JOIN US!

Come join us at the Tivoli Theatre for Comedy for Cancer! We are happy to report that 2023's event was a GREAT SUCCESS with hilarious comedians, exciting raffles and of course dollars raised in support of basic science cancer research and we can't wait to do it again! This year we are so excited to have added something very special to our Comedy for Cancer Line up, don't miss out on our Comedic Conversation with Andy Richter!

 Tickets Include: Admission to the event, Tastes from Local Restaurants,  and a fun evening supporting cancer research!

Restaurant Partners Include:

Andy's Frozen Custard

Aurelio's Pizza - Downers Grove

Fourteensixteen - LaGrange

Gatto's Italian Restaurant & Bar -  Downers Grove

GP Italiano - La Grange

Krema Coffee - Plainfield 

Q-BBQ - LaGrange

Steak + Vine - LaGrange

Wooden Paddle - Lemont

Cash Bar and Concessions will be available for purchase for all guests.

Get to know Our Celebrity Guests!

Andy Richter, Comedic Actor & Writer

Actor and writer Andy Richter is best-known for his long-running role as Conan O’Brien’s announcer and sidekick throughout multiple late-night shows. Richter rose to fame alongside Conan in 1993 on Late Night with Conan O’Brien and reprised this role on The Tonight Show with Conan O’Brien, which premiered in 2009. In 2010, the duo moved to TBS, where Conan ran for 11 years with Richter once again acting as announcer, writer, general sidekick and participant in comedy sketches. Richter has guest-starred in popular shows such as Arrested Development and Hulu’s Love, Victor. His feature film work includes Scary Movie 2, Elf, Talladega Nights, Blades of Glory, Semi-Pro, and Marcel the Shell With Shoes On for A24. Richter has had a prolific voiceover career across numerous projects. He can be heard as the voice of Mort in DreamWorks Studios’ Madagascar films, as well as in the Nickelodeon series Penguins of Madagascar. Since 2019, Richter has hosted the popular podcast The Three Questions with Andy Richter on the Team Coco network. He appeared in the film 80 for Brady and recently finished production on the upcoming film First Time Female Director. Richter is a graduate of Chicago’s Improv Olympic and Annoyance Theater, and a frequent performer at the Upright Citizens Brigade theater in Los Angeles. 

Comedians performing at Our Event:

Mike Toomey, WGn

An integral part to WGN Morning News (9-10am), Mike Toomey serves as the “Announcer” for the show. He started out doing bits on WGN Morning News in 2003. By September 2013, Mike had become an everyday part of the show.

A regular performer on WGN Morning News, Mike has appeared in concert with such names as George Carlin, Wayne Newton, Crosby, Stills & Nash, and Reba McEntire. He has performed on numerous television programs including; HBO’s U.S. comedy Arts Festival in Aspen Colorado; MTV’s Half Hour Comedy Hour; and A&E’s Comedy on the Road. With his sharp delivery, quick wit, and unique style, Mike Toomey has been a favorite at comedy clubs and special events since 1982.

Mike grew up in Carol Stream. He has volunteered with Cal’s All Star Angels Foundation, an organization that grants wishes to kids fighting childhood cancer.

Mike lives with his wife and four children in the Chicagoland area.

Ana Belaval, WGN

From the high wire to wake boarding, Ana Belaval will try most anything once as the “Around Town” reporter for Chicago’s top-rated WGN Morning News. A four-time Emmy Award winner and Puerto Rico native, Ana previews notable attractions, people, activities and uncovers some of Chicago’s best-kept secrets with a dose of improv in her signature funny and fluent style.

There is nothing Ana loves more than to make people laugh. She has found the humor in navigating a bilingual and bicultural life and out of that, a love for stand-up comedy was born. You can often see her performing in Chicago with the Mikey O Comedy Show “Girl, let me tell  you” , “La Sala”, and “Las Boricuas of Comedy”.  From hosting a Ted X Talk to emceeing charity events, Ana enjoys making audiences of all kinds laugh and realize that sometimes your Plan B is the ticket to living the American Dream.

For Ana that meant embracing her Puerto Rican heritage to burst onto the English broadcast market scene. Upon graduating from The American University in Washington, D.C.,  her native language became her asset as a general assignment reporter and weekend anchor for Univision’s Chicago affiliate. She worked her way up to a New York-based network correspondent and substitute host for Univision’s national morning show, “Despierta America”.

In 2005 Ana joined WGN – one of few Spanish reporters to cross over to the English broadcast market. In addition to Around Town, Ana has also worked as a substitute anchor for the Morning and Midday News as well as WGN Radio 720. A four-time Emmy award winner and six-time Emmy nominee, she received awards for her “Living Green” and “One Tank Trips” series, the community affairs show “Adelante Chicago,” and her coverage of the aftermath of Hurricane Maria in her beloved Puerto Rico – an honor for which she is most proud. She was also a finalist for the Peter Lisagor award for the special story, “anabelaval.com.” Ana has also served as the host of  Chicago Stand Up Project on WTTW – a documentary-style show featuring two well-known Chicagoans who try their hand at stand-up comedy.

Off camera and off-stage, Ana enjoys spending time with her family including her husband, Steve, daughter Amelia, son Alexander and frequent Skype sessions with her parents in Puerto Rico.

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Jim Flannigan, Comedian

Jim Flannigan is a nationally touring stand-up comedian from Chicago. Known for his fast paced, clever punchlines,  Jim is a regular headliner at top comedy clubs including Zanies and The Improv, as well as being a regular performer at Chicago’s Laugh Factory and Brad Garrett’s Comedy Club in Las Vegas, NV.
Jim has opened for some of the biggest names in the world of comedy, including Sebastian Maniscalco, Demitri Martin and more, along with TV appearances on ABC, NBC, WGN & NBC Sports among others. Flannigan spent 3 years as the co-host of the hilarious All Over the Place, a weekly podcast that is just that, with Pat McGann. In late 2023 Jim appeared on Nate Bargatze's new show Nateland Presents.

Andrea Darlas, Emcee

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).

Steve Cochran, WLS

Comedic Conversation host

Steve Cochran is the morning drive host on WGN Radio, heard weekdays from 5-10am. Steve is an easy-going guy that’s equally at ease with covering the hard-hitting news and helping his listeners gear up for their day. He covers day’s headlines with an analytical eye and his characteristic comedic slant. Steve’s banter with his guests and fellow on-air crew makes the start of the day a lot smoother.

While enjoying the Comedy for Cancer, you will be participating in an event where photography, video recording and audio recording may occur.