I work in comedy in the UK and New York comedy clubs -despite the city?s comedy heritage- have a terrible reputation for not paying their acts well, enforcing drink minimums and failing to maintain the standard of comedy.
Last week I had a amazing night at the Comedy Cellar which seemed to dispel this reputation, though having tried out other clubs in the city I think the Cellar may be the exception.
We started off with an outstanding meal in the Olive Tree Cafe, which was friendly, beautifully designed and cheap. We then mozied downstairs to take in the early and then a bit of the late show in the Comedy Cellar.
The first few acts (Kurt Metzger, Keith Robinson and Gregg Rogell) were all amazing, each having a couple of real stand out gems and consistently making me laugh. Other acts struggled and the consensus amongst the comics seemed to be that we were a tough crowd.
That didn?t matter. The club was wonderfully geared up to facilitate the best comedy possible and discourage drunken heckling which is a major problem in so many British comedy clubs. The drink minimum could be applied to any item on the menu and there was a 3 drink maximum advertised which I have never seen before, since clubs (in the UK at least) generally make their money from the bar.
We had a great night and I can?t recommend this club highly enough. It?s no wonder such big name acts would chose to try out new material here. I?ll be back again as soon as I can.
Pros: Just wonderful all round
Cons: So many comedians on the bill without intervals made the night feel a little relentless.
more