ANNOYANCE THEATRE 4830 N. Broadway, 773-561-4665 or annoyanceproductions.com: The comedy company presents improv and sketch shows nearly every night. + Messing With a Friend (see separate listing). Open run: Thu 10:30 PM, $5. Lawn Darts (or Jarts), an "anything goes improv show." Through 8/29: Fri midnight, $5. The burlesque double bill of Late Night Tit-Bits ("seven stimulating ladies" do strip tease and improv, hosted by Tony Mendoza) and Skinprov (six shirtless men perform improv), midnight. Through 9/6: Sat 10 PM, $7-$20. Double bill of improv groups Chicagoland (see separate listing) and Fish Nuts. Open run: Tue 8 PM, $8. Double bill of shows Bad Touch: Unsavory Improv and The Gambino Crew. Open run: Tue 9:30 PM, $5. Cheap Beer Improv, featuring recent grads and current students of the theater's improv program. Open run: Wed 8 PM, $2.

APOLLO THEATER 2540 N. Lincoln, 773-935-6100 or apollochicago.com: This venue features improv, sketch comedy, stand-up, and theater on two stages. + The Chicago Comedy Series, a stand-up showcase. Through 11/15: Fri-Sat 8 PM, $15, $12 in advance. Baby Wants Candy: The Rock Musical (see separate listing). Open run: Fri 10:30 PM, $5-$15, main stage. PennyBear: A Collection of Miniature Plays and Curious Diversions (see separate listing). Through 8/1: Fri 10:30 PM, $8-$10, studio. The Second City Improv All-Stars (see Critic's Choice). Through 8/30: Sat 8 and 10 PM, $25, main stage. Grandma June's Sewing Circle (see separate listing). Through 8/25: Mon 8 PM, $12-$15, studio. See also grandmajunessewingcircle.com.

BABY WANTS CANDY Baby Wants Candy: The Rock Musical shows that Baby Wants Candy has become the very model of a smart, physical, quick-thinking, and just plain silly long-form improv team. (JHe) Open run: Fri 10:30 PM, Apollo Theater, 2540 N. Lincoln, 773-935-6100, $5-$15.

THE BEST CHURCH OF GOD Director Michael Descoteaux and his cast have fashioned a campy, comprehensive fun-house-mirror image of fundamentalism. The cornerstone of their parallel universe is the Sunday service, complete with complimentary Bibles "in the original English." The show isn't flawless, but their lampooning of the Lord still tickles even as it tugs at the mind. (RH) Open run: Sun 10:30 AM, Donny's Skybox Studio, 1608 N. Wells, 4th fl., 312-337-3992, free (the show/service includes a collection plate).

THE BEST OF THE SECOND CITY Second City touring companies GreenCo, BlueCo, and RedCo program their own shows, which can change and which alternate with the others. Most material is from the mid-90s on, but each group adds original sketches and improv--usually very funny. In general the timing is less crisp and the players are less charismatic than in Second City and E.T.C., but the execution is still consistently good. (RH) Open run: Mon 8 PM (free improv set follows), Sat 4 PM, Second City, 1616 N. Wells, 312-337-3992, $14-$19.

BETTER HALF Like TJ & Dave, the long-running show whose time slot it's taken over for the summer, Better Half features two improvisers with serious chemistry. But it's never the same two improvisers twice, and the chemistry here is romantic. Each performance showcases a different real-life couple. They're given no instructions but to improvise, so the form varies from week to week. At the show I saw, Second City main stager Emily Wilson and her husband Brian of Fish Nuts avoided direct discussion of their own marriage but filled their long-form set with husbands, wives, and lovers. (RH) Through 7/30: Wed 11 PM. 7/23: Paul Grondy and Sue Salvi. 7/30: Steve Waltein and Katie Rich. iO, 3541 N. Clark, 773-880-0199, $5.

