All stories by Jason Heidemann on BroadwayStars

Monday, February 16, 2015

Stand-Up Scene: This weekend's comedy included a dog at the mic by Jason Heidemann

A quick scan of the room at Bric-a-Brac Records in Logan Square reveals a row of action figures from the movie “Alien” (including one with his chest burst open), an old “Simpsons” ar…

SOURCE: Chicago Tribune Subscription at 01:05PM
Tuesday, February 10, 2015

Stand-up Scene: In Lakeview, the most comedy per capita by Jason Heidemann

Ahh, Lakeview. Home to nearly 100,000 Chicagoans, mostly apartment dwellers who live tightly like sardines (albeit the kind of sardines who do shots of Jeppson’s Malort at 4 a.m. bars) but…

SOURCE: Chicago Tribune Subscription at 06:55AM
Monday, February 2, 2015

Stand-up Scene: Louis CK posts a love note to comedy clubs; Chicago is the place to write your own by Jason Heidemann

During the standup boom of the late 1980s and early ‘90s, my parents constantly dragged my older brother and me to comedy clubs around the country. I was awfully young at the time, but man…

SOURCE: Chicago Tribune Subscription at 02:07PM

Stand-up Scene: In Chicago, writing your own love note to comedy by Jason Heidemann

During the standup boom of the late 1980s and early ‘90s, my parents constantly dragged my older brother and me to comedy clubs around the country. I was awfully young at the time, but man…

SOURCE: Chicago Tribune Subscription at 02:07PM
Monday, January 19, 2015

Stand-Up Scene: Funny in the face of the freeze by Jason Heidemann

Chicagoans love to complain about winter and it seems their response to sub-zero temps is to stay home. But if winter is making us miserable, it would seem the panacea is a night of good jok…

SOURCE: Chicago Tribune Subscription at 11:38AM
Monday, January 12, 2015

Standup Scene: Following through on our resolutions by Jason Heidemann

It’s a packed house at the“5th Annual New Year’s Hangover Stand-Up Marathon” at the ComedySportz in Lakeview. Apparently Chicagoans have resolved to see more comedy in 2015, and what…

SOURCE: Chicago Tribune Subscription at 03:33PM
Monday, December 22, 2014

Stand-up Scene: A visit to 'The Art of Comedy' in Pilsen by Jason Heidemann

At the NYCH Art Gallery in Pilsen, Sam Norton is pointing me toward five interconnected artworks tacked to a wall and created in marker, pencil and color pencil. In one image, there is a par…

SOURCE: Chicago Tribune Subscription at 03:56PM
Monday, December 15, 2014

Stand-up Scene: A decidedly different sort of wedding for Ian Abramson by Jason Heidemann

Saturday turns out to be as good a day as any for a Chicago wedding. By mid-afternoon, temperatures have reached 48 degrees which is perfect since I am running late and not in any mood to br…

SOURCE: Chicago Tribune Subscription at 12:31PM
Monday, November 24, 2014

Stand-up Scene: 'Blind Bet,' and other chances taken by Jason Heidemann

At the “Blind Bet” stand-up show at The Pony Inn, David Drake is trying out new jokes: “I’m covered in hair,” says Drake. “I’ve got this thing called the creep,” he says poin…

SOURCE: Chicago Tribune Subscription at 04:16PM
Monday, November 17, 2014

Stand-up Scene: Open season on comedy open mics by Jason Heidemann

Comedian Monte LaMonte tells a terrific story about his effusive worship of '80s metal band Judas Priest and its now openly gay singer Rob Halford. Monte says he grew up with a gay uncle and…

SOURCE: Chicago Tribune Subscription at 03:26PM
Monday, November 10, 2014

Stand-up Scene: For these comics, a fine career choice by Jason Heidemann

At Uncharted Books in Logan Square, I am crammed in so tightly that my back is touching the spines of dozens of used books. I feel a dusty copy of L. Ron Hubbard’s “Dianetics” poking i…

