Comedy Cellar

Comedy club in New York City

Comedy Cellar

Comedy Cellar entrance

Location| Manhattan, New York City, New York, U.S.
Type| Comedy club
Website
comedycellar.com
The Comedy Cellar stage as seen from the audience left

The Comedy Cellar is a comedy club in Manhattan where many top New York comedians perform, sometimes referred to as the "Harvard of comedy clubs".[1] It was founded in 1982 by then stand-up comedian, and current television writer/producer Bill Grundfest.[2] It is located in Greenwich Village on 117 MacDougal Street between West 3rd Street and Minetta Lane.[3] Above the club is a restaurant called The Olive Tree Cafe to which it is connected, where many of the comedians hang out after performing.[4] The club is owned by Noam Dworman, who inherited it from his late father Manny in 2003. It is being booked by Estee Adoram, who has developed the club's talent for nearly four decades. The businesses share the same menu, kitchen, and staff as the Olive Tree Cafe.

The Comedy Cellar, like The Comedy Store, uses a showcase format, as opposed to a headline format like most clubs. A show will consist of between five and seven comics performing sets of roughly 10 to 15 minutes each. Each week consists of three to six shows a night on Sunday through Thursday and ten shows each Friday and Saturday, between both the original room and the larger Village Underground around the corner.

## Notable comedians

[edit]

Notable Comedians started with stage time at the Comedy Cellar, going on to become legends, such as Louis C.K.,[5] Dave Chappelle, Amy Schumer, Ali Wong, Dave Attell, Andrew Schulz, Todd Barry, Judah Friedlander, Colin Quinn, Kevin Hart, Jim Norton, Jeff Ross, Jon Stewart, Ray Romano, Darrell Hammond, Michael Mittermeier,[6] Rich Vos, Nick Di Paolo, Artie Lange, Greer Barnes, and Marc Maron.

Popular established comedians frequently perform at the Comedy Cellar, including Dov Davidoff, Mark Normand, Ryan Hamilton, Robert Kelly, Harrison Greenbaum, Sherrod Small, Keith Robinson, Eric Neumann, Gregg Rogell, Nikki Glaser, Ben Bailey and Andrew Schulz.

Celebrity comedians Aziz Ansari and Jon Stewart started their comedy careers at the Comedy Cellar, and both continue to occasionally perform there. Other celebrity comics who have performed at the club include Sarah Silverman, Amy Schumer, Robin Williams, Patton Oswalt, Kevin Hart, Chris Rock, Patrice O'Neal, Bill Burr, and Matteo Lane.[7] Musician John Mayer has also been seen performing stand-up.[8]

## In the media

[edit]

Much of Jerry Seinfeld's 2002 documentary Comedian was filmed at the club, and it also can be seen in a 2006 Pepsi commercial starring Jimmy Fallon.

The beginning sequence of Louis CK's television series Louie shows him walking into the Comedy Cellar. Many scenes in the show are filmed in and around the Comedy Cellar and Olive Tree Cafe. Speaking with ESPN's Bill Simmons about the club on a Grantland podcast in June 2012, CK discussed playing shows at the Cellar to empty rooms in the 1990s, stating that then-owner Manny Dworman "kept comedy alive" by making comedians perform on empty stages, in an effort to lure in potential customers.[9] The club was also featured in Chris Rock's film Top Five, including a performance by his character, Andre Allen. It appeared regularly on HBO's Crashing, and is the home for Comedy Central's This Week at The Comedy Cellar.

In September 2015, the club launched its public-policy debate series with a debate on the Iran nuclear deal.[10] The debate featured professor and lawyer Alan Dershowitz and journalist Fred Kaplan, among others.

The New York Post regularly rates the Cellar as the best comedy club in New York.[11]

In March 2016, writers Jessica Pilot and Katla McGylnn wrote an oral history of the club for Vanity Fair.[12]

The club has been the location for comedians taping Netflix specials. Aziz Ansari shot his special Nightclub Comedian at the Comedy Cellar in 2021; Ray Romano recorded his special Right Around the Corner there in 2019; Dave Attell and Jeff Ross recorded their Netflix series Bumping Mics with Jeff Ross & Dave Attell at the club in 2018.

