A year ago this month, iO matriarch Charna Halpern was frantically scuttling around the construction site that would become the new home of her Chicago comedy institution. She was dealing with financial stresses and a tight deadline in the final stages of iO’s move from Clark Street in Wrigleyville, the theater’s home for more than 20 years, to a cavernous new location in Lincoln Park. Today, she sits calmly in her office surrounded by her dogs Bear, Stella, and Mia.
This weekend’s programming is a perfect example of the benefits of the new space: along with regular Harold shows, iO hosts the first ever Musical Improv Festival and welcomes back alums of team Beer Shark Mice, which features David Koechner and Neil Flynn. A festival would have been impossible in the old space, Halpern says, let alone one happening concurrently with a three-night run of a special show. This is something that might have stressed out Halpern in the past, but she’s cool as a cucumber; the last year, she says, has proved the theater’s range of event possibilities, from a 12-hour comedy marathon to a barn dance to a political rally.
