Comedy: First Talent Announcement for TBS Just For Laughs 2013

We’re glad to announce some of the main acts coming out to Chicago for the TBS Just For Laughs 2013 comedy festival! The Lineup for America’s Biggest Comedy Festival Includes:

Bill Maher (Politically Incorrect, Real Time w/Bill Maher, Religulous)

Seth Meyers (SNL’s Weekend Update and 2011 Correspondents Dinner)

Bob Newhar (The Bob Newhart Show and Newhart)

David Cross (Arrested Development and Mr. Show)

Nick Swardson (Reno 911, Malibu’s Most Wanted, …Chuck & Larry)

John Hodgman (The Daily Show w/ Jon Stewart)

Artie Lange (MADtv, The Artie Lang Show, The Howard Stern Show)

Hannibal Buress (Stand-Up comedian, writer on 30 Rock)

Al Madrigal (The Daily Show w/ Jon Stewart)

Maria Bamford (Comedian of Comedy)

Dylan Moran (Yeah,Yeah)

Anjelah Johnson (MADtv)

*Plus the stars of TBS’s Sullivan & Son, truTV’s Impractical Jokers And IFC’s The Whitest Kids U’ Know, with more surprises TBA soon.

Hit the jump to read the full Press Release and read some info on the shows these comedians will bring to the festival and the locations where these will take place.

Chicago, April 24, 2013 – TBS Just For Laughs Chicago presented by State Farm, is kicking off its 5^th Anniversary celebration with the first announcement of this year’s spectacular lineup, featuring many of comedy’s living legends, brightest stars and fastest-rising talent. Taking place Tuesday, June 11 to Sunday, June 16, this sprawling, six-day event will feature some of the funniest people on the planet performing at Chicago’s most iconic venues. Tickets for TBS Just For Laughs Chicago go on sale Saturday, April 27, at 10:00 am (CT).

Smart, subversive comedy will be on full display at The Chicago Theatre this summer, when Bill Maher serves up a hefty dose of his scathing sociopolitical commentary with his own show on June 16. Fellow master satirist, SNL star and Weekend Update anchor Seth Meyers, performs on June 14, with special guests – The Daily Show with Jon Stewart’s Al Madrigal and Chicago’s native son and former 30 Rock writer Hannibal Buress. Living legend Bob Newhart, one of the most important and influential voices in the history of American comedy, returns to his hometown for a must-see performance on June 15. And after slipping himself back into the cutoffs of Never Nude analrapist Dr. Tobias Fünke in the hugely anticipated Arrested Development reboot, the brilliant David Cross leads a cabal of his closest comedy comrades into the State Street landmark on June 13 for David Cross & His Super Duper Pals.

The Vic will play host to a trio of exclusive performances by some of the nation’s most popular comedians, led by two live performances by the stars of truTV’s hit hidden-camera show Impractical Jokers on June 15. Nick Swardson, the newest member of Adam Sandler’s Happy Madison family and co-star of the upcoming summer comedy Grown Ups 2, will electrify audiences with a rare performance on June 13. And insanely talented MADtv alum Anjelah Johnson, known for her characters such as online sensation Bon Qui Qui, will perform on June 12.

The Park West will serve up an embarrassment of alt-comedy riches, starting with The Daily Show correspondent, podcast superstar and Bored To Death agitator John Hodgman on June 13 with his show John Hodgman, Performing as Celebrated Humorist John Hodgman in: JOHN HODGMAN TONIGHT! On June 15, Artie Lange from The Howard Stern Show fame will offer up his no-hold-barred comedy for two shows, while alt-comedy goddess and Comedians of Comedy star Maria Bamford will perform one solo show. “The greatest comedian, living or dead” as quoted by Paris’ Le Monde newspaper, Irish comic Dylan Moran, will ruminate on life, love and loss with his inimitable sardonic wit in his new one-man show Yeah, Yeah on June 14. And the stars of two hit TV shows will take the stage for exclusive performances, with Steve Byrne, Owen Benjamin, Ahmed Ahmed and Roy Wood Jr. of TBS’s popular sitcom Sullivan & Son slated for June 14, and IFC’s sketch-comedy superstars Trevor Moore, Zach Creggar, Sam Brown, Timmy Williams and Darren Trumeter from the IFC smash The Whitest Kids U’ Know scheduled to perform June 12.

Stay tuned for additional amazing lineup announcements in the coming weeks!

Chicago Theatre (175 North State Street)

David Cross & His Super Duper Pals – Thursday, June 13 at 7:30 p.m.

