Devil! Come see some of Chicago's best improvisers and musical comedians sing legit Broadway repertoire. No improv musicals here, just straight up showtunes about hell, devils, ghosts, goblins, ghouls, or just general spookiness! These comedians can sing so well, it's scary! Hosts: Andrew Baldwin, Natalie Younger Pianists: Lisa McQueen, Bryce Halliday Performers: Emilia Barrosse, Hannah Belmont, Allison Cochrane, Laura Dellis, Sheri Flanders, Miranda Hunter, Mary Kate Kelly, Mason King, Grace Lenaghan, Samantha Nieves, Alisa Rosenthal, Alyssa Shuster, Maggie Smith, Chase Thede, Brandon Thomas, Cody Lee Walker, Chris Ward, Jordan Zelvin
Creature Feature	WED	9:30 PM	Join the CinEvil Society as they search for the world's most evil film! Be the test audience as your villainous late-night host screens a select horror movie to scare you to death. Unfortunately, the aging VHS tapes used to copy these fiendish films have degraded over the years, and the missing scenes must be re-created by a cast of damned improvises freshly summoned from the netherworld, even though they've never seen the original movie. What creature will feature next? The hungry C.H.U.D.? The groovy Ghoulies? Or maybe the Big Balls of Phantasm? Dare to buy a ticket to this late fright screening and find out!
David & David	SAT	6:00 PM	In “David & David”, audiences will be delighted (and a little confused) as they are welcomed into 123 Main Street, the brownstone apartment of the titular roommates David Byrne and David Lynch, played by David Lynch and David Byrne, reverse respectively. First performed at The Annoyance as a sold-out test show back in December of 2023, David & David is an exploration/parody/send-up of 80’s sitcoms that promises to make you (and the pre-recorded live studio audience) laugh, applaud, whistle, and cheer. CW: Fake gun (and accompanying single gunshot sound effect), mentions of self-harm, and dramatized violence
DePaul's Joint Collaboration Workshop: Teach Me How To Rizz	SUN	8:00 PM	Teach Me How to Rizz: Showoff is a competition of skill orchestrated by the President & Vice President of DePaul's Rizz Club. Each Sunday two competitors face off in games that will test their inner charizzma, with only one coming out on top. Who will Rizz? Who will Lose? You decide!
DePaul's Joint Collaboration Workshop: The People's Process	SUN	8:00 PM	Take control of your comedy today with The People's Process! A work in process comedy show in collaboration with DePaul.
Deep Schwa	SUN	8:00 PM	See Chicago's longest-running improv team bring their unique blend of big characters and absurd situations to the stage with infectious energy. Formed in 1996, Deep Schwa has performed over a thousand shows in theaters all over Chicago and beyond. Made up of an evolving cast of ten of the city's best veteran players. Each show singular, each show electric.
Escapades	FRI	10:30 PM	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!
Fire & Beer: Annoyance House Ensemble	SAT	8:00 PM	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.
Fishbowl with Sight Unseen	THU	9:30 PM	A two act improv show. First, Annoyance students get a chance to enter their IDs into a fishbowl to be randomly selected to perform in an improv jam with veteran Annoyance teachers and performers. Then, the night closes with a set from Sight Unseen, an Annoyance house team who, for almost the past decade, has been known for its loose narrative form and vibrant (sometimes vicious) characters.
Flex	WED	8:30 PM	Flex Improv is made up of some of the best and wildest BIPOC performers in Chicago. From heart felt laughs, physical comedy, monologues, and singing, you never know what to expect from Flex. With new openers each week, including our Lab Cast starting October 09, and of course us!
Forgive Me, Estoy Aprendiendo	THU	9:30 PM	“Forgive Me, Estoy Aprendiendo” enters a world where language is universal. 50% de los actors hablan español, y 50% do not hablan español.
