Treehouse Clubs — And Comedy — Have Returned

By Shannon Hicks

Comedy is back in Connecticut.

In the 1980s and 90s, Treehouse Comedy Clubs across the state were the places to find comedy of all styles. Opening first in Westport in 1983, the club moved in 1989 to Norwalk and the following year added locations in Danbury and Mystic. By 2000 there were satellite events — shows under the Treehouse umbrella hosted by restaurants and other locations — happenings in Hartford, Niantic, Southbury, and Bedford Hills and Tuckahoe, N.Y.

Audiences found themselves laughing along with Rosie O’Donnell, Denis Leary, Tim Allen, Andrew Dice Clay, Rita Rudner, and Jon Stewart. Jerry Seinfeld also performed at the Treehouse, including a New Year’s Eve 1990 show just one month before the television show Seinfeld became a midseason replacement on NBC. That was Seinfeld’s last comedy club show.

The Norwalk location’s first national act was Henny Youngman, who was quickly followed by Jay Leno, Robert Klein, Pat Paulson, Richard Belzer, and Rodney Dangerfield, who would do stage time at the Treehouse while working on material for upcoming Tonight Show appearances.

In addition to headliners and rising stars, the Treehouse also gave time for Connecticut comedians by staging weekly open mic events that allowed folks like Johnny Rizzo, Billy Winn, Tom Hertz, Lisa Lampenelli, and others to launch their careers.

The driving force behind Treehouse Comedy has always been Brad Axelrod. Mr Axelrod launched Treehouse Comedy, the state’s original and first full-time comedy showcase in the early 1980s and by the middle of 1983 it was Mr Axelrod who was personally creating, supervising, and managing all the publicity and public relations for the comedy clubs.

While the clubs had expanded to their largest coverage area by 2000 and more than 5,000 shows had been produced, that year also marked the end of the first chapter for Treehouse Comedy. The clubs and promotions closed up shop when a personal crisis took over Mr Axelrod’s life. After 16 years of marriage Mr Axelrod lost his wife, Doreen, to cancer. Suddenly he had to stop booking comedians and become a single parent to his two children, Brittney and Chelsie.

“I’ve focused so much on my kids, but we were so ready for this step,” Mr Axelrod said recently. “When you’re the sole person for your kids, they are absolutely the top priority.”

The family still lives in Monroe; Brittney has just started college and Chelsie is a sophomore at Masuk High School. The Axelrods are a strong family unit, the Treehouse Comedy name has begun reappearing, and Mr Axelrod is laughing once again. Treehouse Comedy locations have opened in Trumbull and Danbury, and shows are being booked on a weekly basis.

“We had established a good base then, and we’ve returned to that base now,” Mr Axelrod said. “It’s exciting that during the past five years, while we haven’t been doing comedy full-time, no one else has stepped into our place.”

Eight months back in business, Treehouse Comedy seems like it’s off to “a good start,” said Mr Axelrod. “We’ve heard dozens of old Treehouse stories from people across the state. It’s a nice bonus.”

The first new Treehouse location, which opened in the spring, was Marissa’s Ristorante in Trumbull. In addition to comedy, the shows at Marissa’s regularly offers live music including shows by The Harold Zeno Band (jazz), B-Hutch Band (pop), singer-songwriter Ellen Corso, Yester Year, and Reggae Culture Band.

The Danbury “club” is in the upper room of New Sorrento, at 32 Newtown Road.

Mr Axelrod loves that room, he said, because of “the aesthetics and physicality — it’s intimate, it has nice low ceilings… it’s a great room for comedy.”

A Grand Repening Comedy Celebration was held at the club on June 18, with a triple headlined show featuring the comic and ventriloquist Pete Michaels, who has been seen on Late Night with Conan O’Brien and Comedy Central; Moody McCarty (seen on Jimmy Kimmell Live, Star Search, CBS Morning Show, and Comcast’s Comedy Spotlight) and the very funny Ray Mogenis.

Treehouse Comedy recently added three more locations. Shows are now being produced at Daniel Street, a brand-new venue in Milford, and Eclissé in Stamford, along with Miraggio, a restaurant in Yorktown Heights, N.Y.

Shows start as early as 8 and as late as 10, depending on the number of headliners, and tickets generally range from $10 to $35, also depending on the number (and caliber) of the evening’s headliners.

This weekend’s Danbury show, for instance, taking place on Friday, October 14, is being billed as A Special Weekend Stand-Up Comedy Performance. The show will feature sets by WPLR morning personality Billy Winn, Paul Lyons (seen on Everybody Loves Raymond and Comedy Central) and Tom Diddario (The Dave Chappelle Show and Comedy Central). Showtime is 9: 30 and tickets are $15; a buffet is available for an additional $9.95.

Next weekend, on Saturday, October 22, New Sorrento will host a show with Jim Mendrinos headlining and opening sets by James Oakes and Spanky.

“We’ve had no trouble, talentwise, booking shows,” Mr Axelrod said. “We’re still neatly nestled in a hub of New York and Boston, and there is a lot of talent in this area.”

Among his current rising starts are Mike Yard, who has performed in Danbury (and will be in Stamford later this month); Patty Rosborough, the first comic to have already played the Danbury room twice; and Tina Georgie, whom Mr Axelrod calls “a very offbeat comic. She’s funny, clever, and very original.”

Mr Axelrod has also brought back the open mic format to his Treehouse Comedy Clubs. WPLR morning show personality Billy Winn has been hosting Wednesday night events at Daniel Street in Milford. In addition to open mic performances each event also includes special guest spots. This week it was Perry Gardner who added to the evening’s humor. Upcoming open mic special guests include Vincent McElhone on October 19, and John Moses on October 26.

Tickets for the open mic nights are just $3, and shows start at 9.

The Danbury Treehouse Comedy Club is in the upper level of The New Sorrento Restaurant in Danbury; call 744-5575 for reservations.

Visit www.TreehouseComedy.com for details about all four of the current Treehouse Comedy locations and their schedules.