THE REAL REASON PHILLY’S LAFF HOUSE SHUT DOWN!

Abe Finklestein | January 7, 2015 | Abe unplugged | No Comments

THIS IS THE SAD STORY OF HOW A ONCE PROUD Philadelphia institution crumbled and in the end resembled a shell of its former self. How could this happen? Mismanagement & booking of mediocre talent are a few things that come to mind in dealing with the last owners. First of all respest is due R.I.P Mrs. Mona. She and her partner Mr. Rod were the last owners of this once proud franchise. But i believe a shift in the economy, booking of mediocre talents, lack of major radio promotion & booking & headlining local novelty acts as opposed to strong consistent standup acts local and from the east coast. N.Y city alone gives you strong middle ground nationally recognized comedians with well known names in the comedy world such as Talent Harris, Freddie Ricks,Smokey Saurez, Gerald Kelly, J.B Smoove and more but sadly these names in the last few years of the Laff House’s existence were either not booked or booked sparingly.

Comp Tickets: Comp tix are given out to comedians to ensure the club has a packed house. This also slowed down dramatically. Comedy Showcasing: Putting on less experienced comedians just because they can bring a crowd. True this is part of the comedy world however it should not be the basis & forefront of your operations. It’s dangerous because it leads to the oversaturation of mediocrity in the comedy market. I remember yrs. ago talkin to Mr. rod one of the owners of the Laff house before it closed and he said “Comedy Showcasing is where the money is” Ultimately some of the strong well known established phila. comics who felt like they were not getting rightfully booked or acknowledged for there growth stepped off and began producing there own comedy shows and bringing in those strong established N.Y powerhouses that i mentioned earlier.

This led to independent Phila. comedy productions putting out a better product than the Laff House. Not good! Ultimately Mrs. Mona’s untimely passing (God bless her soul ) and rumors of struggling with rent increases and the oversaturation of mediocrity led to the untimely closing of a once proud Phila. Comedy Institution. In the end a few local comics banded together in an effort to try to save the Laff House. And i wanna say hats off to you guys you tried you gave it your best but in the end it just wasn’t meant to be.

abefinklestein