Upright Citizens Brigade NYC reopens this week with new 14th Street venue

After several months of previews, the new home of the Upright Citizens Brigade New York will officially open later this week at 242 E. 14th St., between Second Avenue and Third Avenue (see Instagram post below).

As previously noted, this marks a dual homecoming — first announced last summer — for the comedy brand.

UCB's East Village outpost, UCBeast, wrapped up its eight-plus-year run on Avenue A and Third Street in February 2019. At the time, UCB officials blamed the "extreme costs" of operating in the space for its closing. UCB then presented three nights of programming at SubCulture, a 130-seat venue on Bleecker Street.

Eventually, the whole empire — where Kate McKinnon, Donald Glover, Aubrey Plaza, and Broad City's Ilana Glazer and Abbi Jacobson, among many others — got their start, shut down. Amid ongoing financial difficulties made worse by the beginning of the pandemic, UCB closed all its remaining NYC locations in April 2020... and then in Los Angeles in December 2020.

A comeback started in March 2022 when longtime talent manager Jimmy Miller and former CEO/Owner of The Onion Mike McAvoy reportedly bought the brand.

Enough history... here's what to expect when UCB opens on Friday (find the schedule here)...

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Previously on EV Grieve: 

• The Upright Citizens Brigade is returning to NYC — and the East Village — with a new theater

Did you hear the one about the Upright Citizens Brigade NYC being in preview mode?

ICYMI: In recent months, the new home of the Upright Citizens Brigade New York has been in preview mode at 242 E. 14th St., between Second Avenue and Third Avenue.

The UCB NY website lists nightly shows inside the two-level space, a former gym, through August.

No word on an official opening date. 

Meanwhile, comedy classes are happening, too.

As previously noted, this marks a dual homecoming — first announced last summer — for the comedy brand.

UCB's East Village outpost, UCBeast, wrapped up its eight-plus-year run on Avenue A and Third Street in February 2019. At the time, UCB officials blamed the "extreme costs" of operating in the space for its closing. UCB then presented three nights of programming at SubCulture, a 130-seat venue on Bleecker Street.

Eventually, the whole empire — where Kate McKinnon, Donald Glover, Aubrey Plaza, and Broad City's Ilana Glazer and Abbi Jacobson, among many others — got their start, shut down. Amid ongoing financial difficulties made worse by the beginning of the pandemic, UCB closed all its remaining NYC locations in April 2020... and then in Los Angeles in December 2020.

A comeback was underway starting in March 2022 when longtime talent manager Jimmy Miller and former CEO/Owner of The Onion Mike McAvoy reportedly bought the brand.

You will be able to hone your comedy skills at a former 7-Eleven with the Upright Citizens Brigade

Back in the summer, the Upright Citizens Brigade announced plans to open a theater at 242 E. 14th St. between Second Avenue and Third Avenue.

And they're expanding their footprint on this corridor of 14th Street (aka, IHOP Way!) — the empty retail space across the street now has the UCB branding on the front door...

Greg Goldberg, senior director at Meridian Retail Leasing, confirmed that UCB will use this space for comedy classes. (We reached out to UCB as well. Updated: UCB confirmed the usage for training as well!)

The address, 239 E. 14th St., has been vacant ever since the 7-Eleven here closed in December 2021. 

This new theater space marks a return for the comedy brand. Amid ongoing financial difficulties made worse by the start of the pandemic, UCB closed all its remaining NYC locations in April 2020.

You can find more UCB/East Village background in our previous post. 

The Upright Citizens Brigade is returning to NYC — and the East Village — with a new theater

Signage is up for the new home of the Upright Citizens Brigade at 242 E. 14th St. between Second Avenue and Third Avenue, a short walk across the street from IHOP.

According to the UCB announcement, the two-level space will house "a fully-accessible 130-seat theater with a spacious bar and lounge." (Haven't seen this liquor-license application just yet.) The social media post states that "performances will kick off this fall."

This marks a dual homecoming of sorts for the comedy brand.

The UCB's East Village outpost, UCBeast, wrapped up its eight-plus year run on Avenue A and Third Street in February 2019. At the time, UCB officials blamed the "extreme costs" of operating in the space as a factor in its closing. UCB then presented three nights of programing at SubCulture, a 130-seat venue on Bleecker Street.

Eventually the whole empire — where Kate McKinnon, Donald Glover, Aubrey Plaza, and Broad City's Ilana Glazer and Abbi Jacobson, among many others — got their start, shut down. Amid ongoing financial difficulties made worse by the start of the pandemic, UCB closed all its remaining NYC locations in April 2020... and then in Los Angeles in December 2020.

