April Fools' gag in Time Out Chicago

by Brian McKim & Traci Skene on April 3rd, 2008

From TOC’s website (on April 1, of course):

Jokeaholics Anonymous, a full-time stand-up comedy club, will open this Tuesday in one of Chicago’s best areas for high foot traffic: The downstairs food court at the Thompson Center. Shows will take place at 8pm Friday and Saturday night, as well as special matinee performances Tuesday and Wednesday from noon–1pm. Tickets are $40, and require a three drink minimum (guess comedy really does come in threes…), but include “all the bourbon chicken samples you can eat” from nearby Peking Buffet, says club owner and talent booker Mitzer Friedman.

Initially, we had trouble discerning whether this was an April Fools’ gag, as we have actually done standup in a food court. (We did a show at the food court in downtown Calgary as part of that city’s FunnyFest a few years ago. It’s no joking matter! The horror! The sense of humor is the first thing to go!)

From our coverage of the ’04 FunnyFest:

The goal becomes to get up on the makeshift stage and do as little real material as possible.

And now it was our turn in the barrel, so to speak. We met fellow victims Grant Damsgaard and Tom Gregory and, with grim determination, we all agreed that we’d do what it took to endure what is, technically and aesthetically, a hellish and unwinnable situation.

When all was said and done, Fest coordinator (and standup comic) Nick DeBrey declared this day’s Free Funny show “the best one of the Festival!” Mainly because we had all managed to escape with our dignity and– wonder of wonders– a good portion of the crowd had a good time!

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