Halloween Double Feature	THU	8:00 PM	Halloween Double Feature Join us at the Annoyance for a bloody sexy time on Halloween! Come dressed up, buy a drink, and enjoy two shows (Splatter Theater and Burlesque is Gore) for a discounted price! Included Events Splatter Theater: Thu - Oct 31, 2024 - 8:00pm CDT Burlesque is Gore: Thu - Oct 31, 2024 - 10:30pm CDT
Hitch*Cocktails	FRI	10:30 PM	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.
Hold These Truths	TUE	6:30 PM	HOLD THESE TRUTHS explores the beginnings of the US, the American Revolution, the Declaration of Independence, and the Constitution. Featuring insight, notable figures, anecdotes, and storytelling, solo performance veteran Paul Turner examines how we got here, politically. Turner’s stories are informed by his indelible experiences going to a county courthouse nearly every day during his childhood. MORE...
Holy Fuck Comedy Hour	FRI	11:59 PM	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.
It's Your Funeral	SUN	6:00 PM	As far as we know, no one has ever been able to attend their own funeral… Until now! Part funeral, part late night variety show, “It’s Your Funeral” allows our special guest (the dearly departed) an opportunity to get a glimpse of what they’ll be missing by bringing together a bunch of their favorite performers for a merry evening of mourning. Hosted by Funeral Director, Francis Formalin. Come celebrate the living by pretending they’re dead!
Let's Play a Game	SAT	10:00 PM	Who's Line is it Anyways meets Fear Factor in “Let’s Play a Game”. Each week, a new crazed killer will put their cast of victims through their own twisted games. If the players succeed, they earn points. Losers take on disadvantages that may end up costing them future wins. Interspersed throughout are mini challenges where players can try to get rid of their hindrances as they fight for their lives. In the end, only one of them can earn the the spot of the night's sole survivor and escape the killer's evil clutches.
Little Orphan Boy	FRI	6:30 PM	The critically acclaimed original musical returns one more time to the Annoyance Theater just in time for the holiday season. Come enjoy some of Chicago’s biggest up-and-coming comedic performers in this heartfelt parody inspired by all of your favorite orphan media, from classic stories like “Annie” and “Oliver”, to more recent tales like Harry Potter and Batman. "Little Orphan Boy the Musical!" follows the uplifting tale of a Little English Lad who has lost his Mum yet again, this time in the city that never sleeps, New York, baby! See why critics are calling it, “stupid done smart” (Chicago Reader), “laugh out loud funny” (Newcity Stage), and “on the cusp of becoming a huge hit” (Rikki Lee Travolta). You’ll find yourself singing these songs for weeks after joining a little British lad on his search to find his mum in NYC. PG-13 due to language, some material may be inappropriate for children under 13.
Little Orphan Boy	SAT	8:00 PM	The critically acclaimed original musical returns one more time to the Annoyance Theater just in time for the holiday season. Come enjoy some of Chicago’s biggest up-and-coming comedic performers in this heartfelt parody inspired by all of your favorite orphan media, from classic stories like “Annie” and “Oliver”, to more recent tales like Harry Potter and Batman. "Little Orphan Boy the Musical!" follows the uplifting tale of a Little English Lad who has lost his Mum yet again, this time in the city that never sleeps, New York, baby! See why critics are calling it, “stupid done smart” (Chicago Reader), “laugh out loud funny” (Newcity Stage), and “on the cusp of becoming a huge hit” (Rikki Lee Travolta). You’ll find yourself singing these songs for weeks after joining a little British lad on his search to find his mum in NYC. PG-13 due to language, some material may be inappropriate for children under 13.
Little Orphan Boy	SUN	3:00 PM	The critically acclaimed original musical returns one more time to the Annoyance Theater just in time for the holiday season. Come enjoy some of Chicago’s biggest up-and-coming comedic performers in this heartfelt parody inspired by all of your favorite orphan media, from classic stories like “Annie” and “Oliver”, to more recent tales like Harry Potter and Batman. "Little Orphan Boy the Musical!" follows the uplifting tale of a Little English Lad who has lost his Mum yet again, this time in the city that never sleeps, New York, baby! See why critics are calling it, “stupid done smart” (Chicago Reader), “laugh out loud funny” (Newcity Stage), and “on the cusp of becoming a huge hit” (Rikki Lee Travolta). You’ll find yourself singing these songs for weeks after joining a little British lad on his search to find his mum in NYC. PG-13 due to language, some material may be inappropriate for children under 13.