A comeback was underway starting in March 2022 when longtime talent manager Jimmy Miller and former CEO/Owner of The Onion Mike McAvoy reportedly bought the brand.

As for its EV history...the venue on Avenue A and Third Street opened in September 2011 ... after so much drama (Hot Chicks Room! New Jack Cornballs!) for a comedy club.

Insiders alleged that UCBers were leaving the defaming comments back in 2009 about people who wear cargo shorts and sandals ... people who also like comedy troupes like UCB!

Fourteen years later, will there still be outrage over cargo-short-wearing cornballs clogging the sidewalks for comedy shows? (We hope so!)

Meanwhile, here's background via Deadline about how the UCB came to be...

The esteemed comedy theater, which was launched in 1999 in New York by Matt Besser, Amy Poehler, Ian Roberts, and Matt Walsh, came at a time when the foursome were exploding with their hit Comedy Central sketch series, Upright Citizens Brigade, which ran for three seasons from 1998-2000. While the four separately burned their own comedy paths in showbiz after the Comedy Central show, UCB Theatre and school became its own animal, quickly becoming an incubator for film and TV comedic talent, with a Los Angeles theater and improv/sketch writing school opening in 2005...

The new UCB space has been various gyms through the years,  most recently IG-Fit, which closed at the end of 2022 without any warning to members.

O'Flaherty's opening an art gallery at the former UCBeast space on Avenue A

After nearly four years of sitting empty, 44 Avenue A has a new tenant: O'Flaherty's.

Artist-curator Jamian Juliano-Villani (pictured below in July) announced on Instagram yesterday that she was moving her gallery into this space between Third Street and Fourth Street.

Per the post:

We are THRILLED to announce that as of today, O’Flaherty's officially has a NEW HOME!!!!! Opening this February, we welcome you to our new location at 44 Avenue A (formerly the UCB theater). More details on our first opening soon.

O'Flaherty's had a year-long run at 55 Avenue C at Fourth Street (we covered the opening here), culminating with a barn burner of a show late this past summer. 

We're looking forward to hearing more about Juliano-Villani's plan for this venue.

And for some background... citing financial difficulties, Upright Citizens Brigade Theater closed UCBeast in February 2019. The comedy venue opened in September 2011, and UCB took over part of the expanded Two Boots empire — the video store on Avenue A and the Pioneer Theater around the corner on Third Street.

The Pioneer Theater, which screened indie, underground and cult fare, closed on Nov. 7, 2008, after an eight-year run. As owner Phil Hartman said at the time: "[I]t was always a labor of love and never commercially viable."

In the spring of 2021, Marcello Assante was looking to open Cinema Paradiso here... a cafe, restaurant, and center for cinephiles to enjoy foreign and independent features. However, Community Board 3 would not approve a full liquor license for all hours of the space, which Assante argued was necessary to help the venture be profitable.  

Top photo from August by EVG/photo of Jamian Juliano-Villani from July by Stacie Joy

A new broker for 44 Avenue A

New broker signage went up late last week outside 44 Avenue A at Third Street. The long-empty (three-plus-years) storefront adjacent to Two Boots was previously the Upright Citizens Brigade Theater's East Village outpost, UCBeast.

It's a large space — 3,300 square feet over two floors, including a 99-seat theater ... with entrances on Avenue A and Third Street.

No word on the asking rent via the new listing. (Theater image about via Tri State Commercial Realty.)

Citing financial difficulties, Upright Citizens Brigade Theater closed UCBeast in February 2019. The comedy venue first opened in September 2011. UCB took over part of the expanded Two Boots empire — the video store on Avenue A and the Pioneer Theater around the corner on Third Street.

The Pioneer Theater, which screened indie, underground and cult fare, closed on Nov. 7, 2008, after an eight-year run. As owner Phil Hartman said at the time: "[I]t was always a labor of love and never commercially viable."

As noted before, we've talked with several residents who'd love to see the space used for some type of cinematic venture similar to the Metrograph, the boutique two-screen theater — which also features a restaurant, a bookstore and a lounge — down on Ludlow Street.

In the spring of 2021, Marcello Assante was looking to open Cinema Paradiso here... a cafe, restaurant, and center for cinephiles to enjoy foreign and independent features. However, Community Board 3 would not approve a full liquor license for all hours of the space, which Assante argued was necessary to help the venture be profitable.  

Former UCBeast space for rent on Avenue A

We've been waiting for the for-rent signs to arrive outside the former Upright Citizens Brigade Theater's East Village outpost, UCBeast, on Avenue A at Third Street... adjacent to Two Boots.