BIG NEWS CHICAGO Each week former SNL scribe Michael McCarthy, graduates of his writing classes, and the ten-person ensemble produce a revue that mixes news show-style sketches, character-driven scenes, and videos based on the latest headlines. The format demands a superior cast, and this show doesn't have it. The writing, too, is lacking: like the rest of the show, it strains toward wit without quite getting there. (RH) Open run: Tue 8 PM, iO, 3541 N. Clark, 773-880-0199, $5.

THE BRYAN ROOM PRESENTS Goodbar, 2512 N. Halsted, 773-296-9700: Showcase of comedy acts hosted by improv group the Bryan Room. Open run: first and third Wed of month, 8 PM.

CHEMICALLY IMBALANCED THEATER 1420 W. Irving Park, 800-838-3006 or cicomedy.com: Comedy Showcase (improv and stand-up). Open run: Sat 10:30 PM. 7/26: 96D, B.C., Cornwallis. Pimprov (see separate listing). Open run: Fri 10:30 PM. $10-$12, BYOB.

CHICAGOLAND This witty long-form improv show features an ensemble of some of the improv scene's best talents, including the incomparable TJ Jagodowski, creating a tableau onstage, then asking the audience after a blackout, "Where in Chicago did that take place?" On a double bill with Fish Nuts. (RH) Open run: Tue 8 PM, Annoyance Theatre, 4830 N. Broadway, 773-561-4665, $8.

COMEDYSPORTZ THEATRE ComedySportz Theatre, 929 W. Belmont, 773-549-8080 or 312-559-1212, comedysportzchicago.com: Part of a national chain of comedy clubs, this company is known for quick improv games (think Whose Line Is It Anyway?), but it also stages long-form improv. LCD screens and sophisticated lighting and sound systems amplify the sports-style improv of the theater's eponymous production, ComedySportz. The show's structured as a competition, with a vigilant referee, between two teams performing multiple games that require audience participation. The formula is practically foolproof: players may flash their quick wits in winning responses, but they're even funnier when they fail. (RH) Open run: Thu 8 PM, Fri 8 and 10 PM, Sat 6, 8, and 10 PM, $19. In Improv Match Game improvisers match wits with contestants drawn from the audience; Rich Prouty hosts. Open run: Thu 10 PM, $5. The Beatbox combines long-form improv and hip-hop, featuring "battle raps, scratched scenes, samples," and a "rap jam" ending. Open run: Fri midnight, $10. The Hot Karl (see separate listing). Open run: Sat midnight, $10. "Free Night of Improv Comedy" is the double bill of Rec League, featuring students and training center alumni doing "minishows," and Battle-Prov, in which a house team competes against guest troupes; an improv open mike follows. Through 8/27: Wed 8 PM, free.

COOK COUNTY SOCIAL CLUB These four performers are as brazenly committed to improv's "affirm everything" mantra as any I've seen. Their dark, flamboyant comic sensibilities clearly aligned, they orchestrate black-comedy vignettes tethered to richly odd characters. But what most impressed me was how fluidly and creatively they transitioned between scenes, usually dangerous improv moments. The Frank Hayes 4 opens. (RH) Open run: Tue 8 PM, iO, 3541 N. Clark, 773-880-0199, $12.

THE COOL TABLE Fizz Bar, 3220 N. Lincoln, 312-348-6000: The group performs a unique sketch show each week. Open run: Tue 9 PM, $5.

CORNSERVATORY 4210 N. Lincoln, 312-409-6435 or cornservatory.org: Paper Trail, a long-form improv show from veteran all-female troupe Sirens. 7/26-8/23: Sat 8 PM, $12. The Final Countdown Variety Show, presented by the Accountants of Homeland Security, features stand-ups, improv/sketch groups, musicians, magicians, and other acts. Open run: Sat 11 PM, $8. In Improv Children of the Corn four teams--Seen. Heard. Touched. Loved., Breakfast Mafia, Gorgeous Julio, and Stripper's Picnic--do long-form scenes then join up for short-form games. Through 8/11: Mon 8 PM, $5.

