The Annoyance Theatre, or Annoyance Productions, is a

theatre Theatre or theater is a collaborative form of performing art that uses live performers, usually actors to present experiences of a real or imagined event before a live audience in a specific place, often a Stage (theatre), stage. The performe ...

and associated ensemble based in

Chicago Chicago is the List of municipalities in Illinois, most populous city in the U.S. state of Illinois and in the Midwestern United States. With a population of 2,746,388, as of the 2020 United States census, 2020 census, it is the List of Unite ...

Illinois Illinois ( ) is a U.S. state, state in the Midwestern United States, Midwestern United States. It borders on Lake Michigan to its northeast, the Mississippi River to its west, and the Wabash River, Wabash and Ohio River, Ohio rivers to its ...

, that deals mainly in absurd and outrageous

humor Humour ( Commonwealth English) or humor (American English) is the tendency of experiences to provoke laughter and provide amusement. The term derives from the humoral medicine of the ancient Greeks, which taught that the balance of fluids i ...

. Many people who have performed with the ensemble have gone on to become successful stage and screen actors. Popular productions have included ''

Co-Ed Prison Sluts ''Co-Ed Prison Sluts'' is a musical revue that originally opened at the Annoyance Theatre in April 1989, closed in June 2000, and reopened in 2008, making it the longest-running musical in Chicago, Illinois Chicago is the List of municip ...

'' and ''That Darned Antichrist''. Annoyance Productions currently runs classes in improvisation, writing, musical improvisation, acting, and solo work.

History

The Annoyance Theatre was founded by Mick Napier as "Metraform" in 1987 and changed its name to the Annoyance after moving into a new building in 1989. The Annoyance moved again in 1994 to a theater on the 3700 block of North Clark Street, where it would remain for six years. In 2000 the Annoyance was forced to move out so the building could be demolished to make room for a temporary parking lot for nearby

Wrigley Field Wrigley Field is a ballpark on the North Side, Chicago, North Side of Chicago, Illinois. It is the home ballpark of Major League Baseball's Chicago Cubs, one of the city's two MLB franchises. It first opened in 1914 as Weeghman Park for Charl ...

, which was later the site of a mixed commercial/residential building containing a

Blockbuster Video Blockbuster may refer to: Corporations * Blockbuster (retailer), a former video rental chain * Blockbuster (Bend, Oregon), remaining store Arts and entertainment * Blockbuster (entertainment) a very successful movie * Blockbuster (DC Comics ...

. At the time of its closing in 2000, ''Co-Ed Prison Sluts'', a musical comedy with a frequently rotating cast, was the longest-running musical comedy in Chicago, having played for 11 years. The Annoyance took up residence in a new building in 2002, and signed a lease for an Uptown location in 2004. In 2013 the theatre announced that they would be moving from their Uptown Chicago location to their current home at 851 W. Belmont in the Lakeview district of Chicago.

Past productions

In 1992 the Annoyance opened a show called ''The Real Live Brady Bunch'', in which a troupe of performers, with an eye toward irony, acted out entire episodes of the 1960s and '70s family

sitcom A sitcom (short for situation comedy or situational comedy) is a genre of comedy produced for radio and television, that centers on a recurring cast of character (arts), characters as they navigate humorous situations within a consistent settin ...

The Brady Bunch ''The Brady Bunch'' is an American sitcom created by Sherwood Schwartz that aired five seasons from September 26, 1969, to March 8, 1974, on ABC. The series revolves around a large blended family of six children, with three boys and three gir ...

