Paige Turner (Miriel Martinez) and Jack Lumbre (Elsa Roeber) fell in love during the "real" Hallmark romcom, Live Laugh Love. Now, the town of Butcherton is besieged by a serial killer. Can Detective Sheryl Locke (Paula Harrington) solve the case? Or will Paige, Jack, and their friend, Jelly (Jax Remus), need to take matters into their own hands? The "lesbian romcom with axe murder" is back at The Annoyance this February. Also starring Danny Wightkin and Brandon Drap. Directed by Lauren Rivas.

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

Lil Weenie Salad is a WACKY improv show where we create the teams LIVE in front of the audience by spinning a HUGE wheel! All teams consist of four people and under and feature a brand new cast every week with Chicago's BEST comedians! The teams then combine together to create a MEGA team and more hilarity ensues! You aren't going to want to miss this!

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!

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!

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.

Riff City is the epicenter of crowd work. Five of Chicago's top stand-up comics explore conversations with the audience and riff on them, making their jokes up on the spot. No two shows will ever be the same. Come be a part of an unpredictable night of standup. Everyone else will be there. Entry constitutes consent to be filmed and recorded for all media purposes.

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.

Kath Courtney and Rockie Wenrich are: Father Figures! Two dudes with the ability to fix your car, be fuckable, and die before you really get the chance to understand them. Directed by Chelsea Matkins. Made for fathers and DILF-enjoyers everywhere.

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/

Shortly after the invention of time travel, best friends Wayne and Ralph reconnect post-college as newly hired employees at the Quando Time Travel Association. This duo’s tension along with unforeseen malfunctions in the time travel department threaten their time in the present. Can Wayne and Ralph overcome a glitch in the space-time continuum and salvage their friendship at the same time?

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.

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.

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.

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

Introducing the Annoyance Variety Hour! Featuring performances from Chicago's best comedians, musicians, magicians, circus performers, puppeteers, and everything in between! A true everything goes show reminiscent of classic programs like the Ed Sullivan Show and the Gong Show, its sure to surprise and amaze even the most seasoned of theater goers. Hosted by one of Chicago's best alternative comedians, Michael Serio, an international headliner and regular at major comedy venues all across the city, and live music played every night by the soulful stylings of the musical comedy duo sensation So Far So Good, the only thing you'll be disappointed by is that you didn't go see it sooner.

Entertaining audiences every Saturday Night at 10:00, only on the Annoyance Mainstage!

Treat yourself to Chicago’s most intellectual comedy show. Comedians of all kinds going on about books while sipping very high end beverages. Bring your date to impress them, or come alone to feel self important.

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.

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

Cold Pizza returns to The Annoyance with a brand-new sketch revue! With narrative threads of love, loss & crazy workplaces, Looking For Love In All The Wrong Workplaces checks all the right boxes. Bring your Hinge dates, your work wives, and your best Frienemies! This show features brand new sketches, improvised moments, audience participation, music, and more!

This week on "David & David", David Byrne (David Byrne) is torn between his girlfriend, Suzy the Lamp (Suzy the Lamp), and his roommate David Lynch (David Lynch) when the latter, heartbroken by his ex, Bjork (Björk), dreams up a prophesied dinner party for their friends Neighbor Nic (Nicolas Cage), Lorde Lande (Werner Herzog), and Georgie (Georgia O’Keeffe) on the same night as Suzy and Byrne’s anniversary.

After a successful staging in November, "David & David" returns. This remastered run promises to excite returning viewers and delight new ones!

CW: Fake gun (and accompanying single gunshot sound effect), mentions of self-harm, and dramatized violence

What do you get when you let four clowns loose on a stage? A very big mess, and a very funny show. Fortunately for you, we’ll handle the mess! Super Fun Happy Awesome Hour is a celebration of the circus arts and all things clown. This family friendly, hour-long, clown-centric variety show will introduce children, parents, and childless comedy fans to basic (and not-so-basic) principles of clowning through variety acts too fantastical to describe with words. And after the show, an optional clowning workshop will give kids and the young at heart a chance to learn some of the skills they’ve just seen and practice them onstage under the supervision of a highly trained clown named Tim.

No New News with Ava Cairl. New guests every week!

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.

One Star is a Chicago-based comedy troupe that enjoys schadenfreude. We take inspiration from other people's bad (or good!) experiences. With your suggested business or location as our guide, we'll look up a real review on the fly and improvise an entire piece, hoping to transform their bad (or good!) experience into a great one for you. With two opening acts of improv, stand-up, sketch, and more, come join in the fun Mondays at 8pm!

A night for Annoyance students to JAM!

Singer-songwriter and familiar face Tyler DeLoatch invites you to celebrate the release of his debut music project. This yet-to-be-announced EP features everything from yearning for love to yearning for friendship to yearning for home. Come be among the first to hear the songs inspired by indie-folk icons Lucy Dacus, Hozier, and by a life divided between Chicago and the Carolinas.

