Sweet Paprika Ends at the Village Lantern

Am I crazy? Okay don’t answer yet – just read.

So the venue that Allison Castillo and I have been producing shows at for basically 4 years (Sweet Paprika for the last 2 ½ years, Lady for about 6 months, and I produced The Industry Room with Josh Weinstein and Jon Viener for a year when nobody even knew there was a stage in that basement) has requested that we drop our cover charge of $7 for our Friday night quality comedy show in the West Village.

Is that what it has come to? I thought it was bad enough that people can see a high quality comedy show outside of the club scene during the week for free. And I’m not talking a very good open mic – I’m talking shows with top comics from your TV. During the week, it happens – but on a Friday? A Saturday? For free? I know, I know, times are tough and it became cooler to do comedy than see comedy about 10-years ago, and following the whole supply versus demand model – I get it – great performers end up performing for free. But hey – Dukes of Hazzard cost $10.50. And Jessica Simpson can’t hear your heckles.

I can be quite the idealist and I think you need to educate and remind people that quality entertainment costs money – even if it’s a little itty bit. It’s not like I’ve ever paid my rent from our $7, but it does make it easier to pay for color postcards (thank god we just ordered another 1000!) and tip the waitress properly. I’m the type of person that if someone stopped me on the street and offered me a FREE show I would be very suspicious, especially on a Friday night in the middle of tourist-ville. I would think – well that’s gonna suck – or even worse– why not let’s go check it out for one comic and then go – after all it’s FREE. And there is nothing worse than having a hour and half show where the audience comes and go as they please, see a comic and then go an eat an appetizer, because they have absolutely no investment in the show, and no respect for that matter. Even $5 has a way of just keeping people in one place devoted to watching a show for 90-minutes.

I also think it’s incredible that a venue would expect us to agree to do all the work for a show: producing, booking, publicity, listings, and performing for nothing. Bar gets everything and the show gets – a beer each? On a Friday night? No. I can vouch for the fact that every comic on our show is beyond begging for stage time. I wish we could make enough to pay the comics, but the best we can do is create a space where it’s worth it and fun to get up and do comedy for a real audience. And let me tell you – an audience that sits there for free treats the show as such.

Or am I fucked in the head? Should I just be thankful that anyone is letting me produce a show at all? Should I be happy to do more volunteer work for my supposed career? Or is it that people are just so used to getting good quality entertainment for free that the idea of paying for it is simply archaic and outdated?! Am I living in the 80’s with my idea of people paying to see some joke telling? Can you only charge $10 cover if someone dead famous is on the bill? Is that the case New York?

It will be very sad to close down that show because the venue wants us to do it all for nothing. Josh, Jon and I found that venue years ago and since then it has become a legitimate comedy venue. I’m surprised that the owners and management feel no sense of loyalty. I know – that is a hilarious assumption. As I’m writing it I’m even thinking – how can you be so naïve?

So something that we’ve worked on for years ends, not because it didn’t work, not because the show sucked. Au contraire. Because the bar management feels they don’t think any comic should make a dime off of performing or producing there, that it should all be done for nothing because I guess that is what it is worth.

Let me know if you have any revenge ideas.

I'll write more after the shipment of vodka arrives.