Almost exactly a year to the day, Queer Comedy at Zanies will be headlined by James Adomian once again. Celebrations will ensue as Adomian returns to the show he has called “Pioneering” and “One of its kind.” Featuring Candy Lawrence, Bill Cruz and Natalie Jose and hosted by Adam Guerino. Tuesday March 25th, 8:30pm, 1548 N Wells. $20 tickets available at Chicago.zanies.com or at the door.
Queer Comedy at Zanies has been named the Advocate.com‘s “9 LGBT Friendly Comedy Shows You Should Be Supporting,” Timeout Chicago‘s “Critic’s Pick,” The Redeye’s “Do” and included in Chicago Reader’s “The Agenda” and “Culture Vulture” with the praise “More, please.”

Comedians who have appeared at Queer Comedy at Zanies have also appeared on Conan, Comedy Central, Chelsea Lately, @Midnight, The Late Late Show With Craig Ferguson, BET, TBS Just For Laughs, SXSW, Comedy Bang Bang, A Night At The Apollo, and Last Comic Standing. March’s show will feature comedians identifying as lesbian, gay, straight and bi sexual to continue showing that whether audience members are queer or straight, laughter knows no sexuality.
Headlined by James Adomian. James is an actor/comedian who is well known for his characters and impressions. He recently wrapped production on David Cross’ feature directorial debut HITS, starring opposite David Cross, Michael Cera, Amy Sedaris, and Julia Stiles. It was recently announced that James is developing a new show for IFC called THE EMBASSY. He’s currently writing the pilot (in which he’ll play multiple different characters) with Scott Aukerman (COMEDY BANG! BANG!) He has appeared on Adult Swim’s CHILDRENS HOSPITAL (in a memorable series of cameos), on IFC’s COMEDY BANG BANG, and did a standup set on JOHN OLIVER’S NEW YORK STAND UP SHOW on Comedy Central. James previously starred in the NBC pilot HELP WANTED (FKA UNTITLED KARI LIZER PROJECT) opposite Sarah Paulson, Jennifer Coolidge, Adrian Pasdar & Tim Meadows, and before that was cast as the lead in Cartoon Network’s live-action pilot KROG. James made his late night debut doing stand up on LOPEZ TONIGHT on TBS, and appeared on LAST COMIC STANDING on NBC, where he was a finalist in the Top 10. James also performed at the Just For Laughs Festival in 2012, and in 2010 when he was chosen as a “New Face”. In the past, James was a part of the Comedy Central “Indecision ’08 Tour”, and along with director Bob Odenkirk, James co-created the Face to Bush series of shorts for Comedy Central. He played George W. Bush in HAROLD AND KUMAR ESCAPE FROM GUANTANAMO BAY (as well as regularly on THE LATE LATE SHOW WITH CRAIG FERGUSON), and has done recurring voice-over on numerous animated shows. He is also a beloved regular guest on the Earwolf podcast network and they released his debut stand up comedy album “Low Hangin Fruit” in 2012:
Hosted by Adam Guerino. Guerino has been credited as a “comedian-producer-genius” by Chicago Reader. He is the creator of OutLoud Chicago which has brought queer entertainment to the mainstream for over 2 years in Chicago and Stand Out: The National Queer Comedy Search which partnered with The Advocate Magazine to give queer comedians national exposure. He writes the relationship blog Boyfriend Land and the storyteller blog Before The Story. He has been featured in comedy clubs all across the country and in Timeout Chicago’s Joke of The Week, The Redeye, Gaper’s Block, Huffington Post and Chicago Public Radio. For more info, www.adamguerino.com is a great place to start.
Featuring Candy Lawrence. Candy Lawrence, more like Comedy Lawrence! Hilarious, dynamic and eccentric, she captivates you with her unique blend of energy and idiosyncratic comedy. When she isn’t collecting dreamcatchers, Candy can be seen performing stand-up at various venues in Chicago including Zanies, Mayne Stage, The Laugh Factory, and UP Comedy Club among others. She is also willing to rollerblade to other cities to perform for you. She was apart of the Just For Laughs 2011 and 2013 festival in Chicago and the Bridgetown Comedy Festival in Portland. She has opened for Todd Barry, Jen Kirkman, Moshe Kasher, James Adomian, Judah Friedlander, Carl LaBove, Brent Weinbach, David Huntsberger, Kyle Dunnigan and Dom Irrera. Candy generates one laugh per second and she would like to thank Rod Stewart for teaching her everything she knows about comedy.
Considered Chicago’s premier queer comedian, Bill Cruz has become a pillar of the Chicago Stand-Up Comedy scene with his experience of more than 8 years. Bill Cruz is a native of Denver, Colorado (and flaming Broncos Fan) who originally moved to Chicago in 1999 upon graduating from the University of Colorado, Boulder to pursue a career in Theatre. 4 years later, he started doing stand-up comedy. Starting out in small rooms, the man simply known as “The Gay Mexican” started making waves in the Chicago Comedy scene, performing at the Lincoln Lodge, Zanies Comedy Club, Chicago Underground, Laugh Factory Chicago, and numerous Mikey-O Comedy Shows. Not to be contained, Bill has spread his wings performing all across Midwest at Colleges and Clubs, and finally hitting the coasts in NY as well as LA, including appearing in OUTLAUGH: The Gay and Lesbian Comedy, the Cleveland Comedy Festival, and most recently The Just for Laugh Chicago Comedy Festival.
Natalie Jose is a modern woman trying to have it all: Stand-Up Comedy, singing, drinking, and unfulfilling sex. A self-proclaimed “party girl,” Natalie rarely knows when to stop and never learns a lesson. Natalie has vamped her way up the ranks of Chicago comedy to become one of the most beloved comics in the city. Audiences are endeared to Natalie’s self-deprecating charm as she puts her own lifestyle under a microscope, with a stage persona that’s both personal and silly. Natalie performs all over Chicago and is a cast-member of Chicago Underground Comedy. She has performed at the Accidental Comedy Festival, Chicago Women’s Funny Festival, and the Memphis Comedy Festival. Natalie was recently showcased on OWN (the Oprah Winfrey Network) as one of five comedians featured in the TV Pilot “My Life is a Joke”; she “played” the drunk one.

courtesy David Chacon
Tuesday March 25th at 8:30pm, Zanies Comedy Club 1548 N Wells. Tickets are $20 and available at Chicago.zanies.com or at the door. Audience members must be 21/+. Two item minimum.