Well, there aren't any signs, but the space — officially 44 Avenue A — is on the rental market.

Per the Kassin Sabbagh Realty marketing materials...





It's a large space, with entrances on Avenue A and Third Street ... featuring a bar, ADA compliant bathrooms and, most important, a 99-seat theater space.



The rent is available upon request.

The comedy venue on Avenue A and Third Street opened in September 2011. UCB took over part of the expanded Two Boots empire — the video store on Avenue A and the Pioneer Theater around the corner on Third Street...


[Image from 2002 via Cinema Treasures]

The Pioneer Theater, which screened indie, underground and cult fare, closed on Nov. 7, 2008, after an eight-year run. As owner Phil Hartman said at the time: "[I]t was always a labor of love and never commercially viable."

We've talked with several residents of fantasyland who'd love to see the space used for some type of cinematic venture similar to the Metrograph, the boutique two-screen theater — which also features a restaurant, a bookstore and a lounge — down on Ludlow Street.

Citing financial difficulties, Upright Citizens Brigade Theater closed UCBeast on Feb. 9. UCB now presents three nights of programing at SubCulture, a 130-seat venue on Bleecker Street. You can find the schedule for UCB at SubCulture via this link.

Previously on EV Grieve:
Former Two Boots Video store "in contract" — largest available retail space on Avenue A

[Updated] Your 'Hot Chicks Room' sign update

[Updated] Resident starting a petition to have the 'Hot Chicks Room' sign removed at the Upright Citizens Brigade

Breaking: UCB will remove the 'Hot Chicks Room' sign!

'Hot Chicks Room' sign will now bring ruin to compost

Report: Upright Citizens Brigade closing East Village outpost next month

Comedy gold? Upright Citizens Brigade selling off contents from its former East Village theater

The Upright Citizens Brigade Theater's East Village outpost, UCBeast, wrapped up its eight-plus year run on Feb. 9. UCB is now presenting three nights of programing at SubCulture, a 130-seat venue on Bleecker Street.

Meanwhile, there's a sale underway at the now-former UCBeast venue on Avenue A and Third Street.



Adrienne and Erin (sales/deal-makers) said to "make an offer" on these "cash and carry only" bargains, as EVG contributor Stacie Joy reports.

Per Stacie: Everything is up for grabs ... through Friday. Hours are noon until 9 p.m. Enter on the Third Street side.















There weren't any signs of cargo shorts for sale.

UCB officials blamed the "extreme costs" of operating in the space as a factor in its closing, as Vulture first reported on Jan. 9.

Report: Upright Citizens Brigade closing East Village outpost next month

Amid financial difficulties, Upright Citizens Brigade Theater is closing its East Village outpost, UCBeast, on Feb. 9, Vulture reports.

This tip comes to Vulture via an attendee of an all-theater meeting last night. (There hasn't been any official notice from UCB on the closure.)

Last month, UCB announced staff layoffs to help streamline their operation, as the Times reported at the time.

Pat Baer, the theater’s longtime technical director, is also leaving UCB as of Feb. 9.

After Feb 9th, I will no longer be a UCB employee. April would have been 15 years. I’m heartbroken and a bit numb. I will accept condolences, high fives, and job offers.

— Pat Baer 2019 (@patbaer) January 9, 2019

Baer also made a suggestion last night on Twitter to help save UCBeast...

Should we ask Lin Manuel Miranda to buy UCB East?

— Pat Baer 2019 (@patbaer) January 10, 2019

The venue on Avenue A and Third Street opened in September 2011 ... after so much drama (Hot Chicks Room! New Jack Cornballs!) for a comedy club. More later on all this.

Updated 10:30 a.m.

The Times reports:

U.C.B. will be partnering with SubCulture, a 130-seat Bleecker Street venue where U.C.B. will host shows on Friday, Saturday and Sunday nights — for three evenings of programming as opposed to the full seven at the East Village U.C.B., where the last show will be on Feb. 9. Shows at SubCulture, a venue that opened five years ago, will begin on Feb. 15.

Previously on EV Grieve:
[Updated] Your 'Hot Chicks Room' sign update

[Updated] Resident starting a petition to have the 'Hot Chicks Room' sign removed at the Upright Citizens Brigade

Breaking: UCB will remove the 'Hot Chicks Room' sign!

'Hot Chicks Room' sign will now bring ruin to compost

New jack cornball alert! Motion picture sneak preview tomorrow night at UCB East Theater

From the EVG inbox... break out your cargo shorts!

