TBS Just For Laughs Chicago, presented by State Farm®, Announces Addition of More Huge Names to America’s Biggest Comedy Festival
TBS Just For Laughs Chicago has announced the addition of Russell Brand, Pete Holmes, Paul F. Tompkins, Brian Posehn, Doug Benson, Todd Glass, Scott Adsit, Kevin Dorff, Jon Glaser, TJ & Dave, Horatio Sanz, Matt Walsh, Brad Morris and Joe Nunez to its 5th anniversary festival line-up. America’s biggest comedy festival also announced the addition of a second Nick Swardson show at The Vic to accommodate tremendous demand, and director Paul Feig (Bridesmaids) will make a special appearance to introduce an advance screening of his new movie The Heat at Kerasotes ShowPlace ICON onJune 11.
Some Very Big Names For A Very Funny Festival
British superstar, actor and comedian Russell Brand leads the list of comedy heavyweights who’ve been added to the line-up at the Chicago Theatre. The internationally beloved star of Forgetting Sarah Marshall and Get Him to the Greek will perform a solo show at the landmark venue on June 12. On June 13, alt-comedy heroes Paul F. Tompkins, Brian Posehn, Doug Benson andTodd Glass will add to the already formidable funny firepower of David Cross & His Super Duper Pals.
Meanwhile, over at The Vic, the people have spoken, and they’ve decreed that Nick Swardson must perform a second show onJune 14. So that’s exactly what he’s going to do. Well played, democracy.
What’s UP? Comedy!
One of the city’s hottest new venues, UP Comedy Club, will host a trio of solo stand-up performances by comedian Pete Holmes. The host of the popular You Made It Weird podcast and upcoming late-night TBS talk show series will perform two sets on June 11, with a follow-up on June 13. Sandwiched between those shows will be an exclusive live performance of the Bear Down Podcast, in which Chicago natives Horatio Sanz, Matt Walsh, Brad Morris and Joe Nunez dish on all things Da Bears, as well as a stellarSecond City Alumni show, featuring legendary SC grads Scott Adsit, TJ & Dave, Kevin Dorff and Jon Glaser. And as long as we’re getting funny locals back together, SNL newcomers Tim Robinson, Cecily Strong and Aidy Bryant return to Chicago for the TBS Just For Laughs Festival in Knuckleheads for a night of sketch, improv and more.
“The Heat” Is On
TBS Just For Laughs Chicago is proud to announce that director Paul Feig (Bridesmaids) will make a special appearance to introduce an advance screening of his new movie The Heat at the Kerasotes ShowPlace ICON on June 11. One of the summer’s most hotly anticipated blockbusters, The Heat stars Academy Award®-winner Sandra Bullock and Academy Award®-nomineeMelissa McCarthy as a mismatched FBI agent and Boston police officer who join forces to take down a ruthless drug lord. The movie boasts an all-star cast that includes Tony Hale, Kaitlin Olson, Michael Rapaport, Bill Burr and SNL’s Taran Killam. You have the right to remain entertained.
Festival Venue and Ticket Information
The 2013 edition of TBS Just For Laughs Chicago will take place at various locations across Chicago, including such high-profile Chicago venues as The Chicago Theatre, Park West, The Vic plus many more. Tickets for the announced shows go on sale Saturday, May 11, at 11:00 a.m. (CT). Additional shows and venues will be announced soon.
- · Tickets for The Chicago Theatre will be available at the Chicago Theatre Box Office and all Ticketmaster locations, online at www.ticketmaster.com or by phone at (312) 902-1500 or (800) 745-3000.
- · Tickets for The Vic Theatre and Park West will be available at etix.com or by phone at 800-514-etix.
- · Tickets for UP Comedy Club will be available at upcomedyclub.com or by phone at 312-662-4562.
Tickets for most festival events will also be available at respective venue box offices.
Connect with TBS Just For Laughs Chicago:
Website: http://www.
