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Hello witty
Montreal's megawatt yuk fest aims for permanent-fixture status in Chicago.
It’s June—which means the seasonal onslaught of weddings: perfunctory affairs that demand we sacrifice our Saturday nights to exchange pleasantries with strangers for the iffy joining of two people we barely know. But the union taking place this week between Chicago and Canada’s giant Just for Laughs Comedy Festival is one ceremony we’re keen to attend.
On Wednesday 17, TBS Presents Just for Laughs, a very funny festival kicks off at 12 comedy venues around town. It features a knockout lineup including headliners such as Ellen DeGeneres, Martin Short, George Lopez and Louis CK, as well as a smorgasbord of local and national alt comic acts like Robert Smigel, Bob Odenkirk, David Cross, Patrice O’Neal, Brick, Don’t Spit the Water, Late Night, Late Show and many more.
But why import a Canadian comedy festival to a city that already boasts its own sketch and improv fests? Can this be a long, happy marriage or one that’s bound for Jon and Kate territory?
About five years ago, JFL—an annual event in Montreal since 1983, with more than 2,000 acts and 2 million visitors each year—began branching out with successful versions in France and Toronto. But festival organizers itched to tap into the American market with a permanent annual event. Meanwhile, TBS, which mounts its annual Comedy Festival in Las Vegas, sought a city for a more easternly version of its event. It seems ideal: JFL’s festival smarts combined with TBS’s TV platforms (four shows will be taped for later broadcast). “We have a way of getting it out, and they have a way of making it happen,” says Dennis Adamovich, TBS senior VP and general manager of comedy festivals.
According to both orgs, Chicago was chosen primarily for its comedy legacy. “If you look at the history and heritage of comedy, it comes out of Chicago,” Adamovich says. “Chicago was hands-down where we wanted to be.” For Bruce Hills, JFL’s chief operating officer, the questions in selecting a city were, “What are the grassroots you’re going to go in and work with? What audience base is already established that’s sophisticated?” For him, the answer was clear: “We felt Chicago had the best chance to succeed,” he says.
Yet to make it here, JFL and TBS will have to celebrate our hometown heroes. An impressive number of the performers are either local or returning for a homecoming show. While the fest’s ads tout comic heavyweights such as Jimmy Fallon and David Alan Grier, Adamovich and Hills insist the festival pays tribute to Chicago’s comic scene. “It is a true collaboration,” Adamovich says. “Getting the sketch and improv communities on [board] was very important to us.” Hills agrees: “Every time we made any major decisions, we had a team of consultants that worked with us,” he says. “When we were deciding upon the homegrown approach as well as trying to decide if a show had an audience, we would sit with our consultants and beat it up.”
But Chicago’s layout is another story. In Montreal, the fest happens at 12 venues within walking distance of one another. In Chicago, the Lakeshore, Playground, iO and the Vic form a small nucleus of venues while Lincoln Lodge, the Chicago Theatre, Annoyance, Zanies and Rosemont are further afield. Hills hopes this decentralization won’t distract from the fest’s ability to deliver the unexpected. “We want to throw you talent you’ve never seen before,” he says. “You come in because you want to see John Candy in 1988, and you find Tim Allen. You come to this year’s fest to see Louis CK and you discover Jim Jefferies. That’s what it’s about, and that’s the part that’s so exciting.”
Just for Laughs busts a gut Wednesday 17 through June 21.
