Chicago Center for the Performing Arts

This place was a hidden treasure. I have driven past it several times and never knew that it existed. I attended a play here and I found the setting to be cozy and very inviting. PLUS they have a bar with pretty tasty drinks.
I will be sure to add this place to my frequent me list.

Small, intimate stage but plenty of room to move around and pick your preferable seat without having to fight for one, maybe in a way Sheldon Cooper would minus the «ah“s trying to find the acoustic sweet spot. CCPA is essentially a no frills establishment. Get over yourself if you’re looking to get special treatment or to find big cushiony Muvico seats here.
The main lobby is in more of an Art Deco kinda style but in the actual seating area the structure’s a lot more clean and streamlined with a gray and black color scheme.
Grab a couple cocktails and/​or beer beforehand and it’ll be a lovely night.

Nice place, however, don’t even think of driving or parking anywhere near that theater. You’ve been warned !!! It goes way beyond people breaking your windows to steal stuff inside your car. We are talking about getting entire wheels (tires and rims included) taken right off your car. The crazy thing is, it is a nice location, however, ever since this theater let the City Church Chicago into their establishment, it has attracted some real scum bags around the area. Either way, if you must drive, I recommend using the pay lot behind Thalia.

We came here this past Friday to see Passing Strange (JC Brooks & The Uptown Sound — if you haven’t seen or heard them, a] what’s wrong with you and b] you’re missing out) and I’ll be honest, I had no idea this place existed. There was a band opening for the show in the bar/​lobby area when we walked in and I immediately loved the place. Hopefully we’ll see something here again because I enjoyed this place a lot. The layout of the West theater we were in also looked ideal for an intimate set by your favorite band or a Storytellers episode.
Not bad.

I’ve seen two shows here now and the venue is cute — friendly staff, intimate stages, good bucket-​o-​beer specials and a spacious bathroom facility.
Recently, I went to see «Bye Bye, Liver.» It made me relive some awkward /​not fun times from my 20s.. .so if you are past that stage in life, I do not recommend this show!

I would have to say that I am giving this place 5 stars because the show that I attended was hilarious. The show was called, «My Woman Be Trippin.» I believe that everyone should go see this show because it is entertaining and offers some insight into the complexities of relationships.
Most comedy shows feature somewhat funny comedians that could manage a chuckle out of you before you go home. However, some shows leave you thinking the only reason you made it to the end was you ordered a bucket of beers. Trust me… You can’t lose by going to this show. GUARANTEED LAUGHS.
The Arts center itself has a nice environment. A bit upscale but still draws a mixed crowd. I will definitely have to be at that show and this place again.

After deciding that I wanted to do something «different» for my birthday, I came up with the idea to go see «Bye Bye Liver». We were able to get tickets last minute and they were so reasonable!
This was the first time I’d been at the CCPA and I was impressed! A nice little pub-​like bar right when you walk in — «Hey, I like this place!». So we had a cocktail and ventured in to see the play.
We were seated in a small room/​theater and the waitress came over to take our drink order. Their prices are pretty reasonable — you can get buckets of beer! The room was small and comfortable and the cast and employees were friendly. The performance was great (see my review for «Bye Bye Liver») and the actors knew it was my birthday (they asked!). One of them promised me (us!) a birthday shot after the show. I thought he was full of it but he came through. Not only did he come through but the three of us did Patron shots! «I REALLY like this place!».
We want to go back and see «Next beer is here!» and it would be a blast to get a group to go. As a matter of fact, now that I’m looking at their website… there’s quite of few things I’d love to see! Great theater, fun times… I’m glad I found it! We will be back! :)

For a Friday night this place was strangely deserted. Dark and dankly blue, several different comedy acts run at once, noneof which were full. I attended Bye Bye Liver, but wished I’d gotten a heads up to bring in drinks, as this play requires you to drink — how novell, having to pay to go to a play for drinking games? One step removed from virtual drinking, one step too far from casual drinking with friends, this act bordered on worthlessly contrived. This is definitely the place to bring a meet up or a group of people who don’t wanna talk, but drink, and have the stage as an excuse. The acting was cute and sometimes funny, but unless you want to tie one on, this is probably not the best choice to unwind. Staff is warm and friendly though… it’s just a bit cold and drafty inside. If only this place would attract a swarm, it would make it worth the company…

