Upcoming Events

The Backline will be showcasing both veteran and up-and-coming comedians every Wednesday at 7pm. Delivering a funny and diverse cast so anyone in our audience can find their new favorite local comedians! (Sometimes we'll have guests from other cities!)

Also, stick around after this show for our Open Mic at 8pm where anyone can get up on stage!

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No Drink Minimum. 18+ (or under with parent or guardian.) Parking available on the street (metered until 9pm).

Brooke Barsell & Todd Dylam host The Backline Open Mic (standup) every Wednesday at 8pm. Each comedian will be allowed 4 minutes, and names will be drawn from a hat for those who show up before 8pm, people who show up afterward will be added to a 2nd list. Whether it's your first time or you perform weekly, why not try out your material in front of a great crowd at one of the best standup venues in town?

Since names are pulled at random, comics are encouraged to sit and watch everyone else, creating a fun and encouraging audience. 5 seconds of grace period before music plays you off. Prepare accordingly.

This show is FREE for everyone!

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We are currently still asking everyone to please wear a mask. Please do not show up if you are experiencing symptoms. No Drink Minimum. 18+ (or under with parent or guardian.)

Please arrive no later than 5 minutes prior to showtime. Tickets may be released for resale at that time, no refunds will be given. Parking available on the street (metered until 9pm).

The ARENA is Omaha's #1 Improv Competition pitting together 2 improv teams to find out which Omaha team is the best. Each competition is followed by previous Champions that get their own weekly slot until someone beats their record! As an added bonus, the show will start off with a set from previous Champions!

Whichever team wins the votes of the audience comes back the next week to face a new Challenging team, each getting 20 minutes to win over your votes. The #1 team "4 Average People" has won 16 weeks in a row! Will a team ever beat that record? You decide!

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No Drink Minimum. 18+ (or under with parent or guardian.)

Please arrive no later than 5 minutes prior to showtime. Tickets may be released for resale at that time, no refunds will be given. Parking available on the street (metered until 9pm).

Biscuits is layered with many of Omaha's funniest improvisers and ready to butter you up for a hot show. Often fast-paced and never flaky, Biscuits will always rise to the occasion! Improv like your grandma definitely didn't used to make. (Each show also features a guest team opening for them!)

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No Drink Minimum. 18+ (or under with parent or guardian.)

Please arrive no later than 5 minutes prior to showtime. Tickets may be released for resale at that time, no refunds will be given. Parking available on the street (metered until 9pm).

88improv has been performing together since 2003 and is easily one of the best teams in Omaha. This will be there first show together at Backline since the pandemic hit and you will not want to miss this! They also keep their material family friendly, so if you are looking for one of the few shows at Backline you know your kids and grandparents will enjoy, this is the one.

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No Drink Minimum. 18+ (or under with parent or guardian.)

Please arrive no later than 5 minutes prior to showtime. Tickets may be released for resale at that time, no refunds will be given. Parking available on the street (metered until 9pm).

"Meinen with a Friend" is a 2-person improv show featuring Will Meinen and a brand new guest every month! Will studied and performed at the iO, Second City, and Annoyance Theaters in Chicago for eight years, and is a graduate of the Backline.

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No Drink Minimum. 18+ (or under with parent or guardian.)

Please arrive no later than 5 minutes prior to showtime. Tickets may be released for resale at that time, no refunds will be given. Parking available on the street (metered until 9pm).

FOR DEC 17: 'Tis the season for Christmas Specials! OEAA-winning duo Pandemic! @ the Disco (Robyn Helwig and Matt Johnson) presents an improvised musical holiday, bringing along some of their favorite musical friends. Come see performers improvise a holiday gathering in the vein of a classic Christmas movie, complete with hijinks, laughs, and of course musical numbers. It's sure to get you in the Christmas spirit!

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Pandemic! @ the Disco! (aka the artists formerly known as PanNick! @ the Disco aka the artists formerly known as PanNick) are Omaha’s premiere (and only!) two person musical improv team. This duo performs the hero's journey, taking suggestions from the audience to define the hero, portrayed by Matt Johnson. We then watch as that hero goes on a journey meeting less-than-helpful supporters, silly antagonists, and bewildered bystanders- all portrayed by Musical Director and accompanist Robyn Helwig.

Pandemic! @ the Disco is a top performer on the Backline’s arena board, having won a streak of 14 weeks, and is also the only team to have made it on the board twice (having won 8 consecutive weeks in 2019 as PanNick! @the Disco).

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No Drink Minimum. 18+ (or under with parent or guardian.)

Please arrive no later than 5 minutes prior to showtime. Tickets may be released for resale at that time, no refunds will be given. Parking available on the street (metered until 9pm).

Come join a chill experience where you get to hang out and enjoy a great evening of standup comedy. The Black Iowa Streams crew will showcase some of Iowa's funniest black comedians (including Dante Powell) every month here at The Backline (plus a couple local guests!)

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No Drink Minimum. 18+ (or under with parent or guardian.)

Please arrive no later than 5 minutes prior to showtime. Tickets may be released for resale at that time, no refunds will be given. Parking available on the street (metered until 9pm).

The Broken Magic Comedy Hour is a standup comedy series brought to you by founding OK Party Member and national touring stand up comic Zach Peterson. Featuring some of the best stand up comics in the midwest and beyond, The BMCH is a professionally run stand up show that will have you coming back for more month after month.


