LAKEVIEW — Prepare your Troy and Abed handshake and ready your pillow forts — "Community" actor Danny Pudi is coming to Chicago this weekend.
Pudi, best known for his roll as the so-very-meta Abed Nadir on "Community," is featured in one of 186 shows in the Chicago Sketch Comedy Festival running Thursday through Jan. 17. T.J. Miller, star of "Silicon Valley," will perform as well.
"I am stupid excited this year," festival founder Brian Posen said. "There's not one weak link in this lineup."
The eight-day festival at Stage 773, 1225 W. Belmont Ave., will feature 165 groups performing in the venue's four theaters. Troupes come from Los Angeles, New York, Toronto, Seattle and Washington, D.C.
Plenty of Chicago favorites will also perform, including The Defiant Thomas Brothers, Rabbit Rabbit and The Cupid Players. Stage 773 also highlights a range of shows representing a diverse mix of comedians who are LGBT, Latino and Asian-American (Stir-Friday Night alums, by the way, include Pudi and Steven Yeun (AKA Glenn on "The Walking Dead").
Pudi grew up in Brighton Park and Jefferson Park before attending Marquette University. After landing at the Second City Conservatory, he moved to Los Angeles, snagging roles in "Gilmore Girls" and "Greek" before breaking big in "Community" in 2009.
Pudi will perform with "Siblings of Doctors" at 7 p.m. and 8 p.m. Jan. 15.
Tickets to individual shows are $15, and day passes are also available for Thursdays ($37), Fridays ($47) and Sundays ($57). All-festival passes have sold out. Tickets are sold online, by phone at 773-327-5252 or at the Stage 773 box office.
See the full festival schedule here.
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