''. The show was hugely successful, riding the wave of 1970s

nostalgia Nostalgia is a sentimentality for the past, typically for a period or place with happy personal associations. The word ''nostalgia'' is a neoclassical compound derived from Greek language, Greek, consisting of (''nóstos''), a Homeric word me ...

that came in part to define the 1990s and continues to this day. ''What Every Girl Should Know... An Ode to Judy Blume'' was another popular show and even gained the respect and approval of author Judy Blume. Throughout the late 1990s iconic film director

John Waters John Samuel Waters Jr. (born April 22, 1946) is an American filmmaker, actor, writer, and artist. He rose to fame in the early 1970s for his transgressive cult films, including '' Multiple Maniacs'' (1970), '' Pink Flamingos'' (1972) and '' Fe ...

and comedian Charlie Callas made appearances at the Annoyance. The Annoyance opened a new theatre and bar in July 2006 in the Uptown area of Chicago. That location opened with a production of ''President Bush is a Great Man'', directed by Mick Napier. In October 2006, the theatre revived their very first show, '' Splatter Theatre'', first performed in 1987. This has become a Halloween tradition at the theater. In July 2008, the theater revived their flagship show, ''

'', first performed in April 1988. September 2014, the Annoyance Theater produced '' Good Morning Gitmo,'' a one act comedy by Mishu Hilmy and Eric Simon about Guantanamo Bay Detention Center. The last performance at the Uptown theatre location was on August 24, 2013. The first performance at the Belmont space was Napier's ''Invisible World'' on Saturday May 24, 2014 and the company continues to produce original material created by their own ensemble. In February 2015, the theatre produced the ''Gobbler’s Knob: Groundhog Day Spectacular'', an annual variety show celebrating Groundhog's Day. The show was created by Tom Troup and Christopher Kervick and starred Tim Heurlin as the mayor of Punxsutawney, PA.

Notable alumni

Ike Barinholtz Ike Barinholtz (born February 18, 1977) is an American actor and comedian. He is best known for his starring roles in the comedy series '' MADtv'' (2002–2007), '' Eastbound & Down'' (2012), '' The Mindy Project'' (2012–2017), '' Bless the Hart ...

, ''

MADtv ''Mad TV'' (stylized as ''MADtv'') is an American sketch comedy television series created by David Salzman, Fax Bahr, and Adam Small. Loosely based on the humor magazine '' Mad'', ''Mad TVs pre-taped satirical sketches were primarily parodie ...

'' cast member *

Vanessa Bayer Vanessa Bayer (born November 14, 1981) is an American actress and comedian. She was a cast member on the NBC sketch comedy series ''Saturday Night Live'' from 2010 to 2017, for which she was nominated for an Emmy. She co-created, co-executive pr ...

, ''

Saturday Night Live ''Saturday Night Live'' (''SNL'') is an American Late night television in the United States, late-night live television, live sketch comedy variety show created by Lorne Michaels and developed by Michaels and Dick Ebersol that airs on NBC. The ...

'' cast member * Aidy Bryant, ''Saturday Night Live'' cast member * Beth Cahill, ''Saturday Night Live'' cast member *

Stephen Colbert Stephen Tyrone Colbert ( ; born May 13, 1964) is an American comedian, writer, producer, political commentator, actor, and television host. He is best known for hosting the satirical Comedy Central program ''The Colbert Report'' from 2005 to ...

, television host *

Dick Costolo Richard William Costolo (pronounced: ) (born September 10, 1963) is an American businessman. He was the CEO of Twitter, Inc. from 2010 to 2015; he also served as the COO before becoming CEO. Career Costolo was born in Royal Oak, Michigan. In 1 ...

, Twitter's former CEO * Martin de Maat, teacher * Paul Dinello, '' Strangers with Candy'' actor and director *

Jon Favreau Jonathan Kolia Favreau ( ; born October 19, 1966) is an American actor and filmmaker. As an actor, Favreau has appeared in films such as ''Rudy (film), Rudy'' (1993), ''PCU (film), PCU'' (1994), ''Swingers (1996 film), Swingers'' (1996), ''Very ...

, actor, writer, and director *

Kate Flannery Kate Flannery (born June 10, 1964) is an American actress. Following her early theatre work, Flannery had her screen breakthrough playing Meredith Palmer on the NBC series ''The Office'', which won her two Screen Actors Guild Awards. She went o ...

, ''

The Office ''The Office'' is the title of several mockumentary sitcoms based on a British series originally created by Ricky Gervais and Stephen Merchant as '' The Office'' in 2001. The original series also starred Gervais as manager and primary charac ...

