Tuesdays are the black hole of the comedy world — too far from the weekend for a big night out and too early in the week to shell out big bucks. But now Live Comedy Tuesdays is ready to rescue your week from monotony.
Since starting in February, Live Comedy Tuesdays has transformed the Patio at Sloan’s into Denver’s hottest midweek destination, with 33 of Colorado’s best comedians taking the stage over the last several weeks. The segment has been such a success that four more Comedy Tuesdays shows have been added for April.
The series is the brainchild of Professor Phelyx, aka Phelyx Hopkins, a veteran performer and comedy mind-reader extraordinaire. “I recognized a need," he says. “Today's Denver is culture-starved. The pandemic robbed Denver of much more than time. It forcefully shuttered many independently owned cultural resources and stole immeasurable amounts of its soul."
And that’s where Live Comedy Tuesdays comes in. This showcase is part of Phelyx's mission to restore authentic culture to the city, one punchline at a time.
"As an artist who has always lived here, I have seen the changes over the decades," he says. "Compared to what was once rich and vital, the resources for independent artists feel like a barren wasteland. The indie music, theater, comedy and performing arts venues are steadily being replaced with entertainment options that are synthetic corporate money machines fueled by $100-plus tickets that are insultingly doubled by ticketing fees."
Tickets to each ninety-minute installment of Live Comedy Tuesdays are just $10, and every week a new lineup of comics will each have fifteen minutes to tell their best jokes. For these performers, the Patio at Sloan's will be more than just a stage; it will be a place to hone their craft.
“Comedians such as Rick Bryan, Donelle Prado-Marquez, Ren Q. Dawe, Bradley Galli, Nick Shelton, Andrew Wegleitner and Evan Johnson are stepping up to the Patio Live Comedy Tuesdays' microphone to help establish another resource for the comedy community, but they aren't just doing it as a charitable act," Phelyx says. "Standup comedy is an art form that requires practice and road-testing of new material. Getting in front of real audiences is a valuable but tragically scarce resource in Colorado. These pros are showing up to help the whole scene.”
Phelyx is presenting Live Comedy Tuesdays in collaboration with Skrewball Peanut Butter Whiskey and the Patio, which is helping keep costs low. “Most independent artists are compelled to create, money be damned," Phelyx notes. "A true artist seemingly has no choice in the matter. I know it defies logic to devote oneself to work with little promise of reward. That's where the whole myth of the 'starving artist' comes from. Nevertheless, however underground we are forced to be, we find each other and the scene always stays very much alive."
On April 1 (April Fools' Day), Live Comedy Tuesdays will host Colorado's own national headliner Chris "CrazyLegs" Fonseca, who personally selected the four other comics performing that evening.
So why wait for the weekend? Shake up your week, sip a cocktail and get ready to witness some of Denver’s sharpest comedic minds. Comedy is alive and well in the Mile High City; you just need to know where to look.
"Denver still has a world-class comedy scene," Phelyx concludes. "I have been an artist long enough to have witnessed an entire cycle of cultural responses to gentrification and vice versa. My hometown, Denver, deserves a true culture again, and however small, I hope to play a role in its restoration.”
Live Comedy Tuesdays, 7 p.m. Tuesdays, February 4 through March 25, the Patio at Sloan’s, 4032 West 17th Avenue. Tickets are $10; learn more at eventbrite.com.
Since starting in February, Live Comedy Tuesdays has transformed the Patio at Sloan’s into Denver’s hottest midweek destination, with 33 of Colorado’s best comedians taking the stage over the last several weeks. The segment has been such a success that four more Comedy Tuesdays shows have been added for April.
The series is the brainchild of Professor Phelyx, aka Phelyx Hopkins, a veteran performer and comedy mind-reader extraordinaire. “I recognized a need," he says. “Today's Denver is culture-starved. The pandemic robbed Denver of much more than time. It forcefully shuttered many independently owned cultural resources and stole immeasurable amounts of its soul."
And that’s where Live Comedy Tuesdays comes in. This showcase is part of Phelyx's mission to restore authentic culture to the city, one punchline at a time.
"As an artist who has always lived here, I have seen the changes over the decades," he says. "Compared to what was once rich and vital, the resources for independent artists feel like a barren wasteland. The indie music, theater, comedy and performing arts venues are steadily being replaced with entertainment options that are synthetic corporate money machines fueled by $100-plus tickets that are insultingly doubled by ticketing fees."
Tickets to each ninety-minute installment of Live Comedy Tuesdays are just $10, and every week a new lineup of comics will each have fifteen minutes to tell their best jokes. For these performers, the Patio at Sloan's will be more than just a stage; it will be a place to hone their craft.
“Comedians such as Rick Bryan, Donelle Prado-Marquez, Ren Q. Dawe, Bradley Galli, Nick Shelton, Andrew Wegleitner and Evan Johnson are stepping up to the Patio Live Comedy Tuesdays' microphone to help establish another resource for the comedy community, but they aren't just doing it as a charitable act," Phelyx says. "Standup comedy is an art form that requires practice and road-testing of new material. Getting in front of real audiences is a valuable but tragically scarce resource in Colorado. These pros are showing up to help the whole scene.”
Phelyx is presenting Live Comedy Tuesdays in collaboration with Skrewball Peanut Butter Whiskey and the Patio, which is helping keep costs low. “Most independent artists are compelled to create, money be damned," Phelyx notes. "A true artist seemingly has no choice in the matter. I know it defies logic to devote oneself to work with little promise of reward. That's where the whole myth of the 'starving artist' comes from. Nevertheless, however underground we are forced to be, we find each other and the scene always stays very much alive."
On April 1 (April Fools' Day), Live Comedy Tuesdays will host Colorado's own national headliner Chris "CrazyLegs" Fonseca, who personally selected the four other comics performing that evening.
So why wait for the weekend? Shake up your week, sip a cocktail and get ready to witness some of Denver’s sharpest comedic minds. Comedy is alive and well in the Mile High City; you just need to know where to look.
"Denver still has a world-class comedy scene," Phelyx concludes. "I have been an artist long enough to have witnessed an entire cycle of cultural responses to gentrification and vice versa. My hometown, Denver, deserves a true culture again, and however small, I hope to play a role in its restoration.”
Live Comedy Tuesdays, 7 p.m. Tuesdays, February 4 through March 25, the Patio at Sloan’s, 4032 West 17th Avenue. Tickets are $10; learn more at eventbrite.com.
