Sean Donnelly Laughs at Himself at Zanies

Sean Donnelly performed last night to a welcoming crowd at Zanies in Chicago. It was his second of several shows lined up before he leaves on the 10th.

Sean Donnelly. As Chicago’s first stand up club, the legendary Zanies is an intimate and grand venue. There’s not enough wall space for all the headshots of the comedians who have performed there, but it’s okay: they have beams they can hang the pictures on. Both sides. As the capacity crowd found their seats, you can study the headshots and recognize household names when they were starting out. Performing at Zanies in Chicago is career marker. Sean took the stage after the host and an opener. A proud bulldog owner, he jokes he owns the dog version of himself. His voice is raspy, but warm. “You guys thought I dropped beer off and I’m up here because it’s part of my bucket list,” he said. His self-deprecating humor was a mainstay of the evening. He continued to add how he has a face for manual labor or head of a union. It provided great contrast when he revealed he watches "Murder She Wrote" on Netflix. “I know I look like I’m off of Storage Wars,” he said.

Sean Donnelly. Picture by Mindy Tucker Headshots. Marriage jokes are as old as comedy, but Sean’s marriage jokes were fresh as they looked at some of the things people don’t tell you about the give and take in marriage. He interacted with the audience. It made him approachable and accessible. His reactions were what many people were thinking whether it was someone who gave one word answers to his questions or when he learned a couple had moved in with each other after knowing each other for six months. Donnelly’s in the process of taping a program for Comedy Central that will be shown this summer. Steve Martin said, “To make fun of others is cheap, but to make fun of yourself—that’s gold.” Even though he jokes about his appearance, after you hear Sean Donnelly’s comedy you can’t imagine him doing anything else. Donnelly’s remaining shows are May 7, 8th, 9th (3 shows), and the 10th. For tickets and show information, visit www.chicago.zanies.com. For more on Donnelly, visit seandonnelly.com where you can find his podcast, My Dumb Friends, or follow him on Twitter at @seanytime.