PHG GUIDE TO COMEDY

photos: @nextinlinecomedy, @citywineryphil

Can we all agree April is a fantastic month?! It actually starts to be springy and we get to submit our tax returns, or even better, file for an extension, YIPEE! See, that was a joke to honor National Humor Month. National Humor Month was officiated in 1976 to raise awareness for humor as a therapy. Actual scientific evidence exists that proves laughter relieves pain, improves immune systems, alters brain chemicals that decrease stress, and increases energy. In summary, it is life-altering stuff.

Not only are we local real estate agents that have our finger on the pulse for entertainment, but we have a comedian on our team! They’ve helped us put together this resource to learn about Philadelphia’s burgeoning comedy scene. Observe National Comedy Month by visiting one of these great places while improving your overall health and wellness!

BIG BOX COMEDY CLUBS

Helium Comedy Club
Located on the 1900 block of Sansom Street in Rittenhouse Square, Helium hosts a variety of comedians: local, novice, famous, and all funny. It’s a classic stand-up venue where all seats are good seats! You’ll most likely be seated at a 4-top table, so unless you come as a party of four, you might sit with strangers, which is usually fun. They also offer comedy classes for all levels, if you want to exercise your funny bone! Helium is one of the three comedy theaters on the block and neighbors with at least five great restaurants. Pro tip- skip the bar food menu at Helium and opt for dinner at Vic Sushi, Wilder, Melograno, and Village Whiskey. 

Punch Line Philly
There are a ton of interesting entertainment facilities all clumped together around Punch Line Philly, located near the corner of Frankford Ave and Delaware Avenue. This venue is a nice, big space with a high ceiling and seating for 300. While you’re there, you’ll most likely be entertained by big-name, nationally famous (if not world-renowned) acts. If you’ve ever been to their San Francisco or Sacramento locations, our Philadelphia location lives up to those standards. Think outdoor patio, dinner,  snacks, and a full bar offering local booze, craft beer, and an exciting collection of cocktails.  

Philadelphia-Theater.com
Buy tickets for acts visiting Philly and big enough to book venues like The Wells Fargo Center, The Academy of Music, Liacouras Center, The Filmore, and the local casinos. Recent performers include Nic Offerman, Adam Sandler, David Cross, Sarah Silverman, and Marlon Wayans. BTW – if you haven’t watched every Wayans brothers movie, you should.

City Winery
City Winery Philadelphia is in the “Fashion District'' between Chinatown and Midtown Village. This venue is located near train and bus stations (both Amtrack and Septa, Greyhound, and Big Bus). So, if you’re a commuter to NJ or NYC, this would be the perfect place to meet someone for laughs on your way home. Here at City Winery, they host touring acts ranging from stand-up and ensemble comedy shows. It might be the newest facility that we’ve mentioned, so it’s built with all the latest sound and lighting technology, not to mention comfiest seating. Don’t forget that you are also in a wine bar! Not only can you enjoy comedy with an advanced wine list, but you can pre-order bottles to have waiting at your table when you arrive.

photos: @nextinlinecomedy

Indie Comedy Scene

Don’t Tell Comedy
This is a system of comedy pop-ups happening nationwide in over 70 cities. It’s a one-stop shop for travelers across the country. If you like surprises, this one's for you. You won’t know who’s performing at what venue until the day of the performance. What you can know is the neighborhood and time of the performance, as well as if the location serves food and booze. The website says usually BYOBs, but we know it’s been held at Evil Genius Brewery which most definitely serves booze and food. 

Next Line Comedy
Next Line was established a couple of years ago by two comedians, Manny Brown, and Tyler Wolf, to increase performance opportunities for comedians. It’s 2 to 4 shows a week at several good bar restaurants like Lilly’s Ferry in Old City, Tattooed Mom in Queen Village, Frankly Bradley’s in Midtown, and Second District Brewing in South Philly. Once there, you’ll experience comedians from all over the country, most of whom are just about to burst on the scene.

 Velvet Whip Philly
Velvet Whip is a “speakeasy” of the very best kind. We actually don’t know anything about it. Apparently, you need a membership to be in the know. So once we’ve actually experienced it, we’ll let you know. Unless of course they make us sign an NDA. Then it would be called a mum-bership. I hope we didn’t ruin our chances of getting in with that bad joke. 

photos: @ab_ambler, @phitcomedy, @placesthankyou, @cszphilly

Improv

The N Crowd
A well-established Improv Crew that has a regular night at Sawubona Creativity Project in Passyunk and at The Lab in Ambler. They’ve traveled to perform together in cities outside of Philly. So if you’ve swiped left on everyone in Philly, come here and scope out their following. You’ll get to know others because there’s audience participation. Before you hit on that attractive someone, make sure they don’t shout something you don’t like when asked for a word. Every show is different so expect to hang out with regulars in the audience. And if regular improv show attendees aren’t your thing, swipe left.

Thank You Places
If you already think show tunes are catchy you’ll experience new ones that are created on the spot starting with a word from the audience. These tunes can be so catchy they will stick in your head for generations to come. One of our favorites is “Capitalism for Kids.” Performances are usually one hour and are mind-boggling to watch. The talent and absurdity on the fly is really something to behold. Highly Recommend it. 5 stars!

