I'm not sure why people give this place less than 5 stars, You're going for a night of laughs, not…read morea dining experience or some kind of alcoholic gastro experience. It's laughs. And they deliver. We've been here a few times since November of 2025 and I even got to see Kevin Bozeman there (if you haven't caught his act, check him out: https://www.youtube.com/@TheeKevinBozeman). Sure, there's a two ITEM minimum. Get the pretzel and a drink, or two drinks, or whatever, I don't care what you get. You're there to laugh. The servers are attentive and the seating is comfortable (despite being a bit crammed in). The warm ups have been great. They are very interactive with lots of crowd work. They validate your parking and offer you two free passes if you can show them that you follow them on Instagram. So, free parking and free passes. Seems like a great night out to me. And you get to see some awesome comedy. My only detraction is that you're packed in like sardines, so go early and find a place where you won't feel too packed in. And they let you meet the headliners afterward. I love Zanies in Rosemont!

Clean bathrooms. Helpful employees. Great show (I saw Steph Tolev, highly recommend her). Food was…read morevery mid, which I wasn't there for food per se but it is a 2 item minimum so you kinda need to order food. Parking was a little hectic and it was hard to find from the lot as a first timer. I would go back and I would recommend this place. Took off a star because there could have been clearer signage to get you from the lot to Zanies, I barely made it for the opener.

Booked Sally Edwards at Zanies Comedy Club in St. Charles and she did a great show. The club…read moremanager and the audience thought it was a huge success.

From the owner: Clean interactive comedy shows for women by Keynote Humorist, Author and Clean Comedian - Sally…read moreEdwards.

First Time In This Place watching a comedy show. We watched Jr De Guzman and he was so funny I…read moredidn't expect that very thankful that my friend invited me to go to the show we were in the second row table and the ticket was $53 which is super worth it. Parking was in an issue the place is small their stairs but there's also an elevator which I like the fact that it is small because it's more intimate that way and the comedian can actually interact with the audience. We didn't really try the food but there is a two drink minimum or an order of food so we just did two drinks it's a bit pricey so just need to expect that. The service was great the our server was always there checking up on us and asking what we needed so that's also a good thing. Will definitely come back and see more shows here. Happy watching!

Went to see Shular King Sunday night and it was a treat! The MC and opening comedians were awesome…read moreand hilarious! They warmed up the crowd for Shular indeed! Shular was fantastic! Great time, he was hilarious and we definitely need to laugh more! We enjoyed our first time here! It's a 2 item minimum (drinks OR food) which is cool. We aren't drinkers all the time and we drove 45 minutes so we didn't wanna drink. We ordered food and it was good! We had a Caesar salad, seasoned fries, cheeseburger eggrolls and a brownie sundae. All tasted great! Looking forward to catching another show soon!

We attended Trickery on Saturday 04/18/26. Aaron was adept at working with a diverse audience to…read moreinclude them and maintain control of his performance in a very intimate setting. Because it's BYOB you'll get the 20-somethings that feel they have to get loaded beforehand and then act the fool while attending (do you hear that "Neil"? No one wants the focus on you acting like it was your first experience with alcohol) but Aaron was skilled at bypassing them without causing tension or escalating bad behavior. Aaron's attitude is one of someone who has worked hard to make this little venture work, and he deserves respect and recognition for his obvious commitment and work ethic. His act included variations of tricks performed by other magicians, with his own twists. He is an expert at sleight of hand and distraction, which is considerably more difficult in a room about the size of an average residential living-room. He had an appropriate sense of humor aligned with an audience coming to Boystown, an overtly gay neighborhood in Chicago (if you're not familiar). However he wasn't garish, flaming, flamboyant, or offensive; he managed a perfect balance of innuendo humor and audience engagement without being cheap or ingenuine. The snarky one-liners will likely go over your young kids' heads (although bring them to an early show, your 9 year old doesn't belong in Boystown at 10 pm on a weekend), and he carries himself with class avoiding the use of profanity or graphic terms. Again, I can't overstate that his tricks were amazing, impressive, and captivating - as magic should be. You leave the show shaking your head and wondering how it's done - which truly makes it "magic". You would be hard-pressed to spend $36.36/person for an hour of live entertainment that can match Aaron's performance. Pro-tip: If you're driving there you will need to use an app to reserve parking, as there aren't garages like downtown Chicago and every street is filled with so many signs there's no way you will return and find your car not-towed or not-ticketed. Chicago does this on purpose to generate revenue; you'll see "street cleaning" on Tuesday from xx hour to xx hour, no parking when snow is over 2 inches OR any time from Dec 1 through April 1, loading zone, 15 minute stopping/standing with flashers, no parking, residential permit zone only, bike lanes, bus stop restrictions, etc. If you find street parking and think you've beaten the system, think again. Nobel Prize Laureates, Rhodes Scholars, Ivy League PhDs, Mensa members - you can meet them all at Chicago Central Auto Pound retrieving their vehicles. Stephen Hawking couldn't drive, but if he could and he parked in that neighborhood all the quantum mechanics in the world wouldn't make his towed car reappear from the Chicago Parking space-time continuum. The nice thing is if you do reserve parking and give yourself enough time you can walk to many, many restaurants and bars in the area that are open even after the 10 pm show ends. Thank you Aaron for a wonderful experience, you made my wife's birthday memorable for both of us.