There's an advance screening and Q&A with with writer/director Stuart Zicherman for "A.C.O.D." (stands for Adult Children of Divorce) on Wednesday, Sept. 18 at 9 p.m. at the UCB East Theater on East Third Street. The new comedy stars Adam Scott, Jane Lynch, Amy Poehler, Catherine O'Hara, Jessica Alba, Clark Duke, among others.

Tickets can be purchased here for $5

Noise isn't funny?

Some rather hastily written signs appeared recently outside the Upright Citizens Brigade on Avenue A at East Third Street...



Are there some noise issues here? It has been some time since we noted any noise signs here...

Flashback!

Previously.

Noted

Rent 2012	UCBcomedy.com
Watch more comedy videos from the twisted minds of the UCB Theatre at UCBcomedy.com

Via the Upright Citizens Brigade — "The hit musical Rent is updated for the hip East Village of today."

Another Urban Etiquette Sign for UCBeast

On Avenue A at East Third Street.

Previously.

Commenter comedy gold

Unfortunately, our busy social schedule prevented us from attending the Official Grande Opening of the new Upright Citizens Brigade theater/theatre on Avenue A and Third Street on Saturday night. On Saturday night, we drank alone again at the Blarney Cove.

Dave Itzkoff at The New York Times has an article on the opening, including details on the challenges of getting the space ready. (You know — Hot Chicks Room sign drama.) As for some of the entertainment Saturday night, Itzkoff noted:

A second show at 9:30 offered a grab bag of acts that were, in theory, supposed to keep their sets to five to seven minutes. Sue Galloway, who plays an ambiguously accented comedy writer on “30 Rock,” performed a character piece about a drunken office worker singing an aggressive version of “I Will Follow Him” at a karaoke night; David Cross, the “Arrested Development” star, read remarks posted on the East Village blog EV Grieve that complained about the Upright Citizens Brigade’s arrival. (“Go back to campus, you new jack cornballs,” one outraged commenter demanded.)

As a thank you, all the commenters who chimed in on the Upright posts will receive replica fruit plates that the guests enjoyed there Saturday night.

Previously on EV Grieve:
[Updated] Your 'Hot Chicks Room' sign update

[Updated] Resident starting a petition to have the 'Hot Chicks Room' sign removed at the Upright Citizens Brigade (47 comments)

Breaking: UCB will remove the 'Hot Chicks Room' sign!

'Hot Chicks Room' sign will now bring ruin to compost

Neighbors leave first Urban Etiquette Sign for UCBeast

Three weeks have passed since the Upright Citizens Brigade opened up their new theater/comedy club at Third Street and Avenue A...

And we have our first noise complaint, spotted on the East Third Street side...

In part, "Look around you. There are apartment buildings with people trying to get a few hours sleep. Start being a good neighbor and tell to those people to keep their voices down and stop blocking the sidewalk."

Well, this has quickly turned into a comedy of manners. (Offt!)

The Hot Chicks Room lives on!

Last night, as we noted, the Upright Citizens Brigade opened its East Village outpost (dubbed UCBeast) on Avenue A at East Third Street.

So we stopped by to see what was what. And, on the wall in the bar area, in plain view of everyone walking to and from church, school (think of the children!), the leper colony...

The Hot Chicks Room lives!

Well, the sign is a nod to a UCB skit. (Watch it here.) As you're probably painfully aware from this past March, a concerned resident was ready to circulate a petition to have the "Hot Chicks Room" sign removed from above the doorway on Avenue A. As the resident said: "I just find it, for this neighborhood, very inappropriate and repulsive."

[The sign BEFORE UCB removed it]

And eventually the UCBers removed the sign. In a ceremony, UCB alum Amy Poehler, presented the sign to Earth Matter on Governors Island, where the sign is presumably now offending a compost learning center.

Previously on EV Grieve:
[Updated] Your 'Hot Chicks Room' sign update

[Updated] Resident starting a petition to have the 'Hot Chicks Room' sign removed at the Upright Citizens Brigade (47 comments)

Breaking: UCB will remove the 'Hot Chicks Room' sign!

UCBeast opens tonight on Avenue A

From the EV Grieve inbox... This is from a reader who found it somewhere... I didn't see anything about the opening at the UCB website as of 4:15 p.m.

It gives me great joy to be able to announce that UCB’s long awaited East Village venue — UCBeast — will be open as of tonight at 7:30 pm. A new website will be forthcoming in the near future.

