This athletic shop benefits comedy clubs in New York City.
Of all the venues across Manhattan to host the two-night, eight-show, 30-work comic festival, the historic Paragon Sports Store near Union Square is the most unexpected venue.
But it's actually happening next week during the first of a potentially annual festival produced by David Levine and Ethan Mansoor, the 25-year-olds behind Underground Overground Comedy. That's what happens at family-run specialty stores.
Since April 2021, the Manhattan natives have been organizing comedy shows in unlikely locations, rearranging merchandise and tables, and installing seats and temporary stages in unlikely venues. So far, Alphabet City laundromats, Upper East Side gyms, Lower East Side staples Economy Candy, Katz's Delicatessen, and Astor Place Hair Stylist have all welcomed the comics, loving them on the racks and in the dryers and among the pastrami. They joke about sex and private jets.
The shows are consistently sold out, and Levine and Mansoor say there is currently a waiting list of 20,000 people for tickets to the small production (tickets for the festival are now on sale to the general public).
“People love our show because it takes them to a different place than the environment they grew up in,” Mansour told the Post about its popularity. “If you talk to a lot of New Yorkers, they'll say, 'Oh my gosh, I got my first pair of skis.' [at Paragon] In 1980. ”
“This is more than just a show. It's an event,” Levine pointed out, offering audiences not just stand-up in bizarre locations, but an all-in-one evening of entertainment in a space that is an essential and inseparable element. of New York City, he added.
Admission prices often come with themed perks. Paragon Festival tickets also include Joe's Pizza.
The pair, who were part of the PS6 chess team as children, are now leveling up for what will be their most ambitious work to date and their “biggest event yet,” Mansour said. said.
During the eight shows they've held at Paragon since February of last year, they've performed separate shows on each floor of Paragon, but the upcoming Laughter lineup will have a schedule adjustment that will see sets performed simultaneously on each floor. It will be a masterpiece.
So far, their first festival is off to a strong start. Within days of tickets going on sale April 17th for the May 15th and 16th shows, all 1,200 tickets were sold out at $65 each — and fans didn't even know who was scheduled to perform. There remains no.
The line-up's secrecy means it avoids using talent to promote the show, instead using celebrities such as “Daily Show” correspondent Roy Wood Jr. and “Saturday Night Live” performer Marcello Hernandez. It's typical of Levine and Mansour, who rely on their reputations for parading the . And it offers a unique experience in an environment full of unexpected nostalgia.
Paragon executives said they are excited to leverage and engage the store's large square footage and iconic New York brand for purposes beyond retail.
Since overcoming the coronavirus, the company has put a special focus on “creating unique events that bring in new customers,” said Zachary Blank, Paragon's fourth CEO. His great-grandfather started the business in 1908.
Working with Underground Overground has been a “phenomenal experience” so far, Blank added. “They bring in a great crowd. Everyone is very nice and very polite on the way out, but that's not always the case.”
With venue organizers excited, all tickets sold out, and pre-press secured, Levine and Mansour don't have much left to do for the festival, but hang in there. And I'm worried that one of the headliners will get a last-minute comp to sit courtside. Dropped out at a Knicks game.
“I can't blame them,” Levine said of comedians canceling with such excuses, “but I've been praying for the Knicks to lose.”
