U.S. CitiesCity-Data Forum Index
Go Back   City-Data Forum > U.S. Forums > Arizona > Phoenix area
 [Register]
Please register to participate in our discussions with 1.5 million other members - it's free and quick! Some forums can only be seen by registered members. After you create your account, you'll be able to customize options and access all our 15,000 new posts/day with fewer ads.
Jump to a detailed profile or search
site with Google Custom Search

Search Forums  (Advanced)
Business Search - 14 Million verified businesses
Search for:  near: 
Reply
 
Unread 05-12-2012, 04:32 PM
 
Location: Tempe
1,622 posts, read 2,201,645 times
Reputation: 1236
Default Tempe Improv Closing

Sad to see it close I have seen many great comedians there. Looks like Standup Live in downtown Phoenix did them dirty.
Reply With Quote Quick reply to this message

 
Unread 05-12-2012, 04:57 PM
 
Location: Sonoran Desert
12,195 posts, read 13,748,007 times
Reputation: 5926
Quote:
Originally Posted by LocoAZnative View Post
Sad to see it close I have seen many great comedians there. Looks like Standup Live in downtown Phoenix did them dirty.
I heard that. Used to go there a lot. It's hard to believe that downtown Phoenix can out draw Tempe. Times must be a-changin'.
Reply With Quote Quick reply to this message
 
Unread 05-12-2012, 05:02 PM
 
Location: Phoenix
50 posts, read 15,606 times
Reputation: 92
They had a nice monopoly in Valley for many years while they were really the only place to see good comedians. It's amazing what a little competition will do. I've been to both places in the past couple years and thought overall Stand Up Live to be a better experience.
Reply With Quote Quick reply to this message
 
Unread 05-12-2012, 05:55 PM
 
Location: Tempe
1,622 posts, read 2,201,645 times
Reputation: 1236
Quote:
Originally Posted by Ponderosa View Post
I heard that. Used to go there a lot. It's hard to believe that downtown Phoenix can out draw Tempe. Times must be a-changin'.
looks more like prior partners @ tghe Tempe Improv took their booking book and poached talent. Pretty shady esp ecially when Standup Live wont be around in 5 years.
Reply With Quote Quick reply to this message
 
Unread 05-12-2012, 09:49 PM
 
8,330 posts, read 6,512,783 times
Reputation: 4904
Quote:
Originally Posted by LocoAZnative View Post
looks more like prior partners @ tghe Tempe Improv took their booking book and poached talent. Pretty shady esp ecially when Standup Live wont be around in 5 years.
That is not quite the entire story. There were many problems with the Improv. They did not upgrade since their opening. Their food was substandard. There were rumors the owner was not very friendly to performers and staff.

Losing a booking agent or list of contacts seems like a weak excuse. How is it that a club has been in operation for decades and suddenly closes within 6 months of a new club opening because they lost contacts. You would think the owner would have made some contacts and not relied so heavily on one book or agent. Why is it that Dodge Theatre can still lure acts but the Improv can't? Finally, the biggest reason for the Improv's closing was due to business. Standup Live was able to lure performers by arranging for other dates at different locations which the Improv couldn't compete with.

I think some element of their closing has to do with lacking competition and having a monopoly over the industry. They did little to use reinvest their earnings and improve the quality of their product. And when competition arrived, they just couldn't compete. Their location was not ideal and the strip mall it's located in has gotten worse over the years. They probably should have moved to a better location and in a more contemporary building like in Old Town Scottsdale.

I am sad they are closing and I think we as consumers benefit by having more options but sadly this is typical Arizona tale of being the sole act in town and failing to improve in quality due to a lack of pressure from competition.
Reply With Quote Quick reply to this message
 
Unread 05-12-2012, 10:36 PM
 
Location: AZ
1,038 posts, read 1,553,194 times
Reputation: 623
I was listening to something on the radio a few days ago....

Is is true that it was bought a couple/few years ago by some new people?..
They turned it into a family friendly/Christian place with no alcohol sales.

Christian Comedy with no alcohol sales = Comedy club going out of business.
Reply With Quote Quick reply to this message
 
Unread 05-29-2012, 07:45 PM
 
Location: the AZ desert
4,271 posts, read 1,853,920 times
Reputation: 6492
It doesn't sound like the owner is taking things well.

Missing comedy club owner believed to be suffering from mental breakdown, family says
Reply With Quote Quick reply to this message
 
Unread 05-29-2012, 09:13 PM
 
164 posts, read 72,280 times
Reputation: 175
Quote:
Originally Posted by roundball View Post
I was listening to something on the radio a few days ago....

Is is true that it was bought a couple/few years ago by some new people?..
They turned it into a family friendly/Christian place with no alcohol sales.

Christian Comedy with no alcohol sales = Comedy club going out of business.
If that happened, it's been within the past year. We saw a show there last year that was definitely NOT Christian/family friendly and we definitely DID drink alcohol.

Too bad it's closing. But I agree - it needed updating. There was an element of 80's dingy-ness to it.
Reply With Quote Quick reply to this message
 
Unread 05-30-2012, 05:03 AM
 
1,163 posts, read 1,084,258 times
Reputation: 823
Met the owner once on a sales call, one of the weirdest sales appointments that I ever had. He would only meet vendors and potential vendors between 9 PM and midnight on Friday night. Then you had to sit outside of his office until he decided to call you in to talk with you. If you were a woman he would let you in right away, so I ended up spending over two hours cooling my heels outside of his office. The sales call went fine, I had the right product/price he was looking for. But I never pursued it any further, it wasn't worth wasting my Friday nights to service his account.
Reply With Quote Quick reply to this message
 
Unread 06-07-2012, 08:22 PM
 
Location: the AZ desert
4,271 posts, read 1,853,920 times
Reputation: 6492
Tempe Improv owner Mark Anderson found dead in Buckeye, police say

"The owner of the Tempe Improv who was missing for more than three weeks was found dead Wednesday morning in a hotel room in Buckeye, police said.

Mark Anderson, 60, was reported missing by his wife on May 15, according to an Oklahoma City police report."
Reply With Quote Quick reply to this message
Please register to post and access all features of our very popular forum. It is free and quick. Over $53,000 in prizes has already been given out to active posters on our forum. Additional giveaways are planned.

Detailed information about all U.S. cities, counties, and zip codes on our site: City-data.com.


Reply
Please update this thread with any new information or opinions. This open thread is still read by thousands of people, so we encourage all additional points of view.

Quick Reply
Message:


Options
X
Data:
Loading data...
Based on 2005-2010 data
Loading data...

123
Hide US histogram

Over $47,000 in prizes was already given out to active posters on our forum and additional giveaways are planned!

Go Back   City-Data Forum > U.S. Forums > Arizona > Phoenix area
Similar Threads

All times are GMT -6. The time now is 06:12 AM.

© 2005-2013, Advameg, Inc.

City-Data.com - Archive 1, 2, 3, 4, 5, 6, 7, 8, 9, 10, 11, 12, 13, 14, 15, 16, 17, 18, 19, 20, 21, 22, 23, 24 - Top