Comedy Clubs

A comedy club is a venue, typically a nightclub, where people watch or listen to performances, including stand-up comedians, improvisational comedians, impersonators, magicians, ventriloquists and other comedy acts. The term "comedy club" usually refers to venues that feature standup comedy, as distinguished from improv theaters that host improv or sketch comedy and variety clubs that may also host musical acts.

List of comedy clubs

• Caroline's

• Catch a Rising Star

• Comedy Cellar

• The Comedy Store

• The Comic Strip Live

• Dangerfield's

• The Improv

• HA!

• The Laugh Factory

• The Legendary Ice House

• The Punchline

• The Stardome

List of improv theaters

• ComedySportz

• The Groundlings

• The Second City

• Upright Citizens Brigade Theatre

Featured Comedy Club: Caroline's Comedy Club

Caroline's Comedy Club is an entertainment venue located in Manhattan on Broadway between 49th and 50th Street. It is one of the most established, famous, and recognized stand-up comedy clubs in the United States. Its marketing slogan is "America's Premiere Comedy Nightclub." Many of the top headliners in the U.S. have performed at Caroline's, including Jerry Seinfeld, Jay Leno, Andrew Dice Clay, Gilbert Gottfried, Colin Quinn, Richard Belzer and Mitch Hedberg. Other popular stand-ups that have headlined at Caroline's include Patrice Oneal, Jim Norton, Greg Giraldo, Adam Ferrara, Dave Attell, Rich Vos, Bill Burr, Bob Kelly and Stephen Lynch.

Caroline Hirsch opened her eponymous cabaret in Chelsea, New York in 1981. She started booking comedians and these were so popular that was soon booking nothing else. Needing a larger venue, Caroline's moved to South Street, New York Seaport where it gained national recognition as the venue for A&E Network's Caroline's Comedy Hour television series, which won a CableACE award for Best Stand-Up Comedy Series. In 1992 the club moved to a 300-seat space in Times Square. The new club received the American Institute of Architecture Award for Best Interior Club Design and was featured on the cover of Interior Design magazine.

Before he died of cancer, the final stand-up appearance of Bill Hicks' career was at Caroline's in January 1994.