Love at Stake	FRI	7:00 PM	In this 50-minute comedy, meet the Orlocks - a family composed of a vampire father, a human mother, and a half-vampire child who find themselves embroiled in the biggest question that's faced their family: does Mom actually love Dad or is she under the sway of his vampiric charms? Featuring other classic monsters like ghosts, a mummy, a zombie, and a murderous aunt - something is bound to get staked.
Meaning and Nuance	SAT	11:00 PM	A night of reflection with Avery McClure
Missed Call	FRI	8:00 PM	Missed Call is a premiere Chicago comedy group that writes and performs an entirely new sketch show every Friday.
Motorcycle Rocketship	FRI	10:30 PM	Motorcycle Rocketship is more than just a hilarious sketch show with new material every week. It’s a journey through the zeitgeist of culture. It’s a psychedelic submarine swimming through an ocean of ideas. It’s a really big box with a smaller box inside of it, and inside of THAT box? Laughter. So strap in for the ride of your ride of your life, sweet chunklets, because this motorcycle is rocketshipping all the way to the bank.
Music Jam - FREE!	TUE	7:00 PM	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!
Mutt Competition Show	SUN	9:30 PM	This competition game show will have a variety of different games, trivia, and punishments while inviting the audience to enter for a chance to participate. Each show will have a different theme that serves as an experience for the entire show. Contestants will compete for the Ultimate Winner of the Night!
Open Stage - Free!	TUE	9:30 PM	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!
Penne BOO-gate!	WED	8:00 PM	The world famous Penne Rigate is BACK in an all new spooky five week Halloween television special filmed LIVE at The Annoyance theater! He'll make you laugh! He'll interview famous best friend guests! He'll receive the Black Mark of Death, a curse upon the studio which unleashes monsters of unimaginable horror, bless your soul, vade retro, Satana! Vade retro, Il Cattivo! Wednesdays in October at 8:30. Ciao, bella!
Pilot Season: Improvised CW Pilots	THU	8:00 PM	Back with an extra spooky and dramatic show for October...every week we're pitching a new and completely improvised CW style pilot episode. Based on your suggestions for mythological creatures, small-town obsessions, and evil villains; there will be love triangles, vampires, witches, and all the teenage angst your heart desires. Will any of our pilots get picked up to prime time tv? Will we invent the next Vampire Diaries or Riverdale? Come find out this October 3rd - 24th, Thursdays at 8pm in the Annoyance Mainstage!
Rybellion	SAT	4:00 PM	The Rybellion is the seventh recorder recital/concert/spectacular. Ryan will play the recorder to hits from Cowboy Carter, the Eras Tour and more.
STFU	WED	6:30 PM	Are you someone who chronically suffers from "saying the wrong thing, at the wrong time, perhaps to the wrong people in the wrong setting, at times in the wrong tone and maybe even the wrong cadence” syndrome? If so, you may be entitled to treatment at Annoyance Theatre on Wednesday nights at 6:30. Get exposure therapy by watching a blend of multimedia and live sketches performed and created by by the frighteningly talented cast of STFU not STFU Shut The F#!% Up Sketch Revue!
Sketchual Education presents Enough With the Boo Sheet!	TUE	8:00 PM	Welcome ghouls and goblins to a variety night of fun and laughter. Sketchual Education presents Enough With the Boo Sheet! With splendid spooky acts that you’ll be freighted to miss!
So Far So Good presents Gangnam Style	MON	8:00 PM	An all new hour of original sketches and songs by So Far So Good, the comedy supergroup of Eamon Hegarty and Nicholas Rohrman. Why is it called Gangnam Style? I don’t know, it sounds cool. I don’t know of anything else that has that name. We made it up. Don’t google that, just trust me.
