Comedy Shows in Madison: Which Room for Which Night?

Comedy shows Madison hosts are spread over several rooms, and two of them sit at the top of State Street, where a dedicated club at No. 202 and the Orpheum at No. 216 share the 200 block, with the Majestic on King Street about a fifth of a mile from the Capitol. Out on the east side, the Barrymore brings in touring names.

Which room you want depends on the night: a weekend headliner, a big touring name, a cheap open mic or something improvised. Here is each one, with what it costs and when it runs, mostly from listings dated this fall.

Comedy on State, the State Street club

Comedy on State at 202 State Street is a dedicated stand-up club, with a touring headliner on its weekend bill right through the fall.

Its fall 2026 listings run mostly from Thursday to Saturday: one 7 p.m. show on Thursday and two shows at 7 and 9:30 p.m. on Friday and Saturday, plus a few other nights (a Sunday, a Monday and a Wednesday). Two weekend headliners in October 2026 are listed at $30, and Mark Normand's October run was listed at $54 to $66. The 9:30 p.m. show on a Saturday is the late one, and it leaves time for dinner on the Square first.

Visit Madison lists a weekly Wednesday open mic at the club, The Mic on State, so check the club's site before you go. That listing puts admission at $5 and says around 40 to 50 comics sign up online each week for 20 spots. In 2009 Isthmus listed a Wednesday open mic at the club, which had recently moved across State Street.

On New Year's Eve the club runs three shows in its 2026 listings, at 5, 7:30 and 10:30 p.m.

Touring comics at the Orpheum, the Barrymore and the Majestic

Bigger touring comics play Madison's theaters, and in fall 2026 three of them have stand-up on the calendar.

It is about a quarter mile from the Capitol, and the Overture Center garage on West Mifflin Street caps parking at $8 on nights and weekends outside special events (check the city's rates page). Stand-up has also played the Overture Center across the street, including a two-night run there in May 2026. That run belonged to Charlie Berens, the Wisconsin comic who earned his journalism degree at UW-Madison in 2009. Overture's smaller Capitol Theater, with 1,089 seats, sits in the same building.

Its calendar lists four comedy nights this fall: October 17 and 21, November 19 and December 3. Atwood Avenue has its own restaurants and bars, so a Barrymore night can stay on the east side from dinner to the last drink.

Between comedy nights, the same three theaters book touring bands as part of the city's live music, so check their calendars for concerts too.

Which room for which night

The rooms differ in size, price and the kind of night they give you, so pick by the night you want.

Comedy on State is the club room, with shows mostly from Thursday to Saturday. Wikipedia lists the Majestic as a 600-capacity venue (check before you go), against 971 seats at the Barrymore and about 1,700 at the Orpheum. Atlas Improv has a pay-what-you-want stand-up showcase listed for Thursday, October 22, at 9:30 p.m.

For a weekend night with a headliner, start with the State Street club. For bigger touring names, watch the Orpheum and Barrymore calendars. For something local, look for Atlas's pay-what-you-want stand-up or the Saturday improv that Monkey Business Institute's site lists.

Buy from the venue where you can: in fall 2026, a third-party ticket marketplace listed Comedy on State shows from $50, while the same club's weekend headliners are listed at $30 in Isthmus's listings.

A week of comedy in Madison

On Wednesdays, Visit Madison's listing points to the open mic at Comedy on State (check the club's site). On Thursdays the club has a 7 p.m. headliner, and Atlas has stand-up listed for Thursday, October 22, at 9:30 p.m.

Friday and Saturday bring the club's two shows at 7 and 9:30 p.m., Saturday adds the improv that Monkey Business Institute's site lists, and the theaters add touring comics on their own dates, weekends included. The club's fall listings also have a few other nights: a 6 p.m. show on Sunday, October 25, a 6 p.m. show on Monday, November 23, and a 7 p.m. show on Wednesday, November 25.

Improv and Madison's own comics

Madison's local scene runs on improv troupes and themed shows.

Atlas Improv Company on East Washington Avenue turned 22 in March 2026. Besides its improv shows, it has a pay-what-you-want stand-up showcase listed for Thursday, October 22, at 9:30 p.m. Atlas also teaches: in 2025 its core improv class ran 10 weeks for $220, open to adults 18 and over, so check its current class list before you sign up.

Monkey Business Institute, another improv company, took gold in the 2026 Best of Madison awards, and its site lists shows every Saturday at Glass Nickel Pizza's east-side location. In 2025, City Cast Madison described its weekend shows there as one all-ages and one grown-up show, but check the current schedule before you bring children.

Cheshire Cat Comedy builds themed nights around stand-up, and its Words With Nerds, a cross between a PowerPoint party and a comedy show, has played the Forward Club at Breese Stevens Field, with tickets at $15 in advance and $20 on the day in 2026. Its next comedy night there, on October 23, is on the stadium's Local Eyes calendar alongside soccer matches, theater and drag bingo.

Open mics

If you want to watch comics work out new material, start with the open mics. Visit Madison lists the club's Mic on State on Wednesdays (check the club's site).

Madison Comedy Week in August

Madison Comedy Week is the city's comedy festival, first held in 2018, and in 2026 it ran from August 3 to 8 with more than 20 shows of stand-up, improv, music and variety. The year before, the 2025 festival put on 22 shows at nine locations under its director, the comedian Jake Snell. The 2026 venues included Comedy on State, Atlas Improv, the Argus and Gamma Ray bars, Yahara Bay Distillery, the North Street Cabaret and the Bur Oak.

Planning a comedy night in Madison

For a downtown night, book dinner around the Capitol Square, then walk to the Majestic or along State Street to the club or the Orpheum.

A walk around downtown Madison fills the hours before a show, from a Capitol tour to the lake view at Monona Terrace.

For the State Street rooms, the city's Overture Center garage is at 318 W. Mifflin Street, and its page lists both the $8 night cap and separate special-event rates. For the Barrymore or the Bur Oak, plan on a car, a bus or a bike, since both are about 2 miles from the Square. To make a weekend of it, add a free Capitol tour or a Saturday at the farmers' market, and see things to do in Madison for the rest.