Martin Lawrence is coming back to Chicago, and he's bringing the tour that reignited his stand-up career with him. The comedian and actor is set to perform at 8 p.m. on Sept. 25 at the Arie Crown Theater, marking his return to the city as part of what's now being called the “Y'all Still Know What It Is!” tour.
According to the Chicago Tribune, Lawrence credits Chicago with helping make him known worldwide, saying the city is always top of mind for him. The Arie Crown Theater itself carries plenty of history — the 4,188-seat proscenium arch venue sits inside Lakeside Center at McCormick Place on DuSable Lake Shore Drive, part of what's billed as the largest convention facility campus in North America, according to Arie Crown Theater. The theater originally opened in November 1960, named for Lithuanian immigrant Arie Crown, and was rebuilt with a modified seating capacity after a 1967 fire before reopening in January 1971, per the theater's own historical account.
A Career-Defining Chicago Connection
Lawrence's tie to Chicago runs deeper than a single tour stop. The Tribune's report notes that his career turning point came with the release of his 1991 HBO special “One Night Stand,” which was filmed at the Vic Theatre in Lakeview. That taping helped launch him into national stardom well before he became a household name through television and film.
His path to that moment began years earlier, when he appeared on television's “Star Search” in 1987 and caught the attention of Columbia Pictures TV executives, who cast him in the third season of ABC's “What's Happening Now!!,” the paper reports. By 1989, he was hosting HBO's “Def Comedy Jam,” a show that the Tribune notes helped launch the careers of Jamie Foxx, Mo'Nique and Sheryl Underwood.
This isn't Lawrence's first Chicago stop on this run. He last performed stand-up in the city on March 20, 2025, at the Credit Union 1 Arena at UIC on the Near West Side, according to Ticketmaster. That show was part of the “Y'all Know What It Is!” tour Lawrence launched in July 2024 — his first headlining stand-up tour in eight years, an initial run that covered nearly 40 U.S. cities through early 2025 before extending further into 2026, per the T-Mobile Center.
How the Set Comes Together
Building a new hour of material, Lawrence told the Tribune, starts with brainstorming topics and writers' discussions before he tests jokes at intimate stages such as the Comedy Store. He works out the material every other day or every other week until it becomes a full set, using one simple test throughout: whether it's actually funny. He tends to avoid politics and topical humor altogether, the paper reports, aiming instead to take audiences' minds away from the outside world for about an hour.
“I tour because I enjoy making people laugh, especially in hard times,” Lawrence said, according to the Tribune's report. He returned to touring before 2024 after several years away from the road, and he says he plans to keep adding to and shaping his current show before eventually filming and releasing it — though he needs a live audience in front of him before that happens.
Beyond the Stand-Up Stage
Lawrence's return to Chicago lands amid a broader wave of activity across film, television and mentorship projects. The Bad Boys franchise, which now spans four films and a television show, has grossed over $1 billion worldwide, the Tribune notes, with the fourth installment, Bad Boys: Ride or Die, premiering in June 2024 and pulling in more than $400 million at the global box office, according to a report cited by WVEC. That film opened with $56 million domestically in its debut weekend. Lawrence's other franchise, Big Momma's House, began as the first film in a trilogy back in 2000.
On television, Lawrence executive produced The Varnell Hill Show, an eight-episode workplace sitcom on Paramount+ starring Tommy Davidson as a late-night host adapting to a changing media landscape. The series premiered globally on September 1, weeks ahead of Lawrence's Chicago tour stop, according to Paramount Press Express. The show traces back to a popular two-episode guest arc Davidson performed on Season 2 of Lawrence's Fox sitcom Martin in 1993, as detailed by the Washington Post. Martin itself premiered on Fox in 1992, ran for five seasons, and was the flagship program of the network's Thursday evening lineup, featuring Lawrence in the lead role alongside multiple supporting characters, per the Tribune.
Mentoring the Next Generation
Lawrence has also moved into a mentorship role behind the scenes. He produced Pass Tha' Mic, a stand-up competition hosted by Jo Koy and filmed before a live audience August 29-30 at the Route 66 Casino Hotel in New Mexico. According to the venue, the top emerging comic from that showcase earns a chance to open for Lawrence on tour. The series, which aims to identify, amplify and launch the next generation of transformative comedic talent according to its website, is currently being shopped to distributors, the Tribune reports.
Lawrence's résumé also includes a stint lending his voice to the animated film Sneaks in 2025, and in 2023 he received a star on the Hollywood Walk of Fame — recognition for a career he's built steadily since the 1980s. Through all of it, Lawrence's message for Chicago fans stays simple. “Funny carries anywhere,” he said, according to the Tribune. Tickets for the Sept. 25 show are available on the Arie Crown Theater website.