Facebook: http://www.facebook.com/
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In 2009, Just For Laughs, the world’s biggest comedy brand, partnered with TBS, one of American television’s leading purveyors of comedy, to produce a comedy festival in Chicago, the nation’s cradle of comedy. Five years later, TBS Just For Laughs Chicago is America’s single largest comedy festival, showcasing the industry’s biggest stars and brightest emerging talents at some the city’s most iconic venues. Presented in collaboration with two of the nation’s largest independent promoters, Chicago-based JAM Productions and Outback Concerts, this annual event has established itself as an integral component of Chicago’s rich cultural heritage, and a must-see for thousands of comedy fans and industry executives alike. This year, State Farm will serve as the presenting sponsor of TBS Just For Laughs Chicago.
About Just For Laughs
Founded in 1983, the Just For Laughs Group’s growth is concentrated on four major focal points: Festivals (in Montreal, Toronto and Chicago); television production (most notably Gags seen in 135 countries and on 95 airlines); live shows (Canadian tour dates for Jerry Seinfeld, Jeremy Hotz, John Pinette, Louis C.K., the Capital One Just For Laughs Comedy Tour, North American dates for Family Guy Live!); and talent management. Its inaugural Montreal Festival 31 years ago is now the world’s largest and most prestigious comedy event welcoming 2 million people each summer. The Group has offices in Montreal, Paris, Los Angeles, Toronto, and London, as well as a small apartment on the Internet.
About TBS
TBS is basic cable’s reigning champion among young adults in primetime. Available in 100 million households, TBS features original primetime comedy series like Cougar Town, Men at Work, Sullivan & Son, King of the Nerds, Who Gets the Last Laugh?and the upcoming Deon Cole’s Black Box, Deal With It and Trust Me, I’m a Game Show Host. In late night, TBS is home to the Emmy®-winning series CONAN, starring Conan O’Brien, which will be followed by a new series starring Pete Holmes this fall. TBS also features an outstanding slate of contemporary comedies, such as The Big Bang Theory and Family Guy, along with blockbuster movies and championship sports. In addition, TBS produces special live comedy events, like the star-studded TBS Just for Laughs Chicago comedy festival.
Connect with TBS
Website: http://www.tbs.com
Facebook: http://www.facebook.com/
Twitter: http://twitter.com/
Mobile: http://www.tbs.com/mobile
TBS Just For Laughs Chicago, presented by State Farm®,
Tuesday, June 11, to Sunday, June 16, 2013
Newly announced shows and talent indicated with a star (¶).
Chicago Theatre (175 North State Street)
Russell Brand – Wednesday, June 12 at 7:30 p.m. (¶)
Since exploding to US stardom in Forgetting Sarah Marshall, British actor and comedian Russell Brand has established himself as one of the comedy world’s true heavyweights. The star of such box office hits as Get Him to The Greek, Rock of Ages, Arthur,Hop, Bedtime Stories, Despicable Me and The Tempest, Brand can currently be seen hosting his wildly popular unscripted late-night series, Brand X on FX Network, which was recently renewed for a second season. Brand has also written two books, the New York Times bestseller My Booky Wook: A Memoir Of Sex, Drugs, and Stand-Up, as well the follow up, My Booky Wook 2: This Time, It’s Personal, hosted both the MTV Movie Awards and the MTV Video Music Awards (twice), released three stand-up specials: Shame (2006), Russell Brand: Only Joking (2007) and Russell Brand: Scandalous (2009). He is currently in pre-production for Paramount Pictures’ The Hauntrepreneur produced by Michael Bay, and is slated to star in Diablo Cody’s directorial debut later this year, which though untitled, probably won’t be Juno 2. But don’t quote us on that.
David Cross & His Super Duper Pals – Thursday, June 13 at 7:30 p.m. (¶)
We’re only halfway through 2013, and David Cross has already provided the comedy world with one of this year’s singular highlights by slipping himself back into the cutoffs of Never Nude analrapist Dr. Tobias Fünke in the hugely anticipated, upcomingArrested Development reboot. The co-creator and co-star of the groundbreaking sketch series Mr. Show leads some of his closest comedy comrades including Paul F. Tompkins, Brian Posehn, Doug Benson and Todd Glass into the Chicago Theatre for a night so funny, you’ll feel no need to “blue yourself.”
