Comedy in NOLA
Something unexpected is happening in New Orleans—folks are showing up for stand-up comedy.
We're not talking about the Tuesday open mic at the Other Bar (RIP) where a strung out vagabond wielding a worn out acoustic guitar does his best impression of Adam Sandler circa SNL '93. We're talking about standing room only. We're talking about local comics with followings. We're talking about a buzz throughout the Crescent City that's not a direct result of a beer and shot special from your favorite neighborhood haunt, although you can most certainly add that to the mix.
It's not that stand-up comedy is here. Rather, it's that it's back. It's revitalized. And, not-so-oddly enough, it's an unassuming café and comedy club hidden in plain sight in the historic Irish Channel neighborhood that's leading the comedy boom. Ladies and gentleman, give it up for Sports Drink.
Yes. You read that right. "Sports Drink." A coffee shop by day turned into a 60-ish max capacity comedy club at night, where the intimate setting puts the pelvic region of every performer about two feet away from the audience members in the front row, if you're lucky. It's where the backdrop for the stage is an unmistakable wall of bright orange Igloo coolers the likes of which Louisiana's own Bobby Boucher would be proud. Go Mud Dogs.
Sports Drink is the brain child of Baton Rouge native Andrew Stephens, founder and resident rim protector. It was originally launched in 2020 as a brand continuation of a podcast network with an emphasis on the intersection of sports and comedy, Armchair Media. Fast forward three years later and a brick and mortar venue opened on Toledano Street, initially sharing the space with Junk Drawer Coffee during the day. After only a year, Stephens successfully bought out the coffee shop operations and rebranded. Sports Drink: Cafe & Comedy Club was born, and with it, unbeknownst to a majority of New Orleanians at the time, so was the resurgence of stand-up comedy in their beloved city.
But in a city with, and this is stated with all due respect, a documented history of tragedy, where was the comedy? The New Orleans Phlyax play? Our burlesque dramatic? A city where humor can be found from every street corner to the check out line at Rouses had a lackluster comedy scene? Make it make sense. And what makes Stephens and everyone involved at Sports Drink so special that they were the ones to wield the sword?
Over a century of belly laughs has quietly shaped the comedy scene we see today. Early 20th century vaudeville acts from performers such as the yodeling, joke telling Emmett "Gang" Anthony paved the way for modern day performers in a city that's known for, well, performances. The contemporary Greater New Orleans area is no stranger to birthing a myriad of successful comedians ranging from Garrett Morris to Ellen DeGeneres, Bianca Del Rio, Tyler Perry, Theo Von, Del Harrison, Mark Normand, and many more. Funny not only exists in New Orleans, it's prevalent and, in some cases, a mandatory means of everyday survival. Yet, stand-up comedy has never quite permeated the culture and the reasons for that are as complex as the city itself. Ya know, for this being the Big Easy, not many things here come too easily.
Why comedy isn't embedded in New Orleans culture like the direct correlation between homicides and Saints wins can be attributed to a number of things ranging from New Orleans being a transient city, the impacts of COVID-19, a small and simultaneously dwindling population, etc. But if you want to throw a blanket statement over it, we just have other shit we'd typically rather be doing. Sit down and properly attend a comedy show? We have 24 hour bars, nightly live music across every imaginable genre, some of the best cuisine in the world, and a plethora of other readily-available distractions to keep you treading water for the foreseeable future.
But while all of those things are wonderfully true, it doesn't mean that stand-up comedy isn't appreciated or wanted here. If anything, one could easily argue that this city is primed for an art form in which an individual utilizes their creative lens to deliver humorous commentary and observations, reflecting New Orleans back to itself. Hell, the material practically writes itself here daily.
Stephens and everyone at Sports Drink understood that. What really allowed them to come in and so quickly resuscitate the local comedy scene was, yes, providing a unique space for comedians to perform but also knowing that the space had to be for the talent. Stephens and company don't overstep. It's not wannabe comedians cosplaying as managers forcefully imposing their will and ultimately souring their reputation. They simply step aside and let the comics do what they're there to do, all the while supporting them in any which way they can.
Sports Drink gets it. As a result, talent from all over the world is picking up on what this café and comedy club on Toledano Street is doing. With a plethora of programming from Community Night, where folks are making sandwiches to stock community refrigerators, Open Gym (mic) night, and the, "How the hell did they land this guy?" feature, there's a little something for everyone at all times. So come on in. The tickets are cheap, the drinks are strong, and the laughs are plentiful. Let's continue to rebuild the New Orleans comedy scene, one water cooler at a time.