I've attended this show twice now and really enjoyed it both times. It's always a great experience…read more He takes time to thank everyone for coming and even asks how you heard about the show, which makes it feel very personal and welcoming. He's genuinely nice and engaging. I plan to come at least once a year. I also love having a local, neighborhood option instead of having to go downtown to see similar acts.

Sort of a Jekyll and Hyde experience--well, not exactly. More vintage and modern. The theater…read moreexterior has a comfortable vintage feel; for the interior, there is modern, comfortable seating with attractive wood paneled acoustically resonant walls. It was our first time to visit so we can't comment about show-after-show sound quality, but the performance we attended was sounding and viewing great. Driving there, it felt like parking would be a problem. It wasn't.

Came here tonight for the first time to see Bonnie and Clyde: The Musical! IT. WAS. AMAZING. All of…read morethe actors were great and it was immersive because they had real gun pops which kept everyone on their toes because you never knew when the guns were going to really pop. This play had a full house, so all of the workers kept telling people to leave no gaps between seats. That didn't bother me, but the workers in the main lobby weren't the nicest and seemed pretty stressed because of checking in everyone. The one lady who checked us in and gave us our tickets was pretty rude when telling us we couldn't get seated until 7pm (it was 6:45), but we already knew the time we had to wait to sit down... The theater itself is small, but very intimate, and the acoustics are great because of it. I suggest to get here early because you don't have assigned seats, so it's first come, first seated. However, you can't really have a bad seat because the theater is so small, so you can see the stage from anywhere (unless of course someone in front of you has volumized hair or something!) The thing I love about the seating, too, is that all of the seats face right to the stage. No chairs are angled, which is the best because your neck doesn't hurt from watching a play. It was also cool because I sat in the left aisle seat and the actors used the aisles to run back and forth. Overall, I would definitely come here again to watch a play because the quality of acting was spot on and worth seeing!

The doors opened right on time for the event. They checked people in while waiting in line, which…read morestreamlined entry. You get wand checked by security and coat check is to the right (cash only for coat check) the venue was clean and very open. Security was very good with intercepting any issues so the concert was enjoyable. Would visit this venue again!

Came here for a 90s party event and was pleasantly surprised with Joe's Live. Parking in the area…read moreis easy (well provided you make the correct turn into the correct section of the parking garage). The building itself doesn't look that big from the outside, but once you are the venue is really large. Upon walking in they had a section for merchandise sales, a couple of bar area, a lot of standing tables (no seats anywhere), a main floor in front of the stage, as well as an upstairs. The upstairs area looks to be a great place to enjoy any concert, but that's why it's reserved for VIPs. They did a great job of transforming the place for the show. Lots of fun lighting special effects, fun t-shirt gun giveaways, dry ice floating bubbles - which I never saw before in any show, and of course the balloon drop at the end. Also the music was loud, but you could still talk to the person next to you - well loudly of course, but I didn't feel like I had to shout. I had only a sip of a margarita which was a bit sweet for my liking, but overall a great place to catch a show and do something out of the ordinary!

I had a ton of fun watching a cover band here. Don't expect a mosh pit, the crowd runs a bit…read moreolder - ha. But everyone was in to it and having fun. The staff there were nice and knew what they were doing. I heard there was a speakeasy there but I didn't go upstairs to see it

This is a pretty nice venue! They've put in lots of work to restore this old theater and it shows…read more Seats are comfortable, decent leg room. Plenty of food and beverages to choose from. The service is fast and friendly too. Prices are not too bad either. About on par with other similar venues. There's a speakeasy two floors up, but we didn't check it out yet. I feel the sound could be better, but I know that's subjective and could be due to many variables. Anyway, check this place out! I think you'll like it.