SOURCE: Chicago Tribune Subscription at 02:55PM
Monday, October 20, 2014

Stand-up Scene: Look who's back in town by Jason Heidemann

It is alumni week in Chicago. At least, that is what I’m calling it. About a half dozen veterans of the city’s stand-up comedy scene are back in town and manning the mic at the same club…

SOURCE: Chicago Tribune Subscription at 05:20PM
Tuesday, October 14, 2014

Standup Scene: Maria Bamford is riding her own kind of comic wave by Jason Heidemann

As soon as Maria Bamford bows and exits the stage at the Athenaeum Theatre in Chicago Thursday night where she is headlining, the stand-up comic veteran will — to use surfer language — �…

SOURCE: Chicago Tribune Subscription at 01:33PM
Monday, October 6, 2014

Stand-up Scene: How will they play in South Bend? by Jason Heidemann

"Will it plays in Peoria?" This famous line — which hearkens back to the Vaudevillian era — is meant to ask the question of whether or not an act or performer has mainstream appeal, the …

SOURCE: Chicago Tribune Subscription at 03:30PM
Monday, September 22, 2014

Stand-up Scene: Mortality is a tricky subject for comedy by Jason Heidemann

"Stop me if you've heard this one," says comedian Sean White at Timothy O'Toole's last Saturday night. "So my brother is dying on the floor of Starbucks …" Lest you think we audience membe…

SOURCE: Chicago Tribune Subscription at 03:59PM
Monday, September 15, 2014

Stand-up Scene: Confessional jokes are therapy for the rest of us by Jason Heidemann

Drew Michael is staring out at the crowd at Zanies and describing us as a "sea of drunk silhouettes." From from where he’s standing I imagine it to be a more or less an apt reading of the …

SOURCE: Chicago Tribune Subscription at 06:35PM
Monday, September 8, 2014

Stand-up Scene: What's funny is up to you by Jason Heidemann

"Comedy is more personal than food," Jerry Seinfeld once said when asked whether he believed he was one of the top five comics that ever lived. "Somebody either hits you funny or they don't.…

SOURCE: Chicago Tribune Subscription at 03:54PM
Monday, August 25, 2014

Standup Scene: Comedy audiences take risks too by Jason Heidemann

Jeff Arcuri is a joke machine tonight. As the host of “This Week’s Show” every Thursday at Bar Celona in Wrigleyville, it’s his job to amp up the crowd, and he’s doing it well. “…

SOURCE: Chicago Tribune Subscription at 03:00PM
Wednesday, August 20, 2014

Standup Scene: Take a risk in honor of Robin Williams by Jason Heidemann

I was on my way to see a comedy show last week when I learned of the death of Robin Williams. You can say many things about the standup of Williams. His style was manic, intelligent, at time…

SOURCE: Chicago Tribune Subscription at 02:10PM
Monday, August 11, 2014

Stand-up Scene: These comics can go the distance by Jason Heidemann

"A diphthong is a bathing suit used for short distances," says Adam Burke to medium laughter. "That one was just to take the level of the room," he says. "It's like a comedic Rorschach test.…

SOURCE: Chicago Tribune Subscription at 04:49PM
Monday, May 19, 2014

Stand-up Scene: If a joke lands in 'Purgatory,' it's still funny by Jason Heidemann

"I'm going to ditch my wife and marry Ian Abramson," I hear some dude say while filing out of the Upstairs Gallery in Andersonville Saturday night, where wide grins are etched across everyon…

SOURCE: Chicago Tribune Subscription at 01:15PM
Monday, May 12, 2014

Stand-up Scene: Taking in the suburban laughs by Jason Heidemann

In the suburbs no one can hear you scream — with laughter. One thing I know for sure about the vast and expansive Chicago area is that the folks who inhabit it don't always want to mak…