## Las Vegas location

[edit]

In 2018, the Comedy Cellar opened a third location at the Rio Hotel in Las Vegas.[13]

## References

[edit]

1. ^ Wallace, Amy (2014-06-04). "Dave Chappelle at the Comedy Cellar: The Funniest Night on Earth". GQ. Retrieved 2018-04-23.
2. ^ "What This Founder of an Iconic Comedy Club Believes All Companies Need to Succeed". Inc.com. 2017-08-08. Retrieved 2018-04-23.
3. ^ "Comedy Cellar". New York. Retrieved 2018-04-23.
4. ^ Hankinson, Andrew (2017-08-21). "An Upset at the Comedians' Table". The New Yorker. ISSN 0028-792X. Retrieved 2018-04-23.
5. ^ "Comedian Louis C.K.: Finding Laughs Post-Divorce". NPR.org. NPR. Retrieved 2010-07-08.
6. ^ michael mittermeier - Comedy Cellar
7. ^ "Matteo Lane: 'The Pressure of New York Comedy Is Greater'". CBS New York. 2017-12-05. Retrieved 2018-09-30.
8. ^ "My Big Mouth Strikes Again". Rolling Stone. Archived from the original on October 17, 2006. Retrieved 2007-09-08.
9. ^ "The B.S. Report - ESPN".
10. ^ Tress, Luke (6 September 2015). "Pulling the punchlines, NY comedy club plays host to Iran deal debate". The Times of Israel.
11. ^ "Business Info, reviews, and directions". Citysearch. Retrieved 2007-09-08.
12. ^ McGlynn, Katla (14 March 2016). "An Oral History of the Comedy Cellar". Vanity Fair. Retrieved 2016-03-20.
13. ^ "The Comedy Cellar at Rio Las Vegas". www.caesars.com. Retrieved 2018-04-23.

## Further reading

[edit]

* Hankinson, Andrew (4 May 2021). Don't Applaud. Either Laugh Or Don't. (at the Comedy Cellar.). Scribe Publications. ISBN 978-1-950354-54-2.

## External links

[edit]

* Official website

40°43′48″N 74°00′01″W﻿ / ﻿40.730131°N 74.000403°W﻿ / 40.730131; -74.000403

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Greenwich Village (including Meatpacking District, South Village, and West Village)

Manhattan, New York City

Buildings

| Broadway–6th Avenue|

* 74–96 MacDougal Street, 170–188 Sullivan Street
* Butterfield House
* Cable Building
* General Winfield Scott House
* Mills House No. 1
* One Fifth Avenue
* University Village
* Washington Square Village
* Whitney Museum of American Art

|

West of 6th Avenue|

* 2 Horatio Street
* 40 Tenth Avenue
* 45 Christopher Street
* 75½ Bedford Street
* 131 Charles Street
* 173 and 176 Perry Street
* 299 West 12th Street
* 302 West 12th Street
* Bell Laboratories Building
* Westbeth Artists Community
* Federal Office Building
* New York County National Bank Building
* Palazzo Chupi
* Salvation Army Headquarters
* St. John's Terminal
* Superior Ink
* West Village Houses

Former|

* Canterbury Hall
* Jefferson Market Prison

Culture

| Shops, restaurants,
and nightlife|

* Arthur's Tavern
* Barbuto
* The Bitter End
* Blue Hill
* Blue Note Jazz Club
* Café Bohemia
* Cafe Wha?
* Caffe Reggio
* Comedy Cellar
* Commerce Inn
* Cubbyhole
* Dame
* Dante
* Don Angie
* Duplex Cabaret Theatre
* Frevo
* Gotham Bar and Grill
* I Sodi
* Jeju Noodle Bar
* Joe's Pizza
* John's of Bleecker Street
* Julius
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* Kettle of Fish
* King
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* Les Trois Chevaux
* Lord's
* Marie's Crisis
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* One If By Land, Two If By Sea
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* Pommes Frites
* Red Paper Clip
* Semma
* Sevilla
* Shmoné
* Smalls Jazz Club
* Stonewall Inn
* National LGBTQ Wall of Honor
* Sushi Nakazawa
* Via Carota
* Village Vanguard
* Wallsé
* White Horse Tavern

|

Museums and galleries|

* Center for Architecture
* Fort Gansevoort
* Maccarone
* Makeup Museum
* White Columns
* Whitney Museum