Philly Improv Theater (PHIT)
Improv comes in a variety of shapes, sizes, lengths, and formats like long form, short form, and….we clearly know what we’re talking about. Snerds! We think sketch comedy is a kind of Improv. Philly Improv Theater has been around for almost a decade and it’s located right across the street from Helium Comedy Club so you can coordinate a double feature all in one night. They have matinees on the weekends and shows almost every night. They also offer classes for all ages at the PHIT Training Center, not just in improv, but also sketch comedy and writing.

Crossroads Comedy Theater
This roving theater will hopefully one day have a permanent home (call us)! In the meantime, you can enjoy their performances both online and in person. They also offer classes and produce podcasts. Some of their shows have fun themes like school, book club, politics, and science. Actually, that all sounds like school. Additionally, they organize a comedy festival called Class Clowns. Wait a minute…is this whole place school themed? Are they actually tricking us into going back to school? Well, as long as it’s funny, that’s fine.

ComedySportz
ComedySportz has regular nightly improv shows, games, and classes on the same 2000 block of Sansom St where PHIT and Helium are. Just this past March, they hosted a series of Friday nights featuring Improv Teams from all the nearby colleges like Temple University, Bryn Mawr, and Villanova. Over 4 Fridays these college teams faced off March Madness style for a title. They have also hosted a Golden Girls Murder Mystery-Themed Improv Night that we’d love to see again! Each performer played either Rose, Blanche, Rose or Sofia, and…Stanley! As you entered, the audience members wrote words on a slip of paper and put them into a mug. During the show, as the murder unfolded, a Golden Girl would pull words out of the mug and use them to sculpt the plot. The impressions were impeccable and if this should be a regular thing, everywhere, all the time at once. Does it get any better?!

photos: @nextinlinecomedy

Nights at Bars Restaurants

700 Club
Right in Northern Liberties is just a great classic Philadelphia bar. It’s been open forever and has a great regular crowd. The vibe just cannot be beat for a city bar. Truly. To top the icing with some cake, they host a variety of interactive performance-themed nights, two of which are comedy. Well, 3 if you consider Karaoke as comedy. “Shower Thoughts” is an open mike night that happens on Wednesdays and there’s a curated Friday night show with a talented local lineup called “Studio 700 Comedy Showcase”. 

Fergie's Pub
Another classic bar that’s been around forever and has a fantastic local draw. We’re talking, since the 90’s people, maybe longer. Who knows, we weren’t of legal age before then. But who’s counting? Located in Midtown Village, on Wednesday night this pub becomes the home of “Off Leash Comedy” features a rotating list of local talent. When there’s time, after the hard hitters have performed, the night turns into an open mic. You can drink and laugh until you’re inspired to get up on stage and try your hand at stand-up comedy, and then you can continue the effort by trying to live it down. PS – there’s no cover charge!

J.J. Mallons
A good way to find fun comedy nights is to follow comedians like Peggy O’Leary on Instagram. There you’ll learn that she hosts a regular comedy night called Loveable Monsters at this bar restaurant located in the Entertainment District (if you don’t know what that is….ha JK!).

 Monkey Club
In Fishtown on York St, the Money Club hosts an open mic night upstairs called “The Monthly Peel”. Get it? Because monkeys like bananas and bananas have peels. See, the laughs have already started. This event occurs on the last Thursday of every month. The nice thing about this one is you can sign up ahead of time so come prepared for your spot.

photos: @nextinlinecomedy

Alternative

FringeArts
is a beautiful and versatile performing arts space on the Delaware River Front. It’s a venue complete with a kitchen, restaurant, bar, outdoor beer garden, studio, and theater that can be rented out for private events. It’s home to Philadelphia’s annual Fringe Festival (for alternative theater and performing arts) and outside of those dates they host film festivals, screen independent films, and showcase new voices in comedy. They also house the Blue Heaven Comedy Festival which encompasses sketch, stand-up, and improv troupes in tandem with the Fringe Arts Festival.

 1812 Productions
A theater company that focuses on comedy, not drama. One of their main stay acts is a political satire show reminiscent of the Daily Show called “This Is The Week That Is.”, but they don’t just perform sketch comedy. They also produce feature-length plays out of Plays & Players Theatre in Rittenhouse Square, on one of our most favorite blocks for real estate in Philadelphia, beautiful, picturesque  Delancey Place.

Underground Arts
Underground Arts is literally a subterranean venue located at the northernmost point of Chinatown and the westernmost point of Loft District right near the Trestle Inn. It’s a really fun place to see a performance of any kind. Your friends who produce Off Leash Comedy host “Best in Show” here and a variety of themed comedy nights. If the venue is an essential part of how you choose your experience, check this place out. It’s seriously neat. Well, not so serious on these particular nights.  

We want to hear from you, mostly about buying, selling or renting real estate, but if you have suggestions for this blog post please, comment below. We’re always updating our content to keep it relevant and accurate. Live performances can be a moving target, so this statement releases us from any responsibility for you showing up to one of these places and not being happy. For that, we recommend Zoloft. HA!