KCRag Forum

I was thinking about the fact that there has never been a comedy club of any value as long as I've lived in Kansas City. Jason Sudekis has been a proud KC supporter and recently stopped his run on SNL. Any chance of a Sudeikis-run comedy club in the P&L District? I know that he's probably really busy, but he wouldnt have to be there very often and I think him as a brand would go over well in the city.

He got his start at ComedySportz in the River Market, right? Maybe he'd buy that place one day. But yea, he's probably too busy for now. I would like to see someone challenge the Stanfords.

Is there much of a comedy club scene outside the major markets? I seem to recall an interview with a standup saying that in this era, its great once you make it, cause you can sell out terrific venues, but other than that, the club scene is dying outside NYC, and even the LA comedy club scene is drying up.

Sudekis is certainly too busy currently. We tried to bring him in two weekends ago for the Kansas City Improv Festival, but he was too busy to make it (he has made it 4 of the past 5 years).

The 4 main theaters for comedy in KC:

• Kick Comedy Theater (Westport)
  Comedy City (Westport)
  The Improv Comedy Club (Zona Rosa)
  Stanfords Comedy Club (Village West)

While I would love to see a comedy club in Power & Light, it would have to be a bar first and a comedy club second. Comedy doesn't pay the bills well.

Perhaps a Sudekis + Riggle + Rudd combined effort could open a club. Trouble is much of the talent would have to be touring acts, which currently come through the Improv and Stanfords. We have a dearth of aspiring stand-up comedians. Most of our local comedy talent has funneled itself into improv (Kick Comedy Theater, Comedy City).

-SC

Seems like if you're funny and you want to make money someday, its a lot easier to work in improv, get with your buddies and shoot a funny video on Funny or Die or a web series on Youtube and get noticed that way, then to grind it out on the road, working in front of hostile audiences every night on the club scene.