We’re only halfway through 2013, and David Cross has already provided the comedy world with one of this year’s singular highlights by slipping himself back into the cutoffs of Never Nude analrapist Dr. Tobias Fünke in the hugely anticipated, upcoming Arrested Development reboot. The co-creator and co-star of the groundbreaking sketch series Mr. Show leads his closest comedy comrades into the Chicago Theatre for a night so funny, you’ll feel no need to ‘blue yourself.’

Seth Meyers with Special Guests Al Madrigal & Hannibal Buress – Friday, June 14 at 7:30 p.m.

Master satirist, SNL star and Weekend Update anchor Seth Meyers, will perform along with special guests – The Daily Show with Jon Stewart’s Al Madrigal and Chicago’s native son and former 30 Rock writer Hannibal Buress.

Bob Newhart Live – Saturday, June 15 at 7:00 p.m.

One of the most important, influential, and beloved figures in the history of American comedy, Chicago native Bob Newhart has been entertaining English-speaking audiences around the world for the past 52 years. In that time, Newhart’s managed to star in two of the most beloved sitcoms in television history, The Bob Newhart Show and Newhart, win Peabody and Emmy^Ò awards for The Bob Newhart Variety Show, release eight comedy albums (including the first to ever hit #1 on the charts), host The Tonight Show an astounding 87 times, win 3 Grammys, write a New York Times bestseller, and appear in 14 feature films alongside some of the biggest movie stars in the world.

Bill Maher – Sunday, June 16 at 7:30 p.m.

For the last eighteen years, Bill Maher has set the boundaries of where funny, political talk can go on American television. Maher’s combination of unflinching honesty and big laughs, first showcased on Comedy Central and ABC’s Politically Incorrect, and for the past seven years on HBO’s Real Time with Bill Maher, have garnered him 21 Emmy^Ò nominations. In October of 2008, Maher applied the same to his uproarious and unprecedented swipe at organized religion, Religulous, which has since become one of the highest-grossing documentary films of all-time. In addition to his television and film exploits, Maher has written four bestselling books, incited the wrath of conservative zealots across the country, and established himself as a preferred guest at the Playboy Mansion. He is every bit as happy as you think he is.

Tickets for The Chicago Theatre shows are available:

In person at The Chicago Theatre Box Office and all Ticketmaster outlets
Online at ticketmaster.com
By phone at (312) 902-1500 or (800) 745-3000

The Vic (3145 North Sheffield Avenue)

Anjelah Johnson – Wednesday, June 12 at 7:30 p.m.

Actress, comedian, and former Oakland Raiders cheerleader Anjelah Johnson took the Internet by storm with her “Nail Salon” standup routine, which has since generated over 30 million views and counting. After joining the cast of MADtv, her breakout character, disgruntled fast-food employee Bon Qui Qui, quickly blossomed into an even bigger online sensation, with over 55 million views, a full-length rap song, and accompanying music video. Since then, she’s been cast in NBC’s upcoming dramedy About A Boy with Minnie Driver, delivered memorable guest performances on shows like Curb Your Enthusiasm, The Shield and Ugly Betty, starred in major feature films like Our Family Wedding, Alvin & The Chipmunks: The Squeakquel and Marmaduke, and recorded her own one-hour comedy special for Comedy Central and Warner Brothers records. What can we say? The lady knows funny.

Nick Swardson – Thursday, June 13 at 7:30 p.m.

The newest full-time member of Adam Sandler’s Happy Madison family, Nick Swardson is a man of many talents. In addition to writing and/or co-producing hit films like Malibu’s Most Wanted, Grandma’s Boy, Benchwarmers, and I Now Pronounce You Chuck & Larry, Swardson has also co-starred such movies as Blades Of Glory, The House Bunny, Just Go With It, 30 Minutes Or Less, as well as the upcoming blockbuster Grown Ups 2. He will also voice a role in the upcoming R-rated animated feature Hell & Back with Mila Kunis and Susan Sarandon. He recently followed his platinum-certified debut standup DVD, Party, with the comedy special Nick Swardson: Seriously, Who Farted?, and currently co-writes, executive produces, and stars in the hit Comedy Central television series Nick Swardson’s Pretend Time, which he also co-created. Hell, he might even do craft services on the show, for all we know. Nothing would surprise us at this point – he’s that versatile.

Impractical Jokers – Saturday, June 15 at 7:30 & 10:00 p.m.

If there’s one thing best friends know how to do, it’s pranking and embarrassing the hell out of each other for the amusement of others. But while most people get that sort of thing out of their systems by the end of high school, childhood pals Joseph “Joe” Gatto, James “Murr” Murray, Salvatore “Sal” Vulcano and Brian “Q” Quinn have turned it into a life’s calling. Their smash hit hidden-camera show Impractical Jokers on truTV averaged 2.2 million viewers in 2012 and consistently ranked among the top 5 shows in its timeslot. The guys will bring their hysterical hijinks to The Vic for a night of never-before-seen hidden camera challenges, stories from set that you won’t believe, a live Q&A, and real, outrageous messages from fans!

