Dave Chappelle announced a surprise run of 13 shows at Thalia Hall in Pilsen during the first week of December. The sets will be the first performances in Chicago for the legendary comedian and former host of Chappelle's Show since he hosted Common's AAHH! Fest in 2014. He toured earlier in the fall, but he did not make a stop in Chicago—13 shows certainly makes up for that snub.
Chappelle will perform two shows a night at 7 and 10:30pm from December 1–6. After abruptly leaving Chappelle's Show in 2005, he went on hiatus, performing only sporadically over the following decade. He re-entered the national spotlight in June 2014 when he performed 10 nights of stand-up at Radio City Music Hall.
The announcement of the Chicago shows are not entirely surprising—Chappelle plays a strip club owner in Spike Lee's Chi-Raq, which is heading to theaters on December 4. The film has drawn a good deal of controversy leading up to its release, and early criticisms aren't exactly kind. One should expect Chappelle to tackle some of those issues onstage next week.
Tickets for the Thalia Hall performances aren't cheap. They're going for $67 and are going on sale on Live Nation at noon on Saturday, November 28.
[Updated: Wednesday, December 2, 10:15am]