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The Chicago Reader

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Arts & Culture, Comedy Aug 4, 2020
iO past, present, and nonfuture

Remembering the comedy theater’s humble beginnings and reflecting on its dramatic end
- By Jack Helbig
- Tags: Comedy, iO Theater, iO, ImprovOlympic, Charna Halpern, Del Close, Upright Citizens Brigade, comedy, improv

Film, Small Screen Dec 4, 2019
Video
Six degrees of Abby McEnany

How a network of local creatives brought a queer, authentically Chicago story to Showtime.
- By Marissa Oberlander
- Tags: Small Screen, Abby McEnany, Showtime, Work in Progress, iO Theater, Lilly Wachowski, Tim Mason, Karin Anglin, Theo Germaine, Julia Sweeney, queer, television, Video

Blogs, Bleader Jul 24, 2018
Video
The iO Theater's Bentwood Comedy Festival arrives with an abundance of talent

In its freshman year, this ten-day comedy bacchanalia approaches improv from all angles.
- By Steve Heisler
- Tags: Arts, Comedy, tj & dave, tj jagodowski, dave pasquesi, io theater, bentwood comedy festival, scott adsit, jet eveleth, jordan klepper, late night late show, american dream, 3peat, hello from the magic tavern, sarah sherman, sarah squirm, helltrap nightmare, comedy central, Video

Blogs, Bleader Jul 2, 2018
Fireworks, High Fidelity in the park, and more of the best things to do in Chicago this week

Rich Homie Quan concert and more goings-on 7/2-7/5.
- By Tyra Nicole Triche
- Tags: Arts, Do This, Film, Music, News, Luke Winslow-King, High Fidelity, Rich Homie Quan, Fourth of July, Pirates of Penzance, Fitzgeralds, Millennium Park, Reggies, iO Theater, Navy Pier, Leave No Trace

Arts & Culture, Theater Review Jun 8, 2018
Recommended
The improv games at iO’s Riff turn into a goofy, full-fledged sing-along

Lines blur between the cast and the audience.
- By Steve Heisler
- Tags: Theater Review, riff, io theater, whose line is it anyway?, soap opera, keenan camp, gary fields, dave lyzenga, stephanie seweryn, Recommended

Blogs, Bleader Mar 19, 2018
The weekly quiz night Trivia Mafia and more of the best things to do in Chicago this week

"Endless Summer" at the MCA and more goings-on 3/19-3/22
- By Steve Heisler
- Tags: Arts, Do This, pill, hideout, comic book chicago, chicago literary alliance, adam morgan, chicago review of books, luca cimarusti, talk show presents, endless summer, museum of contemporary art, bruce brown, harold, io theater, paula scaggs, megan stalter, bunny bunny, gilda radner, albert williams, Alan Zweibel, Warner Crocker, trivia mafia, north bar, the death of stalin, armando iannucci, jr jones

Blogs, Bleader Mar 9, 2018
Alvin Ailey Dance Theater and more of the best things to do in Chicago this weekend

Comedian Tom Papa and more goings-on March 9-11
- By Rachel Yang
- Tags: Arts, Do This, Atra Asdou, A Poodle in People Clothes, iO Theater, Tom Papa, City Winery, Alvin Ailey American Dance Theater, Auditorium Theatre, Alvin Ailey, Michael Weber, Stephen Sondheim, Merrily We Roll Along, Ruth Page Center for the Arts, William Blake and the Age of Aquarius, Block Museum of Art, Good Food and Bad Decisions

Arts & Culture, Performing Arts Feature Dec 13, 2017
Beautiful, Bad Hombres, and nine more holiday stage shows to see