The shows here are great… entertaining, reasonably priced, and loads of fun. I especially liked the Lipschtick cabaret performance. However, the seating can be a bit funky… sometimes it’s set up almost like a restaurant where depending how many people are in your party depends on where you sit. There are a few big pillars as well, so one could definitely have an obstructed view, which makes for a tough was to enjoy a show. I also noticed that while it is acceptable for people who know the actors to have good seats, one show I went to had all of the good seats taken by people who knew people… They should make sure there is a limit on that b/​c then all of us paying customers got the very obvious shaft.

Up Sides: We went with a group of 4 and will-​call was a breeze. The bartender had quick service so we could make it into the show before they started and the bathrooms were close in case you drink too many beers… The actors were funny, situations were all relevant to the scene, and we had a great time.
Down Sides: there is a big pole in the middle of the room that they perform in, so if you get there late and are seated behind it as we were, you only get to see ²⁄₃ f the stage. It is also a pretty short performance, and when it’s over, they shoo you out immediately to the bar, even if you have drinks/​a beer bucket still full. I mean, stacking chairs and pushing you out the door. We went to the later of the 2 shows, so we were pretty sure it wasn’t because they had another performance.
Nutshell: great ticket prices, entertaining show, fun for groups, or a date night if you want to get a tipsy without having «real converstation»!

I went to Bye Bye Liver here on Friday night with a group of 8 people for part of my birthday celebration. When you walk in there is plenty of room to stand around and drink at the bar until they open the doors to the «Cabaret». In fact, you can get there as early as you want for some drinking before the show starts. We had $ 3 mixed drinks and $ 8 buckets of PBR.
The Caberet room was pretty small — 100 people (maybe?) and they had reserved us a couple tables at the back because we were a party of 6 or more.
The show was pretty funny, but the interactive drinking games were the best, specifically «Name That Tune» (which I lost, and subsequently had to drink…)
My only complaints: the show was pretty short, around an hour I think, and it was very difficult to get drinks once the show actually started. So to get the most out of the evening, arrive early for drinks, have plenty when you enter the cabaret, and go with a group!

I give the theater and the show a very, very strong A-​OK rating.
We saw «Bye Bye, Liver!» at the theater and it was pretty funny. I thought the idea was great: two parts comedy show, one part drinking game. I think there should be more interactive drinking shows in the city! I hear the theater puts on a few, so that makes me happy. I would say the show itself could have been funnier and I’ve definitely been to better comedy shows in the city. However, the lack of funny was made up for by the excessive drinking that went on in the audience. It was fun being encouraged to take social drinks, play drinking games and continue drinking!
I feel like the show is different every week, so I’d like to go back and check it out again. The theater is a great place to take a group of friends for a birthday/​bachelor/​bachelorette party because the shows are interactive and inexpensive! We paid $ 10 for the show and there were $ 3 mixed drinks, $ 8 PBR buckets (cans only — boo!) and $ 12 domestic buckets (bottles). Woo-​hoo! Great drink prices and there’s an opportunity to mingle with the cast after the show.
I’ll definitely be back again to see another show.

I went here a few weeks ago to see Wait Til Next Beer.
One word: AMAZING
and also: HILARIOUS
Ticket prices were not bad at all, you can’t beat 10 bucks and $ 3 mixed drinks? I will be back here fer sher. And it’s so close to my school, I’m a little upset I didn’t find out about it sooner! I’m currently working on getting a big group of friends to go see Bye Bye Liver. I’ll let you know how it goes.
Update on Bye Bye Liver:
One word: AMAZING
Also: HILARIOUS
Yeah…my only complaint is that it was only an hour! We wanted more drinking and laughing! But I suppose if it went more than an hour we would have been a little out of control. You should go. It’s THE BEST with a group of friends because they do involve the audience, and if you think you’re not getting picked, you ARE.