CUPID PLAYERS Cupid Has a Heart On: A Musical Guide to Relationships takes a standard of improv revues--the satirical song--and makes it a raison d'etre. The original ditties are mostly keyed to the sensibility of the young, single, heterosexual urban male on the make. Thankfully, this doesn't result in an unwatchable testosterone fest--testament to the show's wit, firmly based in character and truthful situations. (TA) Open run: Sat 10:30 PM, iO, 3541 N. Clark, 773-880-0199, $18.

DON'T SPIT THE WATER! This comedy game show finds Blewt! company members trying to make audience volunteers laugh and spit out a mouthful of water. The competition escalates from spit take to spit take, and audience members who keep a straight face win. To fully enjoy this show, you should probably fill your mouth with a lot of booze beforehand. (LB) Through 8/9: Sat 10 PM, Playground Theater, 3209 N. Halsted, 866-208-6296, $15.

FELT This adult-oriented improvised puppet show by the Atticus Finch ensemble suggests bitter, rejected prototypes of Elmo, Chewbacca, McGruff the Crime Dog, and Crank Yankers/Muppets characters ganging up in a dark alley off Sesame Street. The performers display sophisticated physical control as they wield the puppets from behind the curtains of a bi-level ministage. Felt is improv cut from new cloth. (RH) Open run: Wed 8 PM, iO, 3541 N. Clark, 773-880-0199, $5.

GORILLA TANGO THEATRE 1919 N. Milwaukee, 773-598-4549 or gorillatango.com: This Bucktown venue offers a rotating repertory of theater and comedy shows. + A College Degree and All I Got Was This Lousy T-Shirt, a one-man sketch show by Joe Fernandez with "videos, music, dancing, monologues, and some audience participation." Through 7/28: Mon 7:30 PM, $12.

GRANDMA JUNE'S SEWING CIRCLE This latest sketch revue by the eponymous troupe puts its members' anxieties and weaknesses on display, beginning with a scene in which they announce them directly to the audience. There are pieces about physical imperfections and sexual insecurities. Though most bits have funny setups, jokes are often telegraphed, unnecessarily spelled out, or extended too far. Overall the show's never terrible and never hilarious--just perfectly mediocre. A guest sketch group opens. (RH) Through 8/25: Mon 8 PM. 7/28 guest: Fried Green Durbins. 8/4-8/11 guest: The Cupid Players. 8/18-8/25 guest: The GeekOuts! Apollo Theater, studio,, 2540 N. Lincoln, 773-935-6100, $12-$15.

GREEN DOOR TAVERN Speakeasy (basement), 678 N. Orleans, 312-664-5496: Speakeasy Improv Fridays. Open run: first three Fri of month, 8:30 PM, $5.

THE HOT KARL The performers revel in shamelessness in this long-form improv set. Ironically, once they are free to say and do anything, they become less obsessed with sex and more interested in creating strong scenes and characters. (JHe) Open run: Sat midnight, ComedySportz Theater, 929 W. Belmont, 773-549-8080 or 312-559-1212, $10.

THE IMPROVISED SHAKESPEARE COMPANY Seven men in swashbuckler shirts improvise a two-act Shakespearean play based on a title suggested by the audience. Director-performer Blaine Swen has assembled a vigorous ensemble, who relish their iambic dialogue, perfectly timed asides, occasional rhyming couplets, and parodic phrases and well-placed anachronisms. (RH) Open run: Fri 8 PM, iO, 3541 N. Clark, 773-880-0199, $14.

