BY MARIS CALLAHAN
If you’re in need of a good time and great laughs (and free beer), spend Thursday night at Congrats on Your Success, a free, BYOB comedy showcase at Uncharted Books in Logan Square. The show features a variety of local comics of various ages, from all corners of the city.
Congrats on Your Success recently partnered with local brewery Powell Brew House to provide free beverages to audience members over the age of 21, but BYOB is also an option.
“I was inspired to start Congrats on Your Success because I wanted to put on a show that reflected [my friends' and colleagues' and my] sensibilities. Also, from a practical standpoint, if you have a show, you get more stage time and every comedian wants that,” said the show’s producer Rebecca O’Neal, also a writer for Splitsider and Vanity Fair. “First and foremost, my co-producers and I book the comics that make us laugh.”
Hosted by co-producer Bill Bullock, Thursday’s line-up will feature O’Neal as well as Ian Abramson (Talk Hard, Talent Scouts Honor), Nicholas Rouley (Kind of Blue Comedy), Davey Boy Helem (Jokes and Notes), Candy Lawrence (Just for Laughs). The show takes place on the first Thursday of each month with a different line-up.
“We pride ourselves on booking diversely. We’ve booked acts from the North side, the South side and people who do all types of comedy,” said O’Neal. “We’re in a book store also – so it doesn’t hurt if the comics are super sharp… and I think our audience appreciates that.
Congrats on Your Success at Unchartered Books. 2630 North Milwaukee Avenue. For more information about the show, which takes place from 7:00 p.m. to 9:00 p.m. on the first Thursday of every month, visit online.