An Equity touring production of the Carole King musical and an evening of Latinx sketch comedy are among this week's best bets.
- Tags: Performing Arts Feature, Altar Boyz, Sawyer Smith, Courtney Crouse, Gary Adler, Michael Patrick Walker, KevinDel Aquila, Marc J. Kessler, Ken Davenport, Theo Ubique, musical theater, Bad Hombres, Rich Alfonso, Miguel Lepe, sketch comedy, Latino comics, Mario, Damian Anaya, Cesar Jaime, Jose Molina, Spic & Tan, Chris Farley Cabaret, iO Theater, Beautiful, Carole King, Broadway musical, bio-musical, the Shirelles, Bobby Vee, Gerry Goffin, Brill Building, Sarah Bockel, Marc Bruni, The Character Assassination of Donald Trump, Eric Coleman, Jamie Quinones, Dave Kwitkowski, Jenny Miller, Meir Steinberg, Mercury Theater, The Christmas Schooner, holiday musical, Julie Shannon, John Reeger, L. Walter Stearns, Gingerbread Grindhouse, Ghostlight Ensemble, Maria Burnham, The Nutcracker, E.T.A. Hoffmann, Tatum Hunter, Sean Harklerode, Chad Wise, Red Theater, Little Red Cyrano, Cyrano de Bergerac, Aaron Sawyer, Hell in a Handbag Productions, David Cerda, Rudolph the Red-Hosed Reindeer, Michael Jack Hampton, Terry McCarthy, Graham Thomas Heacock, Kristogger Bottrall, E.D.G.E. Theatre, Steampunk Christmas Carol, Charles Dickens, A Christmas Carol, Industrial Revolution, Jared McDaris, Trap Door Theatre, Stanisław Ignacy Witkiewicz, They, Polish avant-garde, Beata Pilch, Mary-Kate Arnold, Carl Wisniewski, ’Twas the Night Before Christmas, ’Twas the Fight Before Christmas, Public House Theatre, Robert Frosty

Blogs, Bleader Dec 8, 2017
The League's Steve Rannazzisi and more of the best things to do in Chicago this weekend

Trade Routes: A Festival of Artistic Exchange and more events the weekend of Friday 12/8-Sunday 12/10
- By Steve Heisler
- Tags: Arts, Do This, a very shitty bitchmas, kristin phillips, sierra carter, io theater, steve rannazzisi, the league, zanies, speed rack, thalia hall, goods for good craft fair, 826chi, busy beaver button company, buttons over bullets, trade routes, links hall, emily schubert, character assassination of donald trump

Blogs, Bleader Nov 10, 2017
Movies that rock at CIMMfest, Cook County Social Club reunion, and more of the best things to do in Chicago this weekend

Printers Guild Publishers Fair, sci-fi theater at the Paragon Festival, and more goings-on November 10-12
- By Steve Heisler
- Tags: Arts, Do This, ted leo, chicago loot drop, chicago comer children's hospital, revolution brewing, emporium arcade bar, thalia hall, chicago printers guild publishers festival, cook county social club, iO theater, Baldur Helgason, NYCH gallery, paragon festival

Blogs, Bleader Nov 9, 2017
The improv group Cook County Social Club says no to good taste

This quintet reunites at iO Theater for more shameless, whiz-bang comedy.
- By Steve Heisler
- Tags: Comedy, Arts, cook county social club, io theater, brendan jennings, mark raterman, tim robinson, saturday night live, bill cochran, greg hess, reunion

Blogs, Bleader Nov 6, 2017
LCD Soundsystem and more of the best things to do in Chicago this week

A live recording of Kellye Howard album recording , a cooking demonstration from Chef Damao, and more happenings the week of 11/6-11/9
- By Steve Heisler
- Tags: Arts, Do This, lcd soundsystem, james murphy, aragon ballroom, suppress yourself, crowd theater, kevin fergus, hideout, ben joravsky, mick drumke, chef damao, gwendolyn brooks, CM Burroughs, Reginald Gibbons, Quraysh Ali Lansana, Angela Jackson, Ed Roberson, up all nite, io theater, risk, kevin allison, Emma Alamo, Haley Willow, Jacoby Cochran, Maureen Muldoon

Blogs, Bleader Oct 23, 2017
Calder and Koons at the Museum of Contemporary Art, and more of the best things to do in Chicago this week

Chicago Design Week, iO's bilingual comedy show Generation LatinX, and more goings-on October 23-26
- By Steve Heisler
- Tags: Arts, Do This, einstein's nightmare, chicago design week, reunion, panic at the honky tonk, steve heisler, annoyance theatre, io theater, generation latinx, down with monuments, greek island wine dinner, avec, perry hendrix

Blogs, Bleader Oct 9, 2017
Bill Murray at Symphony Center, and more of the best things to do in Chicago this week

Jim Gaffigan, Ricky Jay, the Chicago Latino Music Festival, and more goings-on October 9-12
- By Steve Heisler
- Tags: Arts, Do This, io theater, having it all, bill murray, new worlds, chicago symphony orchestra, jan volger, ricky jay, the prestige, depaul university student center, chicago latino music festival, luis rafael vivanco, tash sultana, thalia hall, michael palascak, zanies, jim gaffigan, chicago theatre