What a gem! I pass the Oil Lamp Theater all the time, but never went. Purchased tickets for The…read moreOutsider during Chicago Theater Week and so glad I did! We are excited to attend more shows. When you first walk in, you're greeted by a hostess. There's a full service bar and various seating spots you can enjoy before and after the show and during intermission. The theater is cozy with 60 seats. They are moving across the street to a larger space, former Country Cobbler. Fun fact, I used to get my shoes there when I was a child. They are currently fundraising for the transformation. Check out their website to learn more. The Outsider was hilarious. The actors really brought this play to life. During this divisive political climate we are currently in, it was a refreshing perspective of politics and government. Everyone laughed throughout the entire show. I highly recommend checking The Outsiders out!!

I have never been to the Oil Lamp Theater before, but my parents treated the entire family to a…read moreshowing of It's A Wonderful Life: A Live Radio Play to cross it off of my bucket list. The parking was a little crowded for a Sunday night so my father dropped us off at the door and parked the car while we ventured inside. We got the warmest greeting from the person behind the desk who gave us instructions on how we could write our own shout outs to be read by the cast. (Probably more relevant to the patrons of the theater than the building itself, but they were a range of hilarious, heartwarming, and professionally personal!) There were free cookies available as well as a full bar menu. I don't drink so I always scope out the non-alcoholic options and I could have gotten a can of Diet Coke for $2--not bad! I did see that they did offer a curated drink that matched the show as well. I appreciate when small details like that are accounted for! I personally did not use the bathroom, but multiple members of our party did and I did not hear any complaints. The theater itself was very small, but it made sense for the show that we were attending? I am deathly curious (Pun not intended) to see how they will pull off Dial M for Murder in that space. I saw it in Oakbrook on a sprawling stage so my brain couldn't fathom how that would work. Anyhoo! Back to what I actually DID see. Again, the set worked for the show that we did see. It had a cool foley studio like I imagine radio stations did back in the day. My favorite contraption was the one that spun with a handle to sound like wind! So cool! The seats were black, plastic, chairs which I did not mind because I have proper posture. I didn't feel uncomfortable at any point during the 2 hour show. My grandma is shorty and had a hard time seeing at times, but luckily a radio play is more about what you hear over what you see. For your reference when picking seats, the the first row of every pair is the front row of another level. So Row A and Row B share a platform if that makes sense. Overall, I had a wonderful time (Again, pun not intended) and I signed up for the mailing list in the hopes that I can support again soon!

I have been a patron of Metropolis for as long as I can remember, starting with the influence of my…read moregrandpa and grandma taking me to the children's shows. The quaint theater doesn't really have a "bad" seat in the house! They have programming that spans improv, musicals, classic plays, children's theatre, educational concerts, a capella, etc. They also have a performing arts school in which my daughter has taken classes and summer camps at. One star off because I wish they would do more accessible tickets e.g. rush tickets or lotteries. One of shows of the children from the school of the performing arts was, like, $20/person. Also, the Play that Goes Wrong was $50. I can see a Broadway in Chicago show for that price if you go about it utilizing the proper channels. I do not utilize the bar during shows, but they sell snacks, which are not allowed in the theater, and drinks, which are allowed in the theater.

Very disappointed we paid for seats and then was told first come first serve. So nit happy we…read morewaited in lobby thinking we had a say section 3 seat 7-8. So our seats we 3-4 , 5-6, 7-8. For three couples. Instead seat were saved and not together. Every one in this row thought the same. It was awful and birthday party like ours and they had to divide up as some couple sat between them. I see plays on the regular and not sure I would come back here. They cast only performed to the middle section. So it was not worth what we paid. I plan to take my friends to another venue next time.

Attended a production of Fiddler on the Roof here and I was pleasantly surprised. The setup of the…read moretheatre makes it so that no seat is really super far away from the stage and even the the left and right sections don't really skew your view too much although at times staging on the extreme edges might not be visible. The seats were a good size with better legroom than what I've seen as some other local community theatres. The building itself is setup nicely for hosting shows, with fairly wide hallways, furniture, and a good amount of restroom facilities. The production here that I watched was done better than average, with a good amount of costume and set changes that were designed fairly well. The sound was a good volume and in general the microphone volume management was pretty good, with only a few lines that were inaudible. The singing and dancing by the cast were also done quite well, with leads that performed their parts impressively. Overall, nice place to enjoy a show with reasonable prices and a nice community feel.

I went to the Northbrook Theater to watch their production of Fiddler on the Roof. This was a great…read moreproduction. The sound and stage, and scenery were all very high quality. The actors were tremendous. I think they will be ready for Broadway soon. I highly recommend Northbrook Theater. I can't wait to go back and see another show!