Hidden gem: "Paper Machete" is a show for all of Chicago

Chicago, IL - Every Saturday afternoon, a curious "live magazine" performance draws crowds large enough to pack the storied Green Mill Cocktail Lounge in Uptown.

"Paper Machete," a popular production inspired largely by the "Living Newspaper" plays produced by the WPA's Federal Theater during the Great Depression, is a vaudevillian smorgasbord which brings together a wide variety of artists to create an afternoon of laughs, entertainment, and insight.

While the show touches on the news of the day, the topics can veer wildly. In the same show, you can hear the comedic stylings of Felonious Munk, who takes on serious issues in the criminal justice system with humor, to a bird lecturing the audience on the futility of mankind trying to blow up a hypothetical apocalyptic asteroid hurtling toward the earth. Interspersed between these acts are some of the best musical artists you've never heard of but will spend the rest of your week listening to.

"I'll never forget my first Machete. It's been so fun for me to bring friends, family, and coworkers and watch them experience it for the first time," said Erin Diamond, who occasionally performs as a Melania Trump impersonator. "Before the show even starts, you find yourself in this windowless, warmly lit bar that holds all things great about historical Chicago bars: cash only, take no bullshit staff, and people crowded together and actually excited about it."

The performances are enhanced by the Green Mill's early 20th Century aesthetic. The jazz club is over a century old and was patronized by infamous mobster Al Capone. The booth where he and his henchmen kept a cautious eye on both doors still stands to this day.

Each show is the creation of the ever-flamboyant Christopher Piatt and behind-the-scenes musical tastemaker Leah Munsey. Munsey, an early fan-turned-producer of the show, works hard to maintain the show's vision amid the gentrification of Uptown. 

"We want to try to produce a product that's accessible to everyone. We want to produce a product that's relatable to everybody," she said. "We're trying to make art for humans- like earth people - not like the Richie Rich's of River North. Not to say that they're not welcome in our room, but it definitely changes the demographic, and it changes the response, and honestly, it changes the comfort level of our artists." To that end, the creators do not charge admission but pass a bucket around so fans can give what they can.

Many of the artists to grace the stage of "Paper Machete" are LGBTQ. It's the result of an active effort to seek out artists across the gender representation spectrum and across sexualities. "We have drag performers in from time to time, we have queer performers in all the time. But part of it is that those are just our friends, and those are also the comedians who are making the most interesting art," said Munsey. "We're just so bored with what it is that heteronormative, cisgendered white dudes are offering the comedy world. There's no fresh take; there's no interesting perspective to be had. Where the art is being made that is interesting is in queer communities."

"Paper Machete" starts every Saturday at 3 p.m. There is also a Wednesday show called the "Paper Machete Cocktail Hour" at 6:30 p.m. that follows the same format as the flagship Sunday show.