Splatter Theater 2024	SAT	7:00 PM	In the town of Mayfield, thirteen horror movie caricatures find themselves at the murderous whims of some guy in a hockey mask.” In the annual remount of the company's Flagship slasher parody, Splatter Theatre showcases the best performers from The Annoyance Theater as cliche horror movie characters: Each murdered in wildly creative and bloody ways. Splatter Theater has been a tradition of the Annoyance for over thirty years and this production continues that hallowed tradition. With freshly painted white walls, the stage will be drenched in gallons of blood, horrifying and delighting the audience along the way. If you love classic slasher films, you’ll love this campy take on the genre. And if horror movies aren’t your thing, you’ll love the way Splatter takes those tropes and laughs in their faces. Celebrate Halloween with Splatter Theater starting Saturdays at 7PM from September 21st to October 26th and a very special Halloween night performance October 31st the Mainstage of the Annoyance Theater.
Splatter Theater Halloween 2024	THU	8:00 PM	“In the town of Mayfield, thirteen horror movie caricatures find themselves at the murderous whims of some guy in a hockey mask.” In the annual remount of the company's Flagship slasher parody, Splatter Theatre showcases the best performers from The Annoyance Theater as cliche horror movie characters: Each murdered in wildly creative and bloody ways. Splatter Theater has been a tradition of the Annoyance for over thirty years and this production continues that hallowed tradition. With freshly painted white walls, the stage will be drenched in gallons of blood, horrifying and delighting the audience along the way. If you love classic slasher films, you’ll love this campy take on the genre. And if horror movies aren’t your thing, you’ll love the way Splatter takes those tropes and laughs in their faces. Celebrate Halloween with Splatter Theater starting Saturdays at 7PM from September 21st to October 26th and a very special Halloween night performance October 31st the Mainstage of the Annoyance Theater.
Student Jam	MON	9:30 PM	A night for Annoyance students to JAM!
Summer Scaries	WED	9:30 PM	Summer Scaries: The Improvised Teen Horror Musical will have you screaming for your life - and singing along! Inspired by everyone's favorite nostalgic teen horror book series, the cast will improvise a fully original musical based on an audience suggestion of one unusual object that causes havoc around their weird little town. A haunted eyelash curler that melts faces? A possessed film projector that shows you your own demise? A quilt whose seams will tie you in knots? Whatever the culprit, you'll be stunned at the twists and turns. Reader Beware!
Super Human	THU	8:00 PM	Super Human is an improv team that tore into Chicago’s comedy scene in 2012 at The Upstairs Gallery (RIP). Since then, Super Human has become synonymous with bold, hilarious, fearless and fun comedy. Described as a “splash zone of women,” Super Human prides itself on the team’s diverse personalities and playing styles, with an unmistakable focus on creating inclusive learning and performance spaces. They are Super Human and SO ARE YOU!
Sydney Castillo My Cup is Full	THU	7:00 PM	Sydney’s comedic style is dynamic and versatile, blending observational humor with clever wordplay and razor-sharp social commentary. Whether he's riffing on everyday absurdities, sharing hilarious anecdotes from his own life, or delving into topical issues with a fresh perspective, Sydney's material resonates with audiences of all backgrounds. With each punchline, he proves why he's one of the most exciting and sought-after comedians in the industry today.
Teeny Tiny Character Show	FRI	10:30 PM	The Teeny Tiny Character Show is just that: a petite little space for comedians to showcase their characters. Will and Rachel will guide some of Chicago’s best performers through a night of miniature monologues and itty-bitty improv. Join us for a small night of big laughs. Let’s get little!
To What End?	TUE	8:00 PM	To What End? presents a one-night only show live at The Annoyance Theatre and Bar. Come see their classic improv as well as brand new sketches, with opening act The Good Time Girls. Featuring Robert McNickle, Emma Tolley, Joseph Peregrine, and Zora Grace.
Trigger Happy: Annoyance Signature Improv	SAT	7:00 PM	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/
Tuesday Musical Improv	TUE	8:00 PM	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