Funny business at Lakeshore

March 28, 2007

By CATEY SULLIVAN Contributor

For years, the Lakeshore Theater, 3175 N. Broadway, has been a stage-for-rent to endeavors both profitable ("Puppetry of the Penis") and not so ("Hedwig and the Angry Inch").

What manager Chris Ritter never did was produce his own shows at the former movie palace. That's about to change, as Ritter, with "The Aristocrats" director Paul Provenza re-fashion the Lakeshore into a kind of global comedy central by bringing in comics from across the world.

"The Marijuana-logues" (see sidebar on B2) now running at the Lakeshore, ushers in a season that includes appearances by former "Saturday Night Live" star Julia Sweeney, rising king of edginess Doug Stanhope and Comedy Central stalwart Maria Bamford, among others.

Taking control
"In the past, we'd get acts coming in from out of town where the efforts weren't what we would have liked them to be. As a result, our people didn't always have a good experience here," Ritter said, "By taking control of the programming, we hope to guarantee a positive experience for our patrons."

Lakeshore bookings will now be vetted by Provenza, who -- when not directing offensive, shocking and utterly entertaining films that cannot be fully described a family newspaper -- spends his time traveling the globe seeking out new talent and attending comedy festivals from Asia to America.

"Most people are exposed to comedy through television," Provenza said, "That's like being exposed to music only by listening to top-40 radio. We want to broaden that exposure, and show people things they might not otherwise be aware of."

Provenza and Ritter teamed up about a year ago when they met at a wrap party for "Chasing Robert," a movie filmed in Chicago. The two wound up in a bar near the Lakeshore, embroiled in a four-hour plus conversation about the philosophy of comedy.

Understanding funny
"It was so refreshing for me. Here was somebody who really got what the art form is about. Most people think of comedy as pop culture's cotton candy. But it can be so much more than that," Provenza said.

"After about 10 beers," Ritter added, the duo had hammered out a new mission statement for Lakeshore.

Although all of the acts coming to the Lakeshore will be comedy -- including "The Idiots" opening on April 11 -- the venue will differ from comedy clubs such as Zanie's in several significant respects, Ritter and Provenza said. For one thing, the Lakeshore won't foist a two-drink minimum on its patrons, a practice both Ritter and Provenza disparage. "Zanie's brings in some fantastic performers," Provenza said, "But you put comics it in a club setting where the whole point is to sell liquor. Well, that's just the antithesis to what great comedy is all about,

A second key difference between Lakeshore programming and that of a typical comedy club is that Provenza and Ritter aren't limiting the stage to stand-up comics.

"We've got a pretty broad interpretation of how we define 'comedy,'" Ritter said. "The 'Marijuana-logues' aren't stand-up. They're an intelligent, incredibly well-crafted piece of writing. That's what we're looking for. We're not going to be showcasing sideshow acts."

Lakeshore Theater is located at 3175 N. Broadway, Chicago. Tickets are available at (773) 472-3492 or online by clicking here.

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