Please come check out the new space (155 E. 3rd Street and Avenue A). There is an attached bar (The Hot Chicks Room), where we’ll be serving soft drinks to start out and beer and wine soon.
The theatre itself is a beautiful 124 seat space, totally refurbished with brand new seats and fixtures, that will make for some great live comedy, despite the notable absence of multiple columns blocking significant portions of the stage.

Stop on by and buy a ticket at the door! Or use your improv Student ID for free entry to shows marked with an *

UPCOMING SHOWS!
Tuesday 9/6 (today)
8pm - FREE - Wild Girls Gone (movie screening)
10pm - FREE - Mystery Team (movie screening)

Wednesday 9/7
7:30pm - $5 - Outlook of the Poet + Two Man Movie *
9:00pm - $5 - Doppelganger + Cheating On Harold (this week: Standard Oil + Very Good Kiss) *
11:00pm - free - The Improv Jam (hosted by Grandma’s Ashes) *

Thursday 9/8
6:00pm - free - Oh, Hey Guys (storytelling open mic, hosted by John Flynn)
7:30pm - $5 - Adam Wade: BIG HEART
9:00pm - $5 - Totally JK (hosted by Joe Mande and Noah Garfinkel)
11:00pm - free - Gutbucket (stand-up open mic, hosted by Rob Stern and Amber Nelson)

Friday 9/9
7:30pm - $10 - Diamond Lion
9:00pm - $10 - Creaghead & Company Industrial Showcase
11:00pm - $5 - Gentrify

Saturday 9/10
7:30pm - $10 - AIRWOLF: Let’s Go Back To Your Place
9:00pm - $10 - The Extended Play E.P. Music Album Release Party with TJ Miller
11:00pm - $5 - Underground Americana (w/ Jeff Rubin, Lang Fisher and more)

Sunday 9/11
7:30pm - $5 - Two Fun Men + Off The Cuff
9:00pm - $5 - Hot Soup11:00pm - $5 - Fresh Out (hosted by Adam Conover)

Monday 9/12
8:00pm - $5 - Wheelhouse (hosted by Will Hines)
10:00pm - $5 - Improv Nerds *

Tuesday 9/13
8:00pm - $5 - After Hours with Gene Hackman & Friends
10:00pm - $5 - It Is It (hosted by Adam Lowitt)
— Nate Dern, Artistic Director

Gentrify Brooklyn moving to the new UCBeast on Avenue A; first show Friday night

It appears that the Upright Citizens Brigade's East Village outpost on Avenue A has an opening date. The Gentrify Brooklyn comedy show takes up residency here starting Friday night. Per the troupe's Facebook page:

GENTRIFY is moving to the Upright Citizens Brigade's new theater UCBeast THIS FRIDAY at 11pm!

The new Gentrify will be bigger, better, funnier, Getrifyier, and somehow, perhaps, impossibly, even Brooklynier.

GENTRIFY is a killer comedy variety show every Friday at 11PM at UCBeast, Avenue A between 3rd and 4th Streets. Be there!

Previously on EV Grieve:
[Updated] Your 'Hot Chicks Room' sign update

[Updated] Resident starting a petition to have the 'Hot Chicks Room' sign removed at the Upright Citizens Brigade

Breaking: UCB will remove the 'Hot Chicks Room' sign!

Report: Upright Citizens Brigade booking shows next month at East Village location

An EV Grieve reader sent along a link to a recent post on the Comic's Comic that provides some details on the Upright Citizens Brigade's East Village outpost on Avenue A. Sure has been quiet here of late. Workers even removed all the signs.

But! As Sean L. McCarthy reported:

UCB people told The Comic's Comic ... that they're "getting ready to open" UCB East, and I've already received word from some shows booking gigs there in September. The aim of UCB East is to provide a home for more stand-up and variety shows, thereby allowing the main UCB New York City theater in Chelsea to open up more primetime hours for improv and sketch.

So there's still time for residents to get outraged by something connected to this location.

Previously on EV Grieve:
[Updated] Your 'Hot Chicks Room' sign update

[Updated] Resident starting a petition to have the 'Hot Chicks Room' sign removed at the Upright Citizens Brigade

Breaking: UCB will remove the 'Hot Chicks Room' sign!

Where are the signs for the Upright Citizens Brigade on Avenue A?

In response to our post Wednesday about an opening date for the Upright Citizens Brigade's new home on Avenue A ... a reader noted that all signs are off the space... Well, sure enough...we hadn't even noticed.

A UCB rep told us the other day that there isn't an opening date yet for the longtime-coming comedy club... Grub Street first broke the news in January 2009 ... the renovations on the space began in July 2009.