Blogs, Bleader Sep 22, 2017
Hideout Block Party, Splatter Theater, and more of the best things to do in Chicago this weekend

Shen Wei at the Auditorium Theater, Dia de los Muertos celebration at the National Museum of Mexican Art, and more happenings from September 22-24
- By Steve Heisler
- Tags: Arts, Do This, shen wei, rites of spring, splatter theater, annoyance, monarch butterfly, hideout block party, sparkfest, erasing the distance, steve albini, man or astroman, sreaming females, dianogah, national museum of mexican art, chicago architecture biennial, breathe, brennen reeves, io theater, garfield park

Blogs, Bleader Sep 18, 2017
An art exhibit on vanning culture at Tiger Strikes Asteroid, and more of the best things to do in Chicago this week

"South Side Stories, Rethinking Chicago Art, 1960-1970" at the Smart Museum of Art, Jian Ping kicks off Chicago Women in Publishing's year of events, and more happenings from September 18-21.
- By Steve Heisler
- Tags: Arts, Do This, ass grass or gas, tiger fights asteroid, south side stories, smart museum of art, breathe, brennen reeves, io theater, jian ping, chicago women in publishing, the florida project, sean baker, tangerine, ace hotel, secret life of a lesbian ex wife, annoyance theatre, randi wallace

Arts & Culture, Theater Review Aug 30, 2017
Still Dance the Stars and two more new stage shows for the long weekend

Personal stories become fodder for improv scenes in this week's best bet. Plus: death by thee and thou
- By Tony Adler, Max Maller, and Justin Hayford
- Tags: Theater Review, Still Dance the Stars, Chicago Dramatists, Jayme McGann, New Light Theater Project, Bethany Geraghty, Ariana Sepúlveda, Ashlee Wassmund, Told, iO Theater, Rick Bayless, long-form improv, improv, The Tragedy of He-Manlet, Prince of Eternia, Adam "Roz" Rosowicz, New Millennium Theatre Company, Stage 773, Alex B. Reynolds, Hamlet, Skeletor

Blogs, Bleader Aug 21, 2017
Doug Benson at Thalia Hall, Wizard World Comic Con, and more of the best things to do in Chicago this week

Celia C. Perez at Women & Children First, Ayahuasca Baby at iO, Jorja Smith at Schubas, and more happenings August 21-24
- By Emily Wasielewski
- Tags: Arts, Do This, Wizard World Comic Con, Set Free, Celia C. Perez, Doug Loves Movies Podcast, Ayahuasca Baby, Jorja Smith, Doodles, You Listen to White People Music?, Annoyance Theatre, Schubas, Donald E. Stephens Convention Center, iO Theater, Wome & Children First, Thalia Hall, Society for Arts

Blogs, Bleader Aug 14, 2017
Broadway in Chicago Summer Concert in Millennium Park, and more of the best things to do in Chicago this week

James Brown vs. Charlie Brown, iO's Musical Improv Festival, and more things to do August 14-17
- By Emily Wasielewski
- Tags: Arts, Do This, Musical Improv Festival, iO Theater, Charles McPherson Quartet, Jazz Showcase, Clark After Dark, Unites Services Organization of Illinois, The Remains, DFBRL8R Gallery, Emo Philips, Zanies, Readings from the Golden Shovel Anthology: New Poems Honoring Gwendolyn Brooks, City Lit Books, Not Quite: Asian American by Law, Asian Woman by Desire, Ada Cheng, Women & Children First, Broadway in Chicago Summer Concert, Pritzker Pavilion, James Brown vs. Charlie Brown, Drinking & Writing

Blogs, Bleader Aug 11, 2017
Chance the Rapper at the Bud Billiken Parade and more of the best things to do in Chicago this weekend

Rust Belt Chicago: An Anthology release party, Night at the DuSable, Seinfeld Trivia Night, and more happenings August 11-13
- By Emily Wasielewski
- Tags: Arts, Do This, iO Theater, Sucias, Hoofprint, AlphaBeer, A.J. Hudson's Public House, Bud Billiken Parade, Chicago Hot Dog Fest, Chicago History Museum, Strip Joker, Uptown Underground, Ron Funches, Thalia Hall, Night at the DuSable, DuSable Museum of African American History

Blogs, Bleader Apr 14, 2017
Hump! Film Festival, "Exhibitionism–The Rolling Stones," and more things to do in Chicago this weekend

