| It's all a laughing matter at Chicago comedy club
By Mark Anderson
Contributing Writer
When most people think of stand-up comedy in Chicago, only one word comes to mind: Zanies.
That's because for more than 25 years, Zanies has been showcasing stand-up comic talent. Throughout that time, the state of American comedy-at least its stand-up version-has seen the cycle of boom and bust happen more than once, throwing numerous clubs out of business and littering the landscape with failed comics before regenerating itself for another go-round. Yet, through it all, the 150-seat club at 1548 N. Wells St. has soldiered on.
The reasons for such success are simple: It treats its comics well. It treats comics' managers well. It treats its customers well. And, perhaps more importantly, the family of employees who make up Zanies' staff loves what it does.
And these days, those things matter as people once again flock to see stand-up comedy.
Such wasn't always the case. Linda Moses, general manager of all four Zanies locations, remembers when a club like Zanies couldn't get paying customers through the door. That was back in the early '90s, when the marketplace had grown saturated with comedy clubs and second-rate comics, all trying to cash in on a craze fueled by the rise of cable television. Comedy clubs sprung up in hotel lobbies and strip malls across the country, and every guy who could make his family laugh around the dinner table thought little of trying to be the next Jay Leno or Jerry Seinfeld-rarely with much success.
"Those were the bad years," Moses said.
Today, the club stands at or near the top of the Chicago comedy heap, challenged for supremacy in the public's mind only by Second City, the world-famous home of improvisational sketch comedy. Ironically, the downtown Zanies location (there are also clubs in St. Charles, Vernon Hills and Nashville, Tenn.) is just down the street from the Second City main stage where stars John Belushi, Bill Murray and Chris Farley got their starts, turning North Wells Street into a kind of ground zero for Chicago comedy.
The Wells Street Zanies even feels like an archetypal comedy club: tables jammed up against one another, a tiny stage with the club's name emblazoned behind it, a single spotlight illuminating a lone microphone, walls lined with head shots of comedians and news articles about comics and a clattering bar in back. But, despite its modest surroundings, this flagship location has seen every major comedian of the past couple decades work its stage. Some, like Jackie Mason, George Carlin or Richard Lewis, are big stars who return almost as a matter of course whenever they go back out on the road.
"The great thing about Zanies," said Patti Vasquez, a successful comedian who got her start at the club, "is that it's such an intimate room. There's real interaction with the audience who, I think, are some of the best audiences a comic could hope for."
Vasquez is a perfect example of the next generation of comics who populate Zanies lineups and who are helping to bring out the club patrons who once again consider stand-up comedy a viable choice for a night out. Lauded by Moses as one of those who found her comedic voice while working at Zanies, Vasquez has gone on to headline at clubs around the country while still retaining a strong link to the place where she got her start.
"We plucked Patti years ago," she said, noting how the Zanies staff made a note of Vasquez's potential early in her career and offered her the opportunity to hone her craft whenever possible. "Mark my words: Patti Vasquez is going to be a big, big star one day. Not only is she funny, she's nice and she's got great stage presence. She went from featuring [serving as the middle of three comics] to headlining in no time flat," Moses said, "and watching that happen from my perspective can be a real treat."
After serving as the opener for the successful "Puppetry of the Penis" show in 2003 in Chicago, Vasquez is currently working on a one-woman show of her own and working around the country in between her frequent returns to Zanies.
While Zanies is an "A-list" room and one of the most well-known comedy clubs in the industry, it is also a place where aspiring comedians can get a leg up. Every Tuesday, Wednesday, Thursday and Sunday, the Wells Street location offers an unannounced "showcase" spot on its stage in addition to its regular nightly lineup of an emcee, feature and headline act. The five-minute showcase slot is given over to a comedian who has managed to make it past the hurdles necessary to attract the attention of the booking staff, an accomplishment that's not necessarily easy to attain.
"There's no way I could watch every videotape I get," Moses said, referring to the most common way comics try to get the attention of a club like Zanies. "If I did, I'd be doing nothing but watching tapes all day."
Instead, Moses and Haas rely heavily on word-of-mouth, both from patrons and other comics.
"If there's somebody who's really, really good, who's really, really ready, generally we'll hear about them through word-of-mouth," she said, noting that being offered a showcase spot is like an audition for the club.
"They get five minutes, and if they tell me they're clean [their act isn't 'dirty'] and they're not, or they don't stop as soon as their five minutes is up, they'll never make it at Zanies." In some cases, the best thing that can happen to someone who's just done a showcase is the feedback they get after the show and the suggestion to come back in six months after they've worked more on their craft. Occasionally, a success story like Vasquez's develops and everybody's happy.
Not the least of which are the club's customers. A comedy chain like Zanies couldn't stay in business for very long without turning out room after room of happy, satisfied customers, ready to tell their friends about what a great time they had or mentally making a note for the next open slot on their entertainment calendar.
When asked after the show why she had come to the downtown Zanies on a recent Friday night, Jennifer Owens of Glen Ellyn, Ill., said simply "just to laugh-there's something refreshing about a night out that's just about laughter."
Standing nearby, Kate Kerwin of Chicago's Wrigleyville neighborhood pointed out that "it's not really the club that makes it worthwhile, it's the comedians." Zanies seems to "do the best job at getting good comics," she added.
Another Friday night patron, Greg Gurtier of Schererville, Ind., agreed. "Zanies is right up there" in terms of, he said. "It's something different than a usual night out."
But, in the end, it's the professionalism, respect and dedication to quality that has allowed Zanies to survive -and even thrive-for the past 25 years. Much of it has to do with keeping to the club's tradition of providing the best value for the money as they possibly can, which involves treating everybody in the business with respect and booking the best acts around.
"Do we make mistakes [in bookings] sometimes?" Moses asked. "Yeah. Sometimes a comic gets up there and after 20 minutes, I just want to crawl under a table." [But those times are few and far between, she said, and the combination of making sure people are ready before allowing them to work regularly and then fostering long-term relationships with them can be seen, perhaps, as Zanies' secret to success.
"Overall, I think we book a stronger caliber of acts," Moses said. "But we're here because of relationships, and how we treat people, period. The comics, the agents, the managers, the customers, the employees. Everybody. We have excellent relationships with mangers and agents, which is how we get the talent level we do."
"Being nice makes all the difference in the world," she said. "If you're not nice, people don't want to work with you."
And, as too many other clubs have learned over the years, if you don't put on a good show-and make people laugh-you won't be in business very long. But with a 25-year track record of doing both, it looks like Zanies has got that angle all figured out.
Zanies
1548 N. Wells
Chicago, IL 60610
(312) 337-4027
Zanies is open every night but Monday, with two shows on Friday and three on Saturday.
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