Seth Meyers with Special Guests Al Madrigal & Hannibal Buress – Friday, June 14 at 7:30 p.m.
Master satirist, SNL star and Weekend Update anchor Seth Meyers will perform along with special guests – The Daily Show with Jon Stewart’s Al Madrigal and Chicago’s native son and former 30 Rock writer Hannibal Buress.
Bob Newhart Live – Saturday, June 15 at 7:00 p.m.
One of the most important, influential, and beloved figures in the history of American comedy, Chicago native Bob Newhart has been entertaining English-speaking audiences around the world for the past 52 years. In that time, Newhart’s managed to star in two of the most beloved sitcoms in television history, The Bob Newhart Show and Newhart, win Peabody and EmmyÒ awards forThe Bob Newhart Variety Show, release eight comedy albums (including the first to ever hit #1 on the charts), host The Tonight Show an astounding 87 times, win three Grammys, write a New York Times bestseller, and appear in 14 feature films alongside some of the biggest movie stars in the world.
Bill Maher – Sunday, June 16 at 7:30 p.m.
For the last 18 years, Bill Maher has set the boundaries of where funny, political talk can go on American television. Maher’s combination of unflinching honesty and big laughs, first showcased on Comedy Central and ABC’s Politically Incorrect, and for the past seven years on HBO’s Real Time with Bill Maher, have garnered him 21 EmmyÒ nominations. In October of 2008, Maher applied the same to his uproarious and unprecedented swipe at organized religion, Religulous, which has since become one of the highest-grossing documentary films of all-time. In addition to his television and film exploits, Maher has written four bestselling books and incited the wrath of conservative zealots across the country. He is every bit as happy as you think he is.
Tickets for The Chicago Theatre shows are available:
- In person at The Chicago Theatre Box Office and all Ticketmaster outlets
- Online at ticketmaster.com
- By phone at (312) 902-1500 or (800) 745-3000
The Vic (3145 North Sheffield Avenue)
Anjelah Johnson – Wednesday, June 12 at 7:30 p.m.
Actress, comedian, and former Oakland Raiders cheerleader Anjelah Johnson took the Internet by storm with her “Nail Salon” standup routine, which has since generated more than 30 million views and counting. After joining the cast of MADtv, her breakout character, disgruntled fast-food employee Bon Qui Qui, quickly blossomed into an even bigger online sensation, with more than 55 million views, a full-length rap song, and accompanying music video. Since then, she’s been cast in NBC’s upcoming dramedyAbout A Boy with Minnie Driver, delivered memorable guest performances on shows like Curb Your Enthusiasm, The Shield andUgly Betty, starred in major feature films like Our Family Wedding, Alvin & The Chipmunks: The Squeakquel and Marmaduke, and recorded her own one-hour comedy special for Comedy Central and Warner Bros. Records. What can we say? The lady knows funny.
Nick Swardson – Thursday, June 13 and Friday, June 14 at 7:30 p.m. (¶)
The newest fulltime member of Adam Sandler’s Happy Madison family, Nick Swardson is a man of many talents. In addition to writing and/or co-producing hit films like Malibu’s Most Wanted, Grandma’s Boy, Benchwarmers and I Now Pronounce You Chuck & Larry, Swardson has also co-starred such movies as Blades Of Glory, The House Bunny, Just Go With It, 30 Minutes Or Less, as well as the upcoming blockbuster Grown Ups 2. He will also voice a role in the upcoming R-rated animated feature Hell & Backwith Mila Kunis and Susan Sarandon. He recently followed his platinum-certified debut standup DVD, Party, with the comedy special Nick Swardson: Seriously, Who Farted?, and currently co-writes, executive produces and stars in the hit Comedy Central television series Nick Swardson’s Pretend Time, which he also co-created. Hell, he might even do craft services on the show, for all we know. Nothing would surprise us at this point – he’s that versatile.
