New York City hosts dozens of comedy clubs. Some are bigger known staple haunts, like The Comedy Cellar, or Gotham Comedy Club. Others are not even comedy clubs at all, and are just odd venues that host comedy or variety shows, such as laundry mats, go go bars and former factories. But one of my favorite comedy clubs that I ever performed at in all of New York City was in a brownstone building that owned by poet Bob Holman. It was called The Bowery Poetry Club.
I will write a lot more about The Bowery Poetry Club, because it holds such a very hugely special place in my heart and my history of performing in New York City. But for now, I am going to talk about one aspect of the venue—it’s where I met Jim and Jeannie Gaffigan.
At the time, Jim and Jeannie lived right near the club with a gaggle of young kids. Because it was so close and so convenient, Jim would often venture down to hop on the stage and perform at a moment’s notice. The club offered him many opportunities to do so. There was a great comedy open mic that ran every Monday night for several years, hosted by two sassy and delightful comedic actresses, the O’Debra Twins (Tanya Richie and Diane Langan), called Show N’ Tell. In addition to that weekly show, which started at 10pm on a Monday but was always jam packed, and with up and comers galore, including names like Eric Andre, Reggie Watts, Kristen Schaal and many more, there was a monthly variety show called Skits N’ Tits, which I co-produced with Diane and Steph Sabelli, as well as other one offs, open mics and performance nights. It was a vibrant, energetic place full of characters, personalities and exuberance galore. I miss the place every day.
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