'' actor *

Jeff Garlin Jeffrey Garlin (born June 5, 1962) is an American stand-up comedy, stand-up comedian and actor. He is best known for playing List of Curb Your Enthusiasm characters#Jeff Greene, Jeff Greene on the HBO sitcom ''Curb Your Enthusiasm'', and Murray ...

, ''

Curb Your Enthusiasm ''Curb Your Enthusiasm'', also known colloquially simply as ''Curb'', is an American television comedy of manners created by Larry David that premiered on HBO with an hour-long special in October 17, 1999, followed by 12 seasons broadcast from Oc ...

'' actor and producer * Melanie Hutsell, ''Saturday Night Live'' cast member * Lisa Lewis, actress/voiceover artist *

Jane Lynch Jane Marie Lynch (born July 14, 1960) is an American actress, comedian, and singer. Known for playing starring and recurring roles in comedic television, her accolades include one Golden Globe, five Primetime Emmys and two Screen Actors Gui ...

, actress and comedian * Susan Messing, '' Late Friday'' comedian * Mick Napier, '' Exit 57'' director * Conner O'Malley, writer, performer *

David Pasquesi David Pasquesi (born December 22, 1960) is an American actor and comedian. His screen credits include '' Father of the Bride'' (1991), ''Common Law'' (1996), '' Strangers with Candy'' (1999), '' The Watcher'' (2000), '' Employee of the Month'' ...

, actor * Ray Quinn, musician * Kerri Randles, actress *

Andy Richter Paul Andrew Richter (born October 28, 1966) is an American actor, comedian, writer, and talk show announcer. He is best known as the sidekick for Conan O'Brien on O'Brien's talk shows: '' Late Night'' and ''The Tonight Show'' on NBC and '' Cona ...

, ''

Late Night with Conan O'Brien ''Late Night with Conan O'Brien'' is an American television talk show broadcast by NBC. The show is the second installment of the ''Late Night (franchise), Late Night'' franchise originally established by David Letterman. Hosted by Conan O'Brie ...

'' co-host and actor * Adam Rubin, author *

Amy Sedaris Amy Louise Sedaris (; born March 29, 1961) is an American actress, comedian, and writer. She played Jerri Blank in the Comedy Central comedy series '' Strangers with Candy'' (1999–2000) and the prequel film '' Strangers with Candy'' (2005), wh ...

, ''Strangers with Candy'' actor * Faith Soloway, musician *

Joey Soloway Joey Soloway (born Jill Soloway; September 26, 1965) is an American television creator, showrunner, director and writer. Soloway is known for creating, writing, executive producing and directing the Amazon original series '' Transparent'', winnin ...

, '' Six Feet Under'' writer and producer *

Jason Sudeikis Daniel Jason Sudeikis ( ; born September 18, 1975) is an American actor, comedian, screenwriter, and producer. In the 1990s, he began his career in improv comedy and performed with ComedySportz, iO Chicago (Improv Olympic), and The Second City. I ...

, ''Saturday Night Live'' cast member * Matt Walsh, ''

Upright Citizen's Brigade The Upright Citizens Brigade (UCB) is an improvisational comedy, improvisational and sketch comedy group that emerged from Chicago, Illinois, Chicago's ImprovOlympic in 1990. The original incarnation of the group consisted of Amy Poehler, Matt ...

'' actor * Chris Witaske, actor * James Asmus, writer

Marvel Comics Marvel Comics is a New York City–based comic book publishing, publisher, a property of the Walt Disney Company since December 31, 2009, and a subsidiary of Disney Publishing Worldwide since March 2023. Marvel was founded in 1939 by Martin G ...

References

External links

Annoyance Theatre official site

2006 ''TimeOut: Chicago'' article on return of the Annoyance Theater
{{authority control Comedy clubs in the United States American comedy troupes Sketch comedy troupes Improvisational theatre Improvisational troupes Theatres in Chicago Theatre companies in Chicago Performing groups established in 1987

History

Past productions

Notable alumni

See also

References

External links