Photo Flash: The Annoyance Theatre presents HITCH*COCKTAILS

Hitch*Cocktails - the improvised thriller (and drinking game) has been a Chicago comedy staple for five years, and in July the nefarious fellows are celebrating in style. Special performances will be hosted every Friday in July (July 7, 14, 21 and 28th), 2017 at The Annoyance Theatre and Bar, 851 W Belmont Ave., in Chicago. Doors open at 10:00 p.m., and the show begins shortly after.

Tickets for HITCH*COCKTAILS are $20 and can be purchased online at www.theannoyance.com or by calling the box office at 773-697-9693.

Full Rundown of specialty performances:

July 7, 2017: The Wrong Person - An audience member will be interviewed and their story used as the suggestion for a conspiracy plot. Raffle tickets will be sold at every performance for a weekly drawing, and featuring live jazz music by Kristen Hopkins and Matthew Pollack.

July 14, 2017: Messing with a Fiend - Critically acclaimed improviser and Annoyance founding member Susan Messing will join the cast for the night. Messing has taught at iO and continues to teach at The Annoyance, Second City, and around the country. Her standup act with her puppet, Jolly, has been featured on HBO, Comedy Central and NBC.

July 21, 2017: 5 Years at Large - Hitch*Cocktails Official Anniversary Show featuring original cast members, specialty drinks and shots, and the return of the original director Stephanie McCullough (Annoyance Theatre, Second City, founder: MCL Theater) on piano, along with her full band. Intermission jazz music by Clayton Joyner.

July 28, 2017: Killer Lines - Audience members get to provide lines of dialogue that must be incorporated into the show...no matter what. Intermission jazz music by Kristen Hopkins and Matthew Pollack.

Hitch*Cocktails is a staple of the mainstage at The Annoyance Theatre & Bar. The last three years they have headlined at the Ohio Unscripted Festival, was voted "Curator's Pick" for Genre at the Chicago Improv Festival in 2015, and in 2016 was named as the "Best Improv/Sketch Group in City" according to the Chicago Reader. They have also performed in Austin and St. Louis and taught workshops around the country on narrative genre improvisation.

It all begins with an audience suggestion of an unusual fear. Then sit at the edge of your seat as the nefarious and well-dressed improvisers create a full-length improvised thriller in the style of Alfred Hitchcock. There could be murder, car chases, gun play, exciting music and drinks...plenty of drinks. With a real wet bar on stage and a slew of rules, the audience is invited to partake with the actors as the tension mounts. By the end of the show, you might not be able to stand the suspense and the actors might not be able to stand at all.

HITCH*COCKTAILS features Cynthia Bangert, Peter Corey, Bri Fitzpatrick, Caleb George, Madelyn Murphy, Bruce Phillips, Jason Stockdale, and C.J. Tuor.

Photos by Anthony Yoon.