Comedy Clubs in Los Angeles
If you're new here, you may want to subscribe to our RSS feed. Thanks for visiting!
credit: QuinTes
There are a few things that you have to make sure to do when you visit Los Angeles. You have to make sure to check out the stars on the Hollywood Walk of Fame (and take pictures with your favorites). You have to make sure that you stroll down Rodeo Drive to see the stores that you’re probably never going to be shopping in. You have to make sure that you hit up the beach. And you have to make sure that you spend at least one of your evenings at a Los Angeles comedy club.
Los Angeles is where everyone in the nation goes when they want to make it in the entertainment business. The clubs where amateurs are performing their comedy routines today are the clubs where some of the world’s best comedians got their start. And the clubs that are commanding the highest prices in Los Angeles today are the clubs where you can see some of those famous names that you know from television and the movies.
In a city that sometimes takes itself way too seriously, these are the best places to go to get a good laugh:
The basics: This is one of the most well-known and much-loved Sunset Strip comedy clubs in the city. It has launched the careers of many of the most famous comedians in entertainment history and some of them continue to drop by to regale guests of the club with their humor. There are three different performance rooms here so there’s always something funny going on and you’ll find that there are different types of comedy to suit different styles.
Famous names associated with The Comedy Store: Robin Williams, Arsenio Hall, Gallagher, Whoopi Goldberg, Richard Pryor, David Letterman (in other words, you name it and they’ve performed here!)
credit: John Beagle
The basics: This Los Angeles comedy club is a favorite place for people who like sketch comedy as well as for those who like improv since it offers a little bit of both on different days. It’s been around for almost twenty years so it’s not the oldest comedy club in Los Angeles but it’s certainly well-established. There is also a comedy school associated with this theatre so if you happen to find that you’re drawn to the Los Angeles comedy scene and want to get involved in it yourself, you’ll already be in the right place.
Famous names associated with Acme Comedy Theatre: Adam Carolla, Joel McHale, Alex Borstein, Will Wheaton
credit: RodrigoFavera
The basics: People line up outside of this comedy club because it’s well-known for being a hot spot that famous people regularly drop in on for surprise guest appearances. Even if you don’t happen to get entertained by someone famous, the stand-up comedy shows here tend to be the best of the Los Angeles bunch. There’s a lounge next door to the comedy club (associated with it) which hosts some sketch comedy and there are occasional magic shows held at the club as well.
Famous names associated with Comedy & Magic Club: Jay Leno, Robin Williams, Jim Carrey, Jerry Seinfeld
The basics: Even the website for this comedy club is fun so you know that a night out at this place is going to be a blast. It’s yet another of the really well-known Los Angeles comedy clubs that people make it a habit to put on their itinerary if they’re looking for a fun place where they might get the chance to see a famous comic celebrity. In addition to having a long history with some of the best comedians of the past, it’s a place where many say today’s hottest comedic talent can be found. And there are two locations so you can take your pick of what you want to see.
Famous names associated with Laugh Factory: Bob Hope, Jim Carrey, Jamie Foxx
credit: Mark Sadowski
The basics: Many comedy clubs in Los Angeles are geared specifically towards stand-up. Others implement a combination of improv, stand-up and sketch comedy to create a more diverse humor palette. However, there are a few spots that are committed specifically to showing off the humor in the improv arena and this is the hottest of those types of comedy clubs. People who love the spontaneity and wit of improv comedy will love every show that plays here. It’s not an amateur performance, though; there is definitely some serious skill in the people who perform here.
Famous names associated with Improv Asylum: Craig Cackowski, Robert Dassie
The basics: If you really want to get into the history of the improv scene in Los Angeles, then you want to make your way to a show at The Ice House which is the oldest still-running comedy club in the entire country. What’s interesting about this place is that it started out as a club for folk music but the folk artists who really gained attention here tended to be those with a comic bent. In the 1980’s, attention at the club turned towards the comic end of things and from there the whole thing just kept getting bigger and bigger. It’s open every day of the week except Mondays so it’s a place to go any time that you happen to be in L.A.
Famous names associated with The Ice House: Gallagher, Lily Tomlin
The basics: This is another great improv venue which has been a staple of the Los Angeles comedy club scene for nearly thirty years. People who love Saturday Night Live often make it a point to get tickets to a show at this venue which launched a great number of the people who ended up making a name for themselves on the show. There are several different types of shows that play here during a five day week that starts on Wednesdays. One of the best parts about this place (besides the way it hits your funny bone just right) is that it is one of the most affordable comedy clubs in Los Angeles.
Famous names associated with Groundlings: Will Ferrell, Cheri Oteri, Chris Parnell
Improv Comedy Club and Dinner Theatre
The basics: This is a national chain comedy club which has pros and cons to it. On the one hand, many people don’t love this place as an L.A. hot spot because it’s something they could visit anywhere in the country. On the other hand, the name brand brings in a lot of big stars with quality talent. There’s a niche in Los Angeles for everyone and if your thing is name brand then this is your comedy club.
Famous names associated with Improv Comedy Club and Dinner Theatre: Richard Lewis, Jamie Kennedy, Bob Saget
Lesser-known Los Angeles Comedy Clubs
The list above comprises some of the most well-known comedy clubs in all of Los Angeles, the hot-spots that you don’t want to miss and the places that you want to go in the hopes of running into some of the most famous (and funniest) names in the business. However, they aren’t the only comedy clubs in the area. The city is filled with different comedy clubs catering to all different flavors of funny.
Many people find that it’s just as great to go to a low-cost, no-name Los Angeles comedy club as it is to go to some of the city’s more famous places. Sure, the likelihood that you’re going to run into someone famous is a lot slimmer. However, there remains the chance that you’ll see a really great, cheap show that may star a comedian who ends up getting his break and making it big in a few short years. Then you can be the one telling your friends, “hey, I saw him at a Los Angeles comedy club for a $5 cover”.
Print This Post
Email This Post
RSS Feed
on July 24th, 2008 at 3:05 am
Thanks for the tidbits about the comedy clubs. FYI: Talk show host and author Charlotte Laws will be making a premiere appearance at the Comedy Store on July 29. Should be fun. Not to be missed.