The Annoyance’s very own musical ensembles. They sing funny songs. Off the top of their heads. Every Tuesday at 8.

Usually, at this time of year, Ebenezer Scrooge learns the true meaning of Christmas. Funnily enough, trios of Christmas ghosts regularly haunt all kinds of grumpy people – and you get to watch it happen live! Back by popular demand, each 45-minute show of An Improvised Christmas Carol drags a new curmudgeon – who hates something the audience loves – through a hilarious journey of self-reflection. You’ll laugh, you’ll gasp, you’ll sing along! This holiday season, pull up your easy chair, grab a mug of hot cocoa, and don’t miss the cozy, fully improvised, made-for-television-but-appearing-on-stage special that is An Improvised Christmas Carol!

Start your weekends early with Cafe Lounge Underwater, Thursdays at The Annoyance!

Cafe Lounge Underwater is a sketch show that feels like a great house party. There’s dancing, music, drinks, and of course, laughs. Join Caroline Burke, Tom Phelan, and Maryrose Sheridan as they perform sketches from their monthly show run!

After two sold-out runs at Chicago’s Annoyance Theatre and features in the Chicago Sketchfest and Miami Improv Festival, Cafe Lounge Underwater brings a brand new show that will have you asking, “when can we all hang out next?”

Gifted Children Winter Break is a three person holiday sketch show from AJ Hernandez-Sortore, Alex Limarzi, and Miranda Bianchi. The Gifted Children will take you on a winter wonderland journey through Santa’s Workshop, Whoville and of course, a really big hill. This show will have 100s of festive lines, and presents for all!

Fishbowl hosted by Sight Unseen is 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. The night closes with a set from Sight Unseen – an Annoyance house team that prides itself on being equal parts heartwarming and offensive.

Step into the one glamorous but now lovingly frayed Blue Velvet Lounge, where the only thing not improvised are the jazz standards crooned by lounge singer Seth Lowery. As Seth’s velvet voice fades, the ensemble sweeps in, spinning spontaneous scenes inspired directly by the songs just performed. One moment, you’re eavesdropping on the eccentric regulars tucked into the lounge’s candlelit corners; the next, you’re whisked far beyond the club to follow the unexpected lives of the characters you just met—bartenders with secret ambitions, mysterious strangers with tangled pasts, and dreamers who stepped into the Blue Velvet for reasons they can’t quite explain. Playful, surprising, and steeped in a retro-cool vibe, this show blends live music and improvised storytelling into a one-of-a-kind night where every note inspires a new twist—and every visit to the Blue Velvet reveals something you’ve never seen before.

Oh, we’re keeping the yuletides GAY! Join us for a queer take on the classic A Christmas Carol as some of your favorite characters from the hit summer show “Steamworks the Musical” navigate the past, present, and future while trying to save the building from being destroyed by an evil Grinch! 

Written by Connor James Hirsch, Noah Lanos, Nathan Wetter, and Ryan Brown , “A Very Steamworks Christmas” is coming back for its second year after a sold-out run in 2024. 

Brand new sketch comedy every week from one of Chicago’s premiere sketch teams.

A Chicago based improv comedy show and drinking game based on the works of Alfred Hitchcock.

A lgbtqia+ themed variety show featuring some of Chicago’s strongest and most diversely hilarious voices!

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.

What even is Hanukkah? And how the hell do you spell it?? “OY!” is back with sketches, songs, and improv from an all-Jewish cast exploring the customs and cultures that bring Jews together all over the world, while also celebrating Jewish joy and traditions. So get off your tuchus and come celebrate the holidays with us!

Mentalism meets improv comedy in the entirely unique form created by Annoyance founder Mick Napier. There is truly nothing else like it.

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.

An hour long comedy show featuring some of Annoyance Theatre’s best and funniest.

A bunch of grown-ass adults get high and play make believe.