Went here last night for Bye Bye Liver with a bunch of old college friends. We all had a really good time. I did find some of the sketch comedy to be ehhh.. .predictable.. .but i did laugh for the entire show. I will agree with Katrina F. that this place has the cleanest freakin bathrooms ever. Probably the best part for the cheap beer lover in all of us is the fact that you can get 8 dollar buckets of PBR. I will go back, and recommend it if you want to do something other than go to the bar but still want to drink with a bunch of strangers.

$ 15 tickets for Bye, Bye Liver… a comedy sketch set in a bar with interactive drinking games with the audience.
$ 12 buckets of Miller Light
A bar to drink at before and after the show… the cast drinks with you after the show.
The cleanest bathrooms in the city of Chicago.
My only complaint was the show lasted just under an hour which I felt was a little short. Oh well.
Yea, I highly recommend it!

I went here on Saturday night to see «Bye Bye Liver» with a big group of people for a friend’s birthday. We had a great time! The show is hysterical and drink prices were great ($ 3 well drinks, $ 10 miller lite buckets). I’m usually not a fan of comedy clubs/​shows because I hate being heckled and they always seem to know to pick on me, but «Bye Bye Liver» was more interactive with the audience as a whole than anything else.
There’s also a bar that you are allowed to start the party at before the show and hang around at after for as long as you like. We stuck around for a bit while we decided where to go next and got to meet some of the cast who are as funny off stage as they are on!
Since we went with a large group, we got an excellent group rate. It seems like a popular spot for birthday and bachelorette parties, but I would recommend it for anyone looking for a fun night and something different than the usual bar scene.

On Friday night a group of my friends went to «Bye Bye Liver»…we loved it! It’s really funny. I’m horrible and have lived in Chicago for almost 2 years now and have yet to go to any sketch comedy shows. This show made me realize I’ve been missing out! The drink special was great — $ 3.00 cocktails! I would encourage getting there early and settled so you have a waitress. We arrived close to the time it started and didn’t get served until a while after it started. We will definitely go back to see this show while its still playing and will check out other shows!

I booked tickets for ComedySportz, $ 24 each including service fees etc for 6pm 24^th November 2007 as I wanted to experience some live comedy/​improv now I have moved to Chicago.
I would so recommend this. It’s very light, quite short about 1 hr 20 min with a 5 minute break for a pee. Kudos to these performers for putting on an entertaining show, it wasn’t funny but it was very entertaining which is what improv is all about. For me it was totally perfect because it didn’t go on too long, I could grab a drink at the bar and take it in and the venue had plenty of leg room. I would get there early enough to get a decent seat but it is quite an intimate room so you aren’t too far from the stage anywhere.
Quite a few kids too which wasn’t a problem. It’s a definate family show, no profanity or other adult variations so it appeals to all. Problem was when the cast shouted out for suggestions for words or people my mind is so in the gutter I couldn’t actually find anything clean to shout back so some of the suggestions were pretty lame.
Totally recommend it, it’s great for a dinner date afterwards. If you go to the 6pm performance you are out of there by 7:30, same for the 8pm out by 9:30 and there is also a 10pm I think too friday and saturday so you can eat before or after quite easily. Me I like to be in and out and eat after.
I would go again with friends or family as it is bound to be different every time. You have two teams competing against each other and a judge marking the best improv based on audience claps and other methods.

I went there yesterday with my son’s pre-​school class to see Little Red Riding Hood. What a great performance they did. It was funny, interactive and the kids had a blast. Great inside jokes for the grown-​ups. The cast was great and the play was fantastic. They all sang great and kept the audience in tune.
The staff working there was very friendly and did a great job helping the other schools getting seated correctly and leaving correctly.

Went and saw Madame X here, great show, although some of the staging and book needs to be reworked. A really good show, the leads are amazing and put on a great performance. The space is interetesting in that it reminds me of a movie theater for plays. Lots of smaller stages all up and down one hallway. Clean, well maintained and best of all a bar and you can take drinks into the theater.