IO 3541 N. Clark, 773-880-0199 or iochicago.net: Formerly known as ImprovOlympic, this comedy theater and training center is a whirlwind of activity whose specialty is long-form improv and whose schedule changes frequently and features nightly performances. (AW) + Triple bill with Shotgun!, Stubs, and opener Shreeman Showman. Open run: Thu 10 PM, $5. + The Improvised Shakespeare Company (see separate listing). Open run: Fri 8 PM, $14. Steve and Jordan, Respectively (see separate listing). Open run: Fri 10:30 PM, $14. + Double bill with ensemble Bullet Lounge and guest. Open run: Fri-Sat 10:30 PM, $14. In The Improv Jam, hosted by Bretty Lyons and Nathan Jansen, audience members are invited to perform improv with some of iO's "best veterans." Open run: Fri midnight, free. Hogwash: An Improvised Tall Tale, an interactive show for kids 4-12. Open run: Sat 10:30 AM, $5. Whirled News Tonight Presents Newspeak (see separate listing). Open run: Sat 8 PM, $14.The iO Musical Featuring the Deltones, an improvised musical performed by members of several iO teams. Open run: Sat 8 PM, $14. Cupid Players (see separate listing). Open run: Sat 10:30 PM, $14. Klusterphuk is "walls to the balls improv that feels good on your face, sandwich, and some tile floors." Open run: Sat midnight, $5. The Chicago Improv Rebellion, a double bill of jazz and improv from the Christy Bennett Sextet and Hodge Podge. Through 8/30: Sat midnight, $5. Deep Schwa, one of iO's longest-running ensembles. A rotating roster of two improv ensembles opens. Open run: Sun 8 PM, $12.The Grasshopper Show is an improv set by students and instructors from iO's training center. Open run: Sun 10 PM, free. Triple bill with headliner 3033 (see separate listing). Open run: Sun 10:30 PM, $5. The four character-comediennes of Children of a Lesser God, including the magnificent Susan Messing (see listing for Messing With a Friend), perform improv as "ladies who have done it all" who met in London in the 50s. (RH) Open run: Sun 10:30, $5. In The Armando Diaz Theatrical Experience and Hootenanny, iO's longest-running show, a monologist tells personal stories that inspire the improv. Open run: Mon 8:30 PM, $12. Big News (see separate listing). Open run: Tue 8 PM, $5. Cook County Social Club (see separate listing). Open run: Tue 8 PM, $12. The Lottery pairs veteran improvisers with students; a different Harold team opens each show. Open run: Tue 10:30 PM, $1-$6. The Reckoning, one of iO's "premier" house teams and also its longest-running. Open run: Tue 10:30 PM, $5, and Thu 8 PM, $12. Felt (see separate listing). Open run: Wed 8 PM, $5. Triple bill with enembles Johnny Roast Beef, Carl & the Passions, and a rotating opener. Open run: Wed 8 PM, free. Better Half (see separate listing). Through 7/30: Wed 11 PM, $5. 7/23: Paul Grondy and Sue Salvi. 7/30: Steve Waltein and Katie Rich. See the theater's Web site for more shows.

LAUGH OUT LOUD THEATER 601 N. Martingale, Streets of Woodfield, Suite 171, Schaumburg, 847-240-0386 or laughoutloudtheater.com: Venue for improvised comedy. Open run: Fri-Sat 7:30 PM (family-friendly) and 9 PM, $12-$18.

MESSING WITH A FRIEND Susan Messing's weekly show, where she pairs off with a guest "friend" for an hour of purely improvised comedy, is one of the funniest entertainments in town. Messing's acting is focused and nuanced, and she's got a sharp shit-detector, which allows her to cut or extend scenes like a good director. Each friend prods her in unpredictable ways, but Messing stays on her toes, and her high success rate is a testament to her congeniality, experience, and broad intelligence. (RH) Open run: Thu 10:30 PM, Annoyance Theatre, 4830 N. Broadway, 773-561-4665, $5.

THE MUTINY 2428 N. Western, 773-486-7774: Open Wound Comedy presents a showcase of sketch, improv, and stand-up. Open run: first Sun of month, 9:30 PM.