Impractical Jokers – Saturday, June 15 at 7:30 & 10:00 p.m.
If there’s one thing best friends know how to do, it’s pranking and embarrassing the hell out of each other for the amusement of others. But while most people get that sort of thing out of their systems by the end of high school, childhood pals Joseph “Joe” Gatto, James “Murr” Murray, Salvatore “Sal” Vulcano and Brian “Q” Quinn have turned it into a life’s calling. Their smash hit hidden-camera show Impractical Jokers on truTV averaged 2.2 million viewers in 2012 and consistently ranked among the top 5 shows in its timeslot. The guys will bring their hysterical hijinks to The Vic for a night of never-before-seen hidden camera challenges, stories from set that you won’t believe, a live Q&A, and real, outrageous messages from fans!
Tickets for The Vic shows are available:
- In person at The Vic or Park West Box Offices
- Online at etix.com
- By phone at (800) 514-ETIX
Park West (322 West Armitage Avenue)
The Whitest Kids U’ Know – Wednesday, June 12 at 7:30 p.m.
Since they began performing sketch comedy shows on Manhattan’s Lower East Side in 2003, The Whitest Kids U’ Know have won the award for Best Sketch Group at the 2006 Aspen Comedy Festival, been watched by more than 50 million viewers on YouTube, and completed five seasons of their self-titled comedy show on the IFC Network. They recently finished their first filmThe Civil War on Drugs and are working on their second. And: yes, they really are astoundingly white.
John Hodgman, Performing as Celebrated Humorist John Hodgman in: JOHN HODGMAN TONIGHT! – Thursday, June 13 at 7:30 p.m.
Before finding fame as The Daily Show with Jon Stewart’s beloved Resident Expert, John Hodgman was a simple writer, humorist, expert and former professional literary agent living in New York City (where he served as the Humor Editor for New York Times Magazine and frequent contributor to This American Life). This would have been enough of a career for any human. But then he went on to write a book of invented trivia and completely fake facts entitled The Area Of My Expertise and exploded to unexpected stardom as the “PC” in a series of television ads for Apple brand computers, guest roles as “the person wearing glasses” in a variety of films and TV shows, including Community, Battlestar Galactica and of course, as Jason Schwartzman’s nemesis, Louis Greene, on all three seasons of HBO’s Bored to Death.
Dylan Moran: “Yeah, Yeah” – Friday, June 14 at 7:30 p.m.
Award-winning Irish comedian Dylan Moran brings his critically acclaimed new show Yeah, Yeah to Park West! Moran’s perspective is unashamedly unique and utterly fresh. He watches us all through the tinted hue of a glass of fine full-bodied red and then paints what he sees onto a deliciously sarcastic and rich life canvas. Blisteringly funny, painfully accurate, Yeah, Yeah is like looking at a Canaletto painting while someone simultaneously punches you in the stomach and tickles you breathless. Or, as LA Weekly puts it, “He’ll have you clutching your sides, and begging for more.”
The Sullivan & Son Comedy Tour – Friday, June 14 at 10:00 p.m.
See the stars of TBS’s new hit comedy series live in Chicago! The Sullivan & Son Comedy Tour features headliners Steve Byrne(Four Christmases, Couples Retreat), Owen Benjamin (The House Bunny, Jack And Jill), Roy Wood Jr. (Chelsea Lately, Def Comedy Jam) and Ahmed Ahmed (Axis Of Evil, Iron Man) teaming up for one hilarious stand-up show.
Maria Bamford – Saturday, June 15 at 7:00 p.m.
