Just For Laughs with Ellen in Chicago Plus LUCHA VA VOOM
With over 25 years of experience running the world’s largest and most prestigious comedy festival and a reputation for fresh and innovative thinking, Just For Laughs and TBS will collaborate as TBS presents a “Very Funny” Festival: Just For Laughs. The ground-breaking U.S. comedy festival will hit Chicago June 15-19, 2010. 5 nights, 12 venues, 100+ comedians.
The festival will include more than 70 shows throughout various venues across the Chicago area and will feature performances from the usual suspects such as top-name comedians as Ellen DeGeneres, Cedric the Entertainer, Russell Peters, Denis Leary and Aziz Ansari. From concert events to TV tapings, “Nasty Shows” to cutting-edge talent and homegrown performances featuring the best local Chicago comedians, sketch and improv performers and troupes – the second edition of Just For Laughs Chicago is about to blow you away!
For something far out and REALLY different, there is LUCHA VA VOOM ! at Park West Theatre on June 16th. YOU MUST SEE IT – TO BELIEVE IT! Mexican Masked Wrestling + Burlesque + Comedy = Lucha VaVOOM: a non-stop, action-packed scream-a-thon, where Mexican masked wrestlers flip and fly, performing breathtaking acrobatic feats. WHAT?!
It’s good vs. evil incarnate. It is CRAZY! In between matches, the finest handpicked burlesque acts from around the world delight crowds because Lucha VaVOOM likes a little sexo with their violencia. Plus, for color commentary, they’ve even got comedians thrown into the mix!
The phenomenon began in August 2003 as a one-off event… and el resto es historia. They’ve played venues across the continent, from Vegas to LA to Toronto.
In 2005, they performed at the infamous Sony E3 party at Dodger Stadium and stole the spotlight from the Pussycat Dolls. In 2009, Lucha VaVOOM made its triumphant New York debut at Webster Hall, where the packed house spontaneously chanted “”Ho-ly sh*t!” Heck, even Jack Black commented that “Lucha VaVOOM is the sh*t!”
Rolling Stone magazine said the show is “enough to make even the most jaded Hollywood insider jump up and yell ‘Smackdown!’… so now it’s up to you to see it for yourself and come up with cheeky interjections of your own. ¡Fuacata!
Lucha Va Voom will offer 2 shows on the 16th.
See more Lucha Va Voom online with videos
The festival itself runs June 15th-19th.
Tickets online !
(Photo – His/her name is Karis, and he’s one of the variety act performers who will be part of the Lucha VaVOOM shows on June 16 at the Park West. Karis does an act with hula hoops, often in drag or some sort of boy-drag…hard to categorize, but always gender-bending and fierce!)