PENNYBEAR: A COLLECTION OF MINIATURE PLAYS AND CURIOUS DIVERSIONS Two students have been caught with weapons in class and await the police while their principal attempts to empathize. "I have lots of knives," she coos. "I've been married twice." One of a dozen brief gems in this sketch comedy show, the scene exemplifies how PennyBear warps reality just enough to let absurdity out, then plays that absurdity for truth rather than laughs. The result is consistently engaging, honest, and hilarious. (JHa) Through 8/1: Fri 10:30 PM, Apollo Theater, studio, 2540 N. Lincoln, 773-935-6100, $8-$10.

PH PRODUCTIONS Stage Left Theatre, 3408 N. Sheffield, 773-732-5450 or whatisph.com: The company presents sketch and improv shows. + pHamily the Musical (see separate listing). Open run: Fri 11 PM. pHrenzy (see separate listing). Open run: late Fri 12:30 AM. In Wheel of pHortune an audience member spins a wheel showing improv forms; where it stops is what the cast must perform. Open run: Sat 11 PM. pHrenzy pHucked is a "decidedly R-rated (or worse)" version of pHrenzy. Open run: Sat 12:30 AM. SKETCHseries, a showcase of sketch revues. Open run: Wed 8 PM. 7/30: 100 . . . Years of Losing is about "our national pastime, the lovable losers on the north side, and all the little people that made this whole century-long losing streak possible." $5-$10, BYOB.

PHAMILY THE MUSICAL pH Productions amps up its long-running improv show, pHamily, by adding melodramatic musical asides and operatic flair. The ensemble embraces a challenging form in which offstage cast members interrupt scenes for new audience suggestions, which can result in funny bits within bits. The players don't always edit themselves well, but they really connect with the crowd. (RH) Open run: Fri 11 PM, Stage Left Theatre, 3408 N. Sheffield, 773-732-5450, $5-$10, BYOB.

PHRENZY This competitive improv show whittles down contestants in reality-TV style. In early rounds elimination is governed by the host, whose arbitrary rules are concealed from the cast but not the audience. After that things get more democratic--the players fall prey to audience whim. Throw in random "refereeing" and you get the most athletic idiocy you'll find on a late-night stage in Chicago. (BN) Open run: late Fri 12:30 AM, Stage Left Theatre, 3408 N. Sheffield, 773-732-5450, $5-$10, BYOB.

PLAYGROUND THEATER 3209 N. Halsted, 773-871-3793 or the-playground.com: This BYOB venue, which bills itself as the nation's "first improv co-op," features a full schedule of sketch, improv, stand-up, and variety acts from $5-$10. + The Big Yellow Bus Every week a core cast performs a different type of long-form improv with guests. The actors meet once just before going on, which gives a frenetic unpredictability to their bits and leads to prankish pushing and pulling, but it also produces occasional fumbling to discover others' sensibilities. (RH) Open run: Thu 8 PM, $10. Open Court invites audience members to sign up for a one-night-only improv team, or to watch the fun. Open run: Thu 10:30 PM, $8. Grafitti (see separate listing) showcases established and emerging comics and sketch groups from the Chicago area and around the country; Justin Jackson hosts. Open run: Fri 10 PM, $10. Don't Spit the Water (see separate listing). Through 8/9: Sat 10 PM, $15. At each The Sickest F**king Stories I Ever Heard show five performers "play poker, drink beer,' and tell "true" stories. Open run: first Sat of month, midnight, $10. Blewtenanny! variety showcase, a Blewt! Productions show. Open run: second Sat of month, midnight, $10. The Belmont Burlesque Revue, a variety show featuring the Belmont Bombshells, Mark Henderson as host Jack Midnight, Chris Biddle as Second Cousin Joe, magician Tomas Medina as the Amazing Tomas, and guests. Open run: fourth Sat of month, 12:15 AM, $10, 773-556-8238. High Noon at Eight, an improv show of multiple groups anchored by the four-man team Koleno. Open run: Sun 8 PM, free. The Sandbox, an improv showcase. Open run: Mon 8 PM, $5. O.I.N.K.! is Othy's Improv Night Kabaret, which includes stand-ups, improv/sketch groups, and musicians, hosted by Othy Schwering and Kannan Arumagum and featuring the house improv troupe Las Madres del Futbol. Open run: Wed 10 PM, $5-$7. See the theater's Web site for more shows.

