Changes in faces, places, and union rules might carry harbingers of a shifting landscape in Chicago theater.
Tag: Charna Halpern
Posted inArts & Culture
iO past, present, and nonfuture
Remembering the comedy theater’s humble beginnings and reflecting on its dramatic end
Posted inNews & Politics
The long death of Jean Lalime
A classic tale of Chicago corruption, and also of rabbinical law, frontier justice, and the city’s first murder
Posted inArts & Culture
Behold! The off-the-wall, always-growing world of Hello From the Magic Tavern
Gather around and read the tale of how three improv comedians created the most insane fake-fantasy podcast to hit the airwaves.
Posted inBlogs
Fed up with sexual harassment, Chicago’s female comics call for industry blackout
Local nonprofit Women in Comedy encourages comics to boycott theaters, classes, and shows where they have felt unsafe.
Posted inBlogs
Cook County Social Club returns to iO for the improv group’s tenth anniversary
The former iO standby troupe reunites in the city where it began.
Posted inArts & Culture
iO’s first year in Lincoln Park hasn’t been all laughs
Charna Halpern says iO’s first year in a new theater has left her $7 million in debt.
Posted inBlogs
The Mission Theater is changing hands—but sketch comedy isn’t dead
Despite news reports to the contrary, TJ and Dave’s departure does not spell the end of iO’s Mission Theater.
Posted inBlogs
Arts expo Lake FX opens with a question: What’s the ‘lake effect’?
Lake FX, Chicago’s weekend of workshops and events for the creative community, launched Thursday with a discussion of the “lake effect.”
Posted inArts & Culture
iO makes a big move into founder Charna Halpern’s ‘dream theater’
iO leaves behind two decades of history as it moves to founder Charna Halpern’s “dream theater.”
Posted inBlogs
The iO bids its Wrigleyville home farewell
The final performance on Clark Street will take place Saturday, July 19.
Posted inColumns & Opinion
Impending death is not necessarily a negative development
In getting a new liver, I consider myself fortunate in one small respect in addition to the obvious big one.
Posted inArts & Culture
Four-star Comedy Fest at Navy Pier
The Four-star Comedy Fest highlights Chicago-style improv at Navy Pier
Posted inArts & Culture
The Second City Archive
Selections from the Reader’s archives about the legendary comedic institution
Posted inBlogs
Women in Comedy II: Improv/Sketch
In a recent blog post I asked: Why don’t more women become comedians? While performers such as Margaret Cho and Tina Fey are as successful as top male comedians, there remains a significant gender gap in the business, particularly in stand-up. Over the past 12 months at Zanies, arguably the most active stand-up club in […]