Comedy for Cancer 2023
Thursday, March 2, 2023
Doors Open: 6:00pm | Show Starts: 7:30pm
Tivoli Theatre in Downers Grove
We look forward to seeing you! To learn more about this year's event, ticket prices, and sponsorship opportunities visit our event page!
Introducing Our 2023 Lineup!
Headliner: JOHN CAPONERA
Check out some highlights!
John Caponera always knew he wanted to be in show business but in what dimension was undetermined until the summer of 1979 when John entered a talent show at a local bar in Chicago. After doing several impressions, he walked away with the five hundred dollar winner's pot and a realization that he might have something to offer in the world of comedy.
Caponera's instincts proved right and after two years working the Chicago comedy club circuit, John took his act on the road where he was immediately accepted. He has honed his act over a forty year career performing to audiences all over the world. Caponera is considered a comic's comic, a true professional offering a mix of material from topical to impressions to characterizations to stories and one liners.
Michael Paskevich of the Las Vegas Review-Journal writes: "Unafraid of letting a room grow quiet, Caponera sets his own intentionally erratic pace, pausing to perfection to complement his oddly timed but rewarding comic insights. The jokes are further bolstered by his talent for facial gestures that range from goofy to arrogant, making Caponera arguably the hottest club headliner going at present."
Howell J. Malham Jr. of the Chicago Tribune writes: "Every so often, the kingdom of comedy is graced with a gifted, naturally refined performer who can effectively demonstrate the transcendental powers of the medium while making it look deceptively easy."
You may recognize John as the star of his own sitcom called "The Good Life" or as the host of Comedy Central's sport show "Jocks" and ESPN's "Talk II". Other credits include guest star appearances on "ER", "Love & War", "Blossom", "Tales From The Crypt", "The Tonight Show", "The Dennis Miller Show", "L.A. Law", "NBC's Miniseries Drug Wars", "The John Laroquette Show", "The Drew Carey Show", "The Crew" and the "Espy Awards".
Featuring: JOHN DACOSSE
WGN & WLS Radio personality, John Da Cosse, has developed a solid reputation nationwide. John has opened for big names like Ellen DeGeneres, George Lopez, Craig Ferguson and Billy Gardell and has appeared on NBC, Comedy Central and TBS. John Da Cosse has served as an audience warm-up for many television shows including the Rosie O’Donnell and Oprah Winfrey Shows.
John can be seen at Zanies in the Chicagoland area, and all Funnybone and Improv comedy clubs across the United States. He can be heard, along with his character voices as a regular on the Steve Cochran morning show on WLS Radio.
Featuring: TIM BENKER
Comedian Tim Benker is a veteran of Chicago stand-up comedy, having performed in 35 states opening for many well-known acts such as Jay Leno, Rosie O Donnell, Richard Lewis, Drew Carey and Walt Willey. Tim has also made himself useful in daylight hours by hosting morning radio in Las Vegas and Houston and produced a variety show around his alter ego “The Very Famous Lance Vegas”.
Emcee: ANDREA DARLAS
Andrea Darlas is an Emmy-nominated, award-winning radio and television news anchor/reporter and talk show host based in Chicago. In 2019, she was inducted in the prestigious WGN Radio Walk of Fame.
Andrea is currently the Senior Director of Constituent Engagement for the University of Illinois, Urbana-Champaign, based at the Illini Center in Chicago. She's a regular contributor to WGN-AM, WCPT-AM, WLS-AM, WCIU-TV, and the nationally syndicated home improvement TV show "House Smarts", as well as other radio and TV shows/programs across Chicago.
Having worked in the Chicago media for nearly three decades, Darlas was a news anchor and reporter at WGN Radio for more than 22 years and a news reporter and weekend break/features reporter for WGN-TV for 10 years.
During her tenure at WGN, Andrea won more than 30 awards from the Illinois Associated Press and the Illinois Broadcasters’ Association for anchoring, reporting, hosting, breaking news coverage and investigative series reports. Andrea has six IBA Silver Dome Awards for “Best Newscast”, three IBA Awards for "Best Reporter" and two prestigious Peter Lisagor Awards – one for TV and one for radio. A three-time Emmy award nominee, Andrea has also won two Edward R. Murrow Awards for journalism excellence, 1st place honors from the American Academy of Allergy, Asthma, and Immunology for her ground-breaking series on food allergies, and the Better Business Bureau’s Diogenes Award for media excellence in business and public affairs reporting.
Andrea has a ‘BS in Broadcast Journalism from the University of Illinois and currently works with the Chancellor, the office of Public Affairs and the Office of Advancement serving as a media liaison, promoting and advancing the U of I throughout the Chicago metropolitan area. Andrea has served on the U of I’s College of Media’s National Alumni Board, the University’s Alumni Association and the Campus Alumni Advisory Boards. She is currently on the Board of Directors of the Museum of Broadcast Communications and is actively involved with the Special Olympics, Rags of Honor, the National Hellenic Museum and the H-Foundation.
Andrea has also dabbled in feature films with roles in WTTWS’s “The Trial of the Parthenon Marbles” (2018), “The Trial of Helen of Troy” (2019) and Robert Alaniz’ “Honest to God” (2021).