SOURCE: Chicago Tribune Subscription at 03:09PM
Monday, May 5, 2014

Standup scene: Place you bets on these local comics by Jason Heidemann

On Facebook this week, I see that a boatload of Chicago comedians are heading out Friday night to Diamond Jo’s casino in Dubuque, Iowa, to compete in the “Comedy 10K,” a na…

SOURCE: Chicago Tribune Subscription at 05:21PM
Tuesday, April 29, 2014

Standup Scene: Some funny stuff comes up on a quiet night by Jason Heidemann

“It’s fine if you’re quiet,” says Renee Gauthier to a sparse crowd at the Lincoln Lodge on Friday night, “I have a therapist.” The enemy to Chicago standu…

SOURCE: Chicago Tribune Subscription at 03:07PM
Tuesday, April 22, 2014

Standup Scene: This is what a fond farewell looks like for comedians by Jason Heidemann

“You guys, we’re all going to cry tonight, clap louder than that,” says Danielle Puterbaugh at a special “Entertaining Julia” at the Town Hall Pub on Sunday. Sh…

SOURCE: Chicago Tribune Subscription at 08:18PM
Monday, March 31, 2014

Stand-up Scene: These comics are out, proud and funny by Jason Heidemann

"I recently found out that sexuality exists on a spectrum and that spectrum is liquor," says host Adam Guerino at the beginning of "Queer Comedy," a monthly night of LGBT-themed standup and …

SOURCE: Chicago Tribune Subscription at 06:01PM
Wednesday, March 19, 2014

Stand-up Scene: Great one-liners in remembrance of the master by Jason Heidemann

"When I was a boy, I laid in my twin-sized bed and wondered where my brother was." This brilliant joke was written by Mitch Hedberg, a comedian with an incomparable point of view who died ni…

SOURCE: Chicago Tribune Subscription at 05:41PM
Tuesday, March 11, 2014

Stand-up Scene: Finding the humor in misery by Jason Heidemann

"Is it hard to be a comedian?" asks Nick Gaza at "The Nasty Show" at the Laugh Factory last Saturday night. "No, it's hard not to be a comedian."    

SOURCE: Chicago Tribune Subscription at 03:32PM
Tuesday, March 4, 2014

Stand-up Scene: Lincoln Lodge is back by Jason Heidemann

"I remember when this neighborhood used to be rich white people," says comedian Adam Burke on opening night of the revamped "Lincoln Lodge" at Subterranean in Wicker Park. "Now it's all weal…

SOURCE: Chicago Tribune Subscription at 11:49AM
Monday, February 24, 2014

Stand-up Scene: Chicago cabbie Stanley Johnson and other important comedians by Jason Heidemann

Ever get into a taxi and the cabbie is a talker? It can be a nightmare. You want to piddle around on your iPhone or talk with your friend or date, but the driver is spouting off nonsense abo…

SOURCE: Chicago Tribune Subscription at 01:59PM
Monday, February 17, 2014

Stand-up Scene: From sex to work, the 'Big Five' topics of comedy by Jason Heidemann

In Africa, the term "Big Five" refers to a quintet of animals heavily sought after for viewing by tourists on a safari circuit. In the local stand-up scene, I notice a "big five" of topics t…

SOURCE: Chicago Tribune Subscription at 03:36PM

All that Chat

2023-2024 BROADWAY SEASON
May 30, 2023: Grey House - Lyceum Theatre
Jun 26, 2023: Just For Us - Hudson Theatre
Jul 24, 2023: The Cottage - Hayes Theater
Nov 16, 2023: Spamalot - St. James Theatre
Dec 18, 2023: Appropriate - Hayes Theater
Mar 07, 2024: Doubt - Todd Haimes Theatre
Apr 14, 2024: Lempicka - Longacre Theatre
Apr 17, 2024: The Wiz - Marquis Theatre
Apr 18, 2024: Suffs - Music Box Theatre
Apr 25, 2024: Mother Play - Hayes Theater
Jun 10, 2024: The Drama Desk Awards