PUB THEATER COMPANY Chicago Center for the Performing Arts, 777 N. Green, 312-733-6000: Bye Bye Liver: The Chicago Drinking Play, about the bibulous life in the Windy City, is orchestrated mass tippling first and sketch comedy second, steered "dueling pianos" style by an emcee and a handful of cheerleaders. Not that the skits aren't clever or that the performers don't have charisma and comic chops to spare. They're just the B-girls in this scenario. (BN) Open run: Fri-Sat 9:30 PM. Quit Your Job flatly channels office angst into improv. At the show I saw, the audience's anecdotes about terrible bosses and annoying coworkers were usually funnier than the bits they inspired. Fixated on obvious punch lines, the low-energy cast frequently fails to develop character flaws and deliver plot twists. But the quick-witted Jeff Reidy proves the show has a potential it's not reaching. (RH) Open run: Thu 8 PM. Wait 'Til Next Beer, a sketch show about the "joy, exhilaration, consternation, and constipation" of being a Cubs fan. Through 8/30: Thu-Sat 9:30 PM, $18. Booze Your Own Adventure, a sketch show in which "the audience decides the fate of two idiots on a night out on the town in Chicago." Open run: Fri-Sat 11 PM. The sketch revue Jerks Through Time looks at jerks "from all walks of life." Through 8/6: Wed 8 PM. $12-$15, 21+.

THE RECKONING The ten performers of the Reckoning have now been together longer than any other group at iO (six years). Individually their talent is obvious, and together they're remarkably consistent at giving audiences something to laugh at and students something to study. On Thursdays they do long-form improv, and on Tuesdays they experiment; past shows have included stage versions of films and stand-up sets. (RH) Open run: Tue 10:30 PM, Thu 8 PM (with two openers), iO, 3541 N. Clark, 773-880-0199, $5-$12.

SECOND CITY 1616 N. Wells, 312-337-3992 or secondcity.com: Second City's new main-stage revue, No Country for Old White Men, boasts plenty of verbal wit, clever running jokes, and hilarious physical comedy. But underneath the fun is a serious concern: the anxiety generated by extraordinary political, technological, economic, and cultural change. A key theme of several sketches is the dehumanization that accompanies instant communication. Under Jim Carlson's fast-paced direction, however, the ensemble's communication with one another and the audience is lively and personal. (AW) Open run: Tue-Thu 8 PM, Fri-Sat 8 and 11 PM, Sun 7 PM, $19-$25. Free improv sets follow shows Tue-Thu 10 PM, late Sat 1 AM, and Sun 9 PM. The Best of the Second City (see separate listing).

SECOND CITY E.T.C. 1608 N. Wells, 312-337-3992: Relative to recent Second City shows, this latest sketch revue's obligatory, unsurprising satire of the presidential race is disappointing. Fortunately more than half the bits in Campaign Supernova! are unrelated to politics, and in those the cast takes some much needed and rewarding risks. At a party a woman with MS gets hilariously bitched out, and in a fresh patient/doctor scene characters speak only through sampled rap lyrics. Laura Grey is dazzling, especially as a Charlie Chaplin-inspired mime. (RH) Open run: Thu 8 PM, Fri-Sat 8 and 11 PM, Sun 7 PM, $19-$25. Free improv sets follow shows Thu 10 PM, late Sat 1 AM, and Sun 9 PM. The double bill of Split! and Shatter (see separate listing). Through 7/29: Tue 8:30 PM, $10.

