Minnesota's Best Places to See Comedy Shows

This is the best-known comedy stage in the Twin Cities, graced by the likes of Dave Atell, Louis C.K., Colin Quinn, Aziz Ansari, and such Minnesota natives as Maria Bamford and Mitch Hedberg. Founded in 1991, Acme has long served as a pipeline for the game’s emerging giants and a testing ground for new material; the first half of 2026 features everyone from alt-comedy icon David Cross to longtime “Conan” writer Laurie Kilmartin. 

Acme also hosts Open Mic Nights every Tuesday and an annual amateurs-only Funniest Person in the Twin Cities competition. But if you really want to see how the sausage gets made, snap up tickets to Tim Slagle’s annual Crash & Burn showcase, where comics are given just a few brutal hours to craft brand-new material before performing it live in front of a packed audience.

The longest-running improvisational and all-original sketch comedy theater in the country was founded by aerialist Dudley Riggs in 1958 and counts Louie Anderson, Al Franken, and Penn Jillette among its storied alumni. A resident company of Hennepin Arts, Brave New Workshop continues to showcase high-flying performers with its irreverent holiday productions and popular weekend show, Battle of the Improv All-Stars. 

Should you find yourself in the audience thinking, “Eh, I could do better,” consider signing up for Brave New Institute, the theater’s improvisation training center.

Tucked into the dingy basement of the Corner Bar for two decades, this "weird little punk rock comedy club" found a new home in 2025 that kept its early '90s aesthetic intact. 

"The ceilings are low; the acoustics are good for laughs," owner Bob Edwards told Racket. "The capacity [approximately 65 people] is about the same as the old space. It’s maybe a little too nice compared to what I’m used to, but you can really hear the room.”

Shows at 8 p.m. and earlier are 18-plus unless accompanied by a parent (and “your 16+ kid is super cool with swears”); showtimes 10 p.m. and later are 21 and up. The Friday night Open Mic is always free and often funny, with first-timers getting a three-minute window to prove their mettle. 

Or you can opt for a proven stand-up performer. Upcoming headliners include Jessica Michelle Singleton, Mo Alexander and Ben Roy.

This state-of-the-art venue — a spinoff of the San Francisco standard set by legendary promoter Bill Graham — dabbles in a variety of musical genres, booking everything from Paramore singer Hayley Williams to the EDM duo Dillstradamus (Dillon Francis playing back-to-back with Flosstradamus). 
 

The concert hall doesn’t host a ton of comics, but when it does, it goes for the young and edgy. Think: first-generation Egyptian American comedian Ramy Youssef or Japanese-Taiwanese American comedian Atsuko Okatsuka, only the second Asian American woman to land a stand-up special on HBO. 

The first, Margaret Cho, is set to perform at the Fillmore on March 26.

Comedy fans flock to St. Paul’s raucous hockey rink for the kind of blockbuster names that would fill an average-sized club 100 times over. With around 15,000 seats available for most stand-up shows, we’re talking B-I-G names like Adam Sandler, Tom Segura, Dave Chappelle and Nate Bargatze, who had a record-setting run (two shows and more than 32,000 attendees) in 2025.  

Another local arena that draws big crowds to slightly more sporadic comedy shows is Target Center, the boisterous home base of the Minnesota Timberwolves and Lynx. Some recent standouts have included the high-energy headliner Katt Williams, Hollywood star Amy Schumer, and crowd work craftsman Matt Rife.

The Orpheum, State and Pantages Theatres are a glorious trio of historic venues with roots dating back to the early 20th century. They are now run by Hennepin Arts, a 501(c)(3) non-profit organization with the ability to book top acts. 

For 2026, the Orpheum has Steve Martin and Martin Short, Michelle Buteau, and Jerry Seinfeld up its sleeve; the State is reeling in Kevin James, Chelsea Handler and Bridget Everett; and Pantages will bring down the house with shows by Zarna Garg, Craig Ferguson and Mae Martin.

This nearly two-decade-old bar and club hosts cabaret, trivia nights, improv comedy shows, and stand-up comedians like Comedy Central regular Matt Bergman and Linda Aarons, recent winner of Minnesota’s Funniest Person Contest. 

But one of the biggest pulls for rising comedians is the James Stanley-hosted Open Mic Night every Sunday. Up to 20 comics take the stage for three- to five-minute sets, either bombing hard or getting invited back to keep the good times rolling. It’s a low-key spot for newbies and up-and-comers alike to test out new material — and get inspired watching others do the same.

With a concert hall that seats 2,100 guests, the Showroom at Mystic Lake Casino pulls some of the biggest A-listers in comedy. Past headliners have included Martin Lawrence, Chris Rock, Tim Allen, Jim Gaffigan, Gabriel Iglesias, and Larry the Cable Guy. The 2026 lineup is even fresher thanks to such up-and-coming acts as Stavros Halkias, Matt Mathews and Morgan Jay. 

Most performers go on at 8 p.m., which makes it all the more convenient that there are more than a dozen bars and restaurants (plus a 766-room hotel) on-site.

Named after the University of Minnesota’s second president (Cyrus Northrop), this mid-sized mainstay is the former home of the Weisman Art Museum, Minnesota Orchestra, and the school’s beloved marching band. (They used to practice there; they now hang out at Huntington Bank Stadium and play a popular annual show at Northrop.) 

First opened in 1929, U of M’s longtime auditorium underwent a long-overdue glow-up in 2014 and hit the ground running with major headliners such as John Mulaney, Iliza Shlesinger and Hasan Minhaj. Music fans should also keep an eye on Northrop’s slight yet spectacular calendar; Prince, Thom Yorke, Neil Young, Patti Smith, Kraftwerk and Bob Dylan have all played there over the past 30 years.

This 365-seat South Minneapolis venue dates to 1931 but launched with a new mission in 2018. It’s already a date-night must for art house movies and quirky annual events like the SCREAM it off SCREEN short film competition, but the theater also draws its share of alt-comedy darlings, some of whom got their big breaks online. 

Among the viral sensations: the delightfully droll Emily Catalano, gleefully raunchy Steph Tolev, queer musical comedian Kristin Key, raised-in-the-south trans man Nico Carney, and avowed cat lover Zoltan Kaszas. Though many comics skew younger, there are names Elder Millennials and Gen Xers will recognize, too, including former Kid in the Hall Kevin McDonald, “Sultan of Sleaze” John Waters, and Emmy-nominated actress Janeane Garofalo.

Of course Mall of America has a comedy club, but it’s easy to overlook if you’ve never ventured up to the fourth floor. Founded by comedian, magician, musician and taxidermist Rick Bronson, this 300-person club books just a couple of shows per month, but the comics they do land usually stage multi-night runs, sometimes with two shows per evening. 

Upcoming acts include “Kings of Comedy” co-star D.L. Hughley, social media smash Matty Chymbor, and former wrestler/consummate storyteller Mick Foley.

This two-screen movie theater near Canal Park is where you might catch the newest Wes Anderson movie, a cult screening of “Caddyshack,” or the annual Cat Video Fest (yes, that’s a thing). But it’s also a restaurant (try the Lake Superior whitefish with grits), black box theater, and one of the most important comedy hubs on the North Shore. 

The act to catch is the Renegade Improv players, who take the stage every Friday night at 10 p.m. The venue also hosts a weeklong Teen Improv Summer Camp, complete with a public showcase after the intensive.