One of the original Comedians of Comedy, Maria Bamford is the first female standup to ever record two half-hour Comedy Central Presents specials. Recently named one of Rolling Stone’s 50 Funniest People, Bamford’s 2009 album Unwanted Thoughts Syndrome was named one of The AV Club’s best comedy albums of the decade, and her cult web series The Maria Bamford Showis currently screening at the New York Museum of Art and Design. She has guest starred on Louie and The Sarah Silverman Program, has recurring roles on the re-booted Arrested Development, Tim & Eric: Awesome Show, Great Job! as well as Check It Out, and made multiple appearances on The Tonight Show with Jay Leno, The Late Late Show with Craig Ferguson, Late Night with Conan O’Brien and Jimmy Kimmel Live. She also voices a role in the upcoming R-rated stop-motion animated comedy Hell & Backwith Mila Kunis and Susan Sarandon.
Artie Lange – Saturday, June 15 at 9:30 & 11:59 p.m.
From stand-up to sketch comedy to movies, TV and the biggest radio show in the world, Artie Lange has done it all in the comedy world. A popular character on The Howard Stern Show for almost a decade, Artie currently hosts The Artie Lange Show podcast. His television credits include MADtv, Comedy Central Roasts of Hugh Hefner and William Shatner, Rescue Me with Denis Leary,Entourage and Dave’s Old Porn with Dave Attell. On the big screen, he has had supporting roles in Old School and Elf, and he co-wrote, produced and starred in his own feature film Beer League. Artie also published his memoir Too Fat To Fish that was a New York Times bestseller, and produced his concert DVD, Artie Lange: It’s The Whiskey Talkin’.
Tickets for the Park West shows are available:
- In person at the Park West or the Vic Box Offices
- Online at etix.com
- By phone at (800) 514-ETIX
UP Comedy Club (230 W. North Ave.)
Pete Holmes – Tuesday, June 11 at 8:00 & 10:30 p.m. and Thursday, June 13 at 8:00 p.m. (¶)
Pete Holmes, host of the You Made It Weird podcast and upcoming TBS late-night talk show series, returns to TBS Just For Laughs Chicago for three hugely anticipated solo stand-up performances. Don’t miss it, weirdos!
Bear Down Podcast – Wednesday, June 12 at 8:00 p.m. (¶)
Local heroes Horatio Sanz, Matt Walsh, Brad Morris and Joe Nunez return to their Sweet Home Chicago to dish on all things Da Bears in an exclusive live performance of their hit podcast!
Second City Alumni – Wednesday, June 12 at 10:30 p.m. (¶)
Some of the Second City’s most legendary alumni, Scott Adsit, TJ & Dave, Kevin Dorff and Jon Glaser, return to the Improv Capital Of The World for a night of unscripted, unpredictable and unforgettable improvised comedy.
Knuckleheads – Thursday, June 13 at 10:30 p.m. and Friday, June 14 & Saturday, June 15 at 8:00 and 11:00 p.m. (¶)
Knuckleheads is Tim Robinson, Cecily Strong and Aidy Bryant. The newest additions to Saturday Night Live return to Chicago for the TBS Just For Laughs Festival. Join them for a night of sketch, improv and more.
Tickets for the UP Comedy Club shows are available:
- · At the UP Comedy Club Box Office
- · Online at www.upcomedyclub.com
- · By phone at 312-662-4562
Kerasotes Showplace ICON (150 West Roosevelt Road, Chicago, IL 60605) (¶)
“The Heat” (Special Advance Screening) – Tuesday June 11 at 6:30 p.m.
Comedy
Director: Paul Feig
Cast: Sandra Bullock, Melissa McCarthy, Demian Birchir, Marlon Wayans, Michael Rapaport, Spoken Reasons, Tom Wilson, Joey McIntyre, Bill Burr, Jane Curtin, Nate Corddry
Uptight FBI Special Agent Sarah Ashburn (Sandra Bullock) and foul-mouthed Boston cop Shannon Mullins (Melissa McCarthy) couldn’t be more incompatible. But when they join forces to bring down a ruthless drug lord, they become the last thing anyone expected: buddies. From Paul Feig, director of Bridesmaids.
The Heat opens nationwide Friday, June 28. The film has been rated “R” by the MPAA.
For free tickets to The Heat at the Kerasotes Showplace ICON, go to justforlaughschicago.com.