THE SECOND CITY IMPROV ALL-STARS Through 8/30: Sat 8 and 10 PM, Apollo Theater, 2540 N. Lincoln, 773-935-6100, $25.

SECOND CITY TRAINING CENTER Donny's Skybox Studio, 1608 N. Wells, 4th fl., 312-337-3992: The Second City Training Center's scruffy showcase space hosts shows by students, alumni, and independent artists. + The LHC Presents KINK, a sketch revue about "sex, relationships, love, and the everyday taboos that test the boundaries of what is perceived to be normal." Through 8/1: Fri 7:30 PM. Rock, Paper, Strippers, a sketch revue that explores "why we fight, why we want to win, and why sex may just be our ultimate goal"; directed by former Methodist lay minister David Patton. Through 8/1: Fri 9 PM. Gerta is "relationship-ending sketch comedy." Through 8/1: Fri 10:30 PM. The Assristocracy is the "163rd annual Pageant for the People," performed by fictional "sophisticates" who share their obversations on the "disparity between classes." Through 8/9: Sat 7:30 PM. Unbridled Enthusiasm, an improvised TV show about a "rag-tag theater group who is more focused on each other than the work." Through 8/9: Sat 9 PM. (im)Polite Company examines America's "manners crisis." Through 8/9: Sat 10:30 PM. The Best Church of God (see separate listing). Open run: Sun 10:30 AM. $8-$12.

SPLIT! AND SHATTER These two solo pieces work hard, mostly too hard, at satirizing solo pieces. Nicky Margolis's Split! begins with the sung line, "It's time for me to put on a show," and progresses as a show about the show, eventually getting mired in self-reflexive gags. In Shatter Pat O'Brien assures the crowd he'll get to his characters after he breaks a few Guinness World Records. His futile efforts are funny, but the show gets better when he focuses on characters, like a spoons music instructor. (RH) Through 7/29: Tue 8:30 PM, Second City E.T.C., 1608 N. Wells, 312-337-3992, $10.

THE SPOT 4437 N. Broadway, 773-728-8933: This restaurant hosts improv and sketch shows in its upstairs theater. + Nunsense, a musical comedy. Open run: Fri-Sat 7 PM, $10. Overstock features a rotating lineup of improv teams. Open run: Mon 8:30 and 10:30 PM, $3. 21+.

STEVE AND JORDAN, RESPECTIVELY Writer-performers Steve Waltien and Jordan Klepper execute a practically flawless sketch revue. Ambitious and original characters, creative blocking, caustic wit, well-choreographed physical humor, a stay-with-us pace, and carefully developed punch lines that pay off big--all come together for consistent laughs. The two enter bickering like brothers and capitalize on that tension throughout, provoking and punishing each other. They exercise exquisite control in each scene, building on jokes by slowly revealing more information until the bit ends in hilarious chaos. (RH) Open run: Fri 10:30 PM, iO, 3541 N. Clark, 773-880-0199, $14.

3033 A comedy supergroup consisting mainly of former members of People of Earth, 3033 creates some of the liveliest, most consistently solid improv around. Unlike most troupes at iO, 3033 doesn't stick with the Harold improv format. Instead, they play it loose, letting an audience suggestion and Jason Chin's playful music and light effects steer them. At a recent show the topic of gangs inspired a hilarious 70s-era game show. (RH) Open run: Sun 10:30 PM, iO, 3541 N. Clark, 773-880-0199, $5.

WHIRLED NEWS TONIGHT PRESENTS NEWSPEAK This satire of current events, based on audience contributions of news stories, features players who exhibit a genuine rapport: articulate dialogue unfolds logically, swiftly, and concisely. (MSB) Open run: Sat 8 PM, iO, 3541 N. Clark, 773-880-0199, $14.