This EP Release Party includes a variety of performances including comedy and music by Daryn Robinson, Lizzie Kaniecki, and Rachel Lenz. Featuring Kelly O'Brien as the musical opener.

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!

Welcome to "Juicy," the unapologetically sassy three-act experience where the only thing hotter than the gossip, is the cast. Consider this your warning: what goes down in this room, STAYS in this room. So buckle up. Our fierce host starts by leading a panel, where the cast dishes up their weekly dramas. The audience gets to join in via QR codes by sending in their wildest scandals and seek real-time advice. Next up, we turn to the “hot seat” where we spotlight a badass standup comedian, serving up a set that’s perfectly tailored for our raw, unfiltered vibe. And just when you think it can’t get any wilder, we dive into an improv explosion, using stories as our launchpad to the craziest, most feral tangents imaginable. Get ready to laugh, gasp, and spill your guts — this is "Juicy.”

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

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!

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!

Welcome to Wolf Town! We like it here, and we think you will too!

Every show, a delightful cast of characters improvise the nooks and crannies of Wolf Town, and show you what makes our town unique. They’ll navigate the unpredictable landscape that may or may not resemble your little town.

You pick a spot on the map and we’ll show you that part of town, complete with brand new characters and relationships!

Join us for a playful and exciting exploration of the rich tapestry that makes our town truly one of a kind.

Back for season 3 with all new improvised CW-Style Pilots, this winter there's an anonymous gossip blogger spreading drama throughout the lives of these adults playing teens on tv. From frenemies, to love triangles, and secrets to be revealed...we'll need the audience's help to come up with the wacky ingredients to improvise a new pilot episode that we will most definitely be pitching to the CW network....

Magic Boy is a solo show by Christina Hilliard. Vulnerable, devastating, and soul-punching, Christina bares it all in an hour of despair and hopelessness. Think Olivia Rodrigo’s Guts crossed with The Pianist, this show will stick with you for a really really really really long time.

This hour long, fully improvised show, features the cast of 12 Angry Improvisers acting as a jury. Peek into the deliberation room as they use improv to recreate the facts of a case (as determined by the audience). They'll reexamine the moment the defendant was caught with their hand in the cookie jar -in reverse! -with French accents! -with every line of dialogue being a question!

It’s Chicago’s Own Shakespeare-friendly Comedy Show! What happens when one actor attempts to perform the lead role in a Shakespeare play while getting… “heightened?” It’s the role of a lifetime… that they’ll be too stoned to remember! The only show in Chicago that dares to ask: Was Shakespeare a pothead? As our merry band investigates, high jinks and good times ensue.

A tight-knit group of friends lean on each other through every 90’s New Year’s Eve – but a secret midnight kiss puts their friendships to the test.

Emerging from the tortured mind of Miles Chaney, show is filled to the brim with the characters and insanity that have made Miles one of Chicago’s rising character performers. Follow along with Miles as they take you through busted mattress salesmen, the inner workings of the Amazon Naming Committee, and what REALLY happens in the YMCA communal showers.

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!

A night with Cafe Lounge Underwater is like the best house party you’ve ever been to. There’s dancing, music, drinks, and of course, meeting strangers who quickly feel like lifelong friends. Join Caroline, Tom, and Maryrose as they invite you into their world of spontaneous friendship and nonstop fun.

After a sold-out, six-week run at Chicago’s Annoyance Theatre, Cafe Lounge Underwater is back with more of their signature clever punchlines, unforgettable characters, and inventive music videos. Known for their undeniable onstage chemistry and creative use of media, this new show will have you asking, “How have we not all been friends forever?”

If you love the absurdity of I Think You Should Leave and the sharp wit of 30 Rock, then Cafe Lounge Underwater is the perfect show for you.

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.

A night with Cafe Lounge Underwater is like the best house party you’ve ever been to. There’s dancing, music, drinks, and of course, meeting strangers who quickly feel like lifelong friends. Join Caroline, Tom, and Maryrose as they invite you into their world of spontaneous friendship and nonstop fun.

After a sold-out, six-week run at Chicago’s Annoyance Theatre, Cafe Lounge Underwater is back with more of their signature clever punchlines, unforgettable characters, and inventive music videos. Known for their undeniable onstage chemistry and creative use of media, this new show will have you asking, “How have we not all been friends forever?”

If you love the absurdity of I Think You Should Leave and the sharp wit of 30 Rock, then Cafe Lounge Underwater is the perfect show for you.

¡Latinos bienvenidos a la fiesta! English speakers, do your best.

Happy 2 B Here presents a brand new sketch show, just for you. Carefully crafted with a sharp wit and a keen sense for dum shit, it's comedy that doesn't overstate itself. It's actually funny. It's worth your time. We're just happy 2 b here.

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.