The Anarchist Print Fair, Easter Brunch Buffet, and more happenings from April 14-16.
- By Brianna Wellen
- Tags: Arts, Do This, Claudia Pop-Up, Loose Chicks, Uncharted Books, Hump! Film Festival, Music Box, Anarchist Print Fair, Dfbrl8r Gallery, Dana Cree, Kendall College, Unbroken Glass, Chicago Cultural Center, Star Creature Universal Vibrations, Hideout, Donnell Pitman, Exhibitionism–The Rolling Stones, Navy Pier, Easter Brunch Buffet, Frontier, iO Podcast Comedy Hour, iO Theater

Blogs, Bleader Oct 24, 2016
Art of Atari, Emporium's Haunted Hotel, and more things to do in Chicago this week

Joe Mande, Longer! Louder! Wagner! The Second City Wagner Companion, and more happenings from October 24-27
- By Brianna Wellen
- Tags: Arts, Do This, Quantum Monk, Links Hall, Joe Mande, Lincoln Hall, Haunted Hotel, Emporium Arcade Bar, Working Bikes, Lagunitas Tap Room, Girl Talk, Hideout, Fictitious, iO Theater, Art of Atari, Logan Arcade, Longer! Louder! Wagner! The Second City Wagner Companion, Civic Opera House

Arts & Culture, Performing Arts Feature Oct 19, 2016
Seven theater and comedy shows for the spooky season

From Dracula to the Demon Barber of Fleet Street’s . . . brother
- By Tony Adler, Justin Hayford, Jack Helbig, Deanna Isaacs, Dan Jakes, Aimee Levitt, and Isabel Ochoa Gold
- Tags: Performing Arts Feature, Are You Still Afraid of the Dark?, Under the Gun Theater, Nickelodeon, Are You Afraid of the Dark?, Hobo Junction, Bernie Todd: The Demon Barber of Fleet Street . . . 's Brother, Kristi Parker Barnhart, Camp Psychopathways, iO Theater, Danny Galvin, Brad Pike, Robbie Ellis, Gretchen Eng, Dracula, Dr. Seward's Dracula, First Folio Theatre, Christian Gray, Joseph Zettlemaier, Alison C. Vesely, Waltzing Mechanics, Hell Stories, El Stories, CTA, The Medium, Gian Carlo Menotti, Heather Aranyi, ColorBox Theatre, Ouija: A Haunted History, the Annoyance, William Fuld, Parker Brothers, Sam Locke

Arts & Culture, Performing Arts Feature Sep 21, 2016
Recommended
Literary works inspire improvisers at iO

Fictitious blends fiction writing and comedy on the stage.
- By Brianna Wellen
- Tags: Performing Arts Feature, Ficticious, iO Theater, Shelby Plummer, fiction writing, creative writing, improv, Recommended

Arts & Culture, Performing Arts Feature Sep 14, 2016
Ubu the King, True West, and nine more new theater reviews

Alfred Jarry's absurdist satire and a minor masterpiece by Sam Shepard are among this week's highlights.
- Tags: Performing Arts Feature, The House Theatre of Chicago, A Comedical Tragedy for Mister Punch, Kara Silverman, Echaka Agba, Jesse Mooney-Bullock, Izumi Inaba, Shade Murray, Kevin O'Donnell, Adrian Danzig, Punch and Judy, Dylan's Apartment, iO Theater, Dylan Doetsch, Mister Rogers, Natalie Carneal, Girl Jesus: Resurrected and Back to School!, Public House Theatre, Jessica Wilcox, John Waters, Edith Massey, I Do Today, Carin Silkaitis, Sarah Myers, I Know What You Sang Last Summer, Abba, Mamma Mia!, Amy Montgomery, Sara Sevigny, Jennifer Knox, Jim Corti, Paramount Theatre, The Memory Tour, Pivot Arts, Julieanne Ehre, Tanya Palmer, Scarcity, Red Twist Theatre, Lucy Thurber, Brendan Meyer, Ada Grey, Jacqueline Grandt, Cody Estle, Mark Pracht, Johnny Garcia, Smokey Joe's Cafe, Leiber and Stoller, Marcia Milgrom Dodge, Jerry Leiber, Mike Stoller, Drury Lane Theatre, Keirsten Hodgens, Sam Shepard, True West, Shattered Globe Theatre, James Yost, Christina Gordon, Kevin Viol, Joseph Wiens, Ubu the King, Alfred Jarry, Rough House Theater, Mike Oleon, Grace Needlman, Trump, Pere Ubu

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