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No Drink Minimum. 18+ (or under with parent or guardian.)

Please arrive no later than 5 minutes prior to showtime. Tickets may be released for resale at that time, no refunds will be given. Parking available on the street (metered until 9pm).

This show is Rated R for graphic language of adult situations.

A fearless standup show at Backline, but also one to avoid if you easily get rubbed the wrong way. We line up Omaha's top local comedians and give them a chance to perform some stuff they can't do at most shows. If this sounds like you something you would like, then you definitely will. If this sounds disgusting to you, we have other shows you should check out.

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No Drink Minimum. 18+ (or under with parent or guardian.)

Please arrive no later than 5 minutes prior to showtime. Tickets may be released for resale at that time, no refunds will be given. Parking available on the street (metered until 9pm).

These are official Backline House Teams bringing you three different improv teams and shows, with new teams every six months! Check out veteran improvisers alongside the best up-and-coming talent coached by Matt Johnson, Annalise Anderson, and Fred Lenza.

Catch these teams twice a month on Tuesdays at The Backline and stick around afterward for an improv jam!

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No Drink Minimum. 18+ (or under with parent or guardian.)

Please arrive no later than 5 minutes prior to showtime. Tickets may be released for resale at that time, no refunds will be given. Parking available on the street (metered until 9pm).

Dad Jokes (featuring Michael Johnson, Michael Smith, Justin Edmonds, Taylor Grote, and Rachel Ware) has been voted as one of the best improv shows at The Backline. They don't tell 'jokes' and they aren't your dad, but you'll love them just the same. Their show is some of the best longform improv comedy you can find in Omaha!

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No Drink Minimum. 18+ (or under with parent or guardian.)

Please arrive no later than 5 minutes prior to showtime. Tickets may be released for resale at that time, no refunds will be given. Parking available on the street (metered until 9pm).

Date Night is here!

Gather up your special someone (or any someone) and come see great two-person teams improvising their little hearts out. Whether you actually bring a date, this show will be just as fun to watch alone or with a group of friends. Who knows, maybe you'll meet a future date here.

Hosted by Justin Edmonds

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No Drink Minimum. 18+ (or under with parent or guardian.)

Please arrive no later than 5 minutes prior to showtime. Tickets may be released for resale at that time, no refunds will be given. Parking available on the street (metered until 9pm).

INTERROGATED is easily one of the best improv shows in Omaha and features Backline's top improvisers (sometimes featuring special guests too!) This fast-paced and very much 'adult-friendly' improv where we'll ask you, the audience, to confess true stories from a time where you got away with something. Maybe you stole a brownie from a roommate, or spun cookies in a football field, either way we'll take them! Our performers will create scenes based off these stories in a structured 'game-based' style of improv you'll only see similar to in LA and NYC.

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No Drink Minimum. 18+ (or under with parent or guardian.)

Please arrive no later than 5 minutes prior to showtime. Tickets may be released for resale at that time, no refunds will be given. Parking available on the street (metered until 9pm).

Yer Mom's Comedy Show presents standup comedians aimed at “Keeping parents sane one punch line at a time!” Join comic moms-Kendra Karbowski, Patty Fanciullo & Anneliese Wright, as they bring up some of the best talent the Midwest has to offer. Special guest comedians will keep the entertainment going and we’ll end the evening with our “MomTime” Comedy chat

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No Drink Minimum. 18+ (or under with parent or guardian.)

Please arrive no later than 5 minutes prior to showtime. Tickets may be released for resale at that time, no refunds will be given. Parking available on the street (metered until 9pm).

Brooke Barsell's monthly show BABES in JOYLand!!! Featuring new comedians as well as a headliner. This month's comedians include Ham Clancy, Brian Barbecue, Liam Chleborad and Amanda Cacace.

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No Drink Minimum. 18+ (or under with parent or guardian.)

Please arrive no later than 5 minutes prior to showtime. Tickets may be released for resale at that time, no refunds will be given. Parking available on the street (metered until 9pm).

An incredibly fast-paced improv competition featuring Omaha's best improvisers competing to be Omaha's top Improviser!

STRUCTURE:

Improvisers will each pick one card at a time, each card assigned to a different challenge. They will get a chance to succeed with this challenge and advance to the next round. You can play drinking games from the audience or even participate in the show yourself. Audience participation by volunteering only, so no worries if you want to be left alone.

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No Drink Minimum. 18+ (or under with parent or guardian.)

Please arrive no later than 5 minutes prior to showtime. Tickets may be released for resale at that time, no refunds will be given. Parking available on the street (metered until 9pm).

It's the show that takes the narcissism inherent in comedy to its logical conclusion - WILL DOUGHERTY LOVES COMPANY!

Join me, your eponymous host Will Dougherty, as I invite some fantastic comedians to do sets while I stay on stage to riff, banter, and derail things for the amusement of all.

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We are currently still asking everyone to please wear a mask. Please do not show up if you are experiencing symptoms. No Drink Minimum. 18+ (or under with parent or guardian.)

Please arrive no later than 5 minutes prior to showtime. Tickets may be released for resale at that time, no refunds will be given. Parking available on the street (metered until 9pm).