Tickets for The Vic shows are available:

In person at The Vic or Park West Box Offices
Online at etix.com
By phone at (800) 514-ETIX

Park West (322 West Armitage Avenue)

The Whitest Kids U’ Know – Wednesday, June 12 at 7:30 p.m.

Since they began performing sketch comedy shows on Manhattan’s Lower East Side in 2003, The Whitest Kids U’ Know have won the award for Best Sketch Group at the 2006 Aspen Comedy Festival, been watched by over 50 million viewers on YouTube, and completed five seasons of their self-titled comedy show on the IFC Network. They recently finished their first film The Civil War on Drugs and are working on their second. And: yes, they really are astoundingly white.

John Hodgman, Performing as Celebrated Humorist John Hodgman in: JOHN HODGMAN TONIGHT! – Thursday, June 13 at 7:30 p.m.

Before finding fame as The Daily Show with Jon Stewart’s beloved Resident Expert, John Hodgman was a simple writer, humorist, expert, and former professional literary agent living in New York City (where he served as the Humor Editor for New York Times Magazine and frequent contributor to This American Life). This would have been enough of a career for any human. But then he went on to write a book of invented trivia and completely fake facts entitled The Area Of My Expertise and exploded to unexpected stardom as the “PC” in a series of television ads for Apple brand computers, guest roles as “the person wearing glasses” in a variety of films and TV shows, including Community, Battlestar Galactica, and of course, as Jason Schwartzman’s nemesis, Louis Greene on all three seasons of HBO’s Bored to Death.

Dylan Moran: “Yeah, Yeah” – Friday, June 14 at 7:30 p.m.

Award-winning Irish comedian Dylan Moran brings his critically acclaimed new show Yeah, Yeah to Park West! Moran’s perspective is unashamedly unique and utterly fresh. He watches us all through the tinted hue of a glass of fine full-bodied red and then paints what he sees onto a deliciously sarcastic and rich life canvas. Blisteringly funny, painfully accurate, Yeah,Yeah is like looking at a Canaletto painting while someone simultaneously punches you in the stomach and tickles you breathless. Or, as LA Weekly puts it, “He’ll have you clutching your sides, and begging for more.”

The Sullivan & Son Comedy Tour – Friday, June 14 at 10:00 p.m.

See the stars of TBS’s new hit comedy series live in Chicago! The Sullivan & Son Comedy Tour features headliners Steve Byrne (Four Christmases, Couples Retreat), Owen Benjamin (The House Bunny, Jack And Jill), Roy Wood Jr. (Chelsea Lately, Def Comedy Jam) and Ahmed Ahmed (Axis Of Evil, Iron Man) teaming up for one hilarious stand-up show.

Maria Bamford – Saturday, June 15 at 7:00 p.m.

One of the original Comedians of Comedy, Maria Bamford is the first female standup to ever record two half-hour Comedy Central Presents specials. Recently named one of Rolling Stone’s 50 Funniest People, Bamford’s 2009 album Unwanted Thoughts Syndrome was named one of The AV Club’s best comedy albums of the decade, and her cult web series The Maria Bamford Show is currently screening at the New York Museum of Art and Design. She has guest starred on Louie and The Sarah Silverman Program, has recurring roles on the re-booted Arrested Development, Tim & Eric: Awesome Show, Great Job! as well as Check It Out, and made multiple appearances on The Tonight Show with Jay Leno, The Late Late Show with Craig Ferguson, Late Night with Conan O’Brien and Jimmy Kimmel Live. She also voices a role in the upcoming R-rated stop-motion animated comedy Hell & Back with Mila Kunis and Susan Sarandon.

Artie Lange – Saturday, June 15 at 9:30 & 11:59 p.m.

From stand-up to sketch comedy to movies, TV and the biggest radio show in the world, Artie Lange has done it all in the comedy world. A popular character on The Howard Stern Show for almost a decade, Artie currently hosts The Artie Lange Show podcast. His television credits include MADtv, Comedy Central Roasts of Hugh Hefner and William Shatner, Rescue Me with Denis Leary, Entourage and Dave’s Old Porn with Dave Attell. On the big screen, he has had supporting roles in Old School and Elf, and he co-wrote, produced and starred in his own feature film Beer League. Artie also published his memoir Too Fat To Fish that was a New York Times bestseller, and produced his concert DVD, Artie Lange: It’s The Whiskey Talkin’.