Hotels|

* Hotel Albert
* Hotel Gansevoort
* The Jane
* Marlton House
* The Standard, High Line

Theaters, studios|

* Barrow Street Theatre
* Cherry Lane Theatre
* Electric Lady Studios
* Film Forum
* IFC Center
* Lucille Lortel Theatre
* Minetta Lane Theatre
* New Ohio Theatre
* The Players Theatre
* Provincetown Playhouse
* Quad Cinema
* Rattlestick Playwrights Theater

Former|

* ANTA Washington Square Theatre
* Apostolic Recording Studio
* Avignone Chemists
* The Beatrice Inn
* Boomer's
* The Bottom Line
* Cafe Au Go Go
* Café Clover
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* Da Silvano
* El Faro Restaurant
* Eve's Hangout
* Film Guild Cinema
* Florent
* Garrick Cinema
* The Gaslight Cafe
* Gerde's Folk City
* Grand Central Hotel
* Greenspon Gallery
* Greenwich Village Theatre
* Hot Feet Club
* Hotel Lafayette
* KGB Espionage Museum
* Lion's Den
* Mineshaft
* Mori
* Nell's
* Nick's
* Nix
* Old Grapevine
* Pfaff's
* Piora
* Plane Space
* The Plumm
* Ramrod
* Rhong-Tiam
* Rocco Restaurant
* San Remo Cafe
* Seventh Avenue South
* Sheridan Square Playhouse
* Soto
* The Spotted Pig
* Sweet Basil Jazz Club
* Tenjune
* Trude Heller's
* The Village Den
* Village Gate
* ZZ's Clam Bar

Parks, green spaces, and plazas

| Current|

* Abingdon Square Park
* Christopher Street Pier
* Christopher Park
* Gay Liberation Monument
* Statue of Philip Sheridan
* Father Demo Square
* High Line
* Hudson River Park
* Jackson Square Park
* James J. Walker Park
* Little Island at Pier 55
* McCarthy Square
* Mulry Square
* New York City AIDS Memorial
* Pier 40
* Washington Square Park
* Bust of Alexander Lyman Holley
* Statue of Giuseppe Garibaldi
* Washington Square Arch
* West Fourth Street Courts
* Winston Churchill Square

|

Former|

* Coles Sports and Recreation Center

Education

| Libraries and schools|

* City-As-School High School
* Jefferson Market Library
* Notre Dame School
* PS 41
* St. Luke's School
* Village Community School

|

Postsecondary|

* The New School for Social Research
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* New York University
* Brown Building
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* Silver Center
* Skirball Center for the Performing Arts
* University Village
* New York Studio School of Drawing, Painting and Sculpture
* Pratt Institute School of Information

Other|

* Greenwich House
* Greenwich House Music School
* Greenwich House Pottery
* HB Studio
* School for Poetic Computation

Former|

* École libre des hautes études
* Grammar School No. 35
* New York Workers School

Religion

* Church of St. Joseph in Greenwich Village
* Church of St. Luke in the Fields
* First Presbyterian Church
* Judson Memorial Church
* Our Lady of Guadalupe at St. Bernard Church
* Our Lady of Pompeii Church
* St. Veronica Church
* Trinity Chapel
* Washington Square Methodist Episcopal Church

Transportation

| Subway stations|

* 14th Street/Sixth Avenue
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* Christopher Street–Stonewall
* Eighth Street–New York University
* Houston Street
* West Fourth Street–Washington Square

|

PATH stations|

* Christopher Street
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Streets|

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Other sites

* Fort Gansevoort
* Hess triangle
* Lenox Health Greenwich Village
* Minetta Creek

Related topics

* Greenwich Village Society for Historic Preservation
* Little Spain

See also: Manhattan Community Board 2
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