Postponed by January fires, comedy-industry vets open the Upstairs club downtown

In December, the Upstairs Comedy Club’s vacation enactment was packed with endowment including Craig Robinson and Deon Cole. A downtown location, 250 capableness and leather booths made the second-floor abstraction consciousness similar an intimate assemblage hub. L.A.’s newest drama venue had yet to invited the public, though Jan. 16 marked the scheduled brushed opening. Plans were postponed and reassessed pursuing the Palisades and Eaton fires.

Following “Jordan Rock and Friends,” the eventual brushed opening connected Feb. 8, the Upstairs opened doors to the nationalist connected March 5 with 2 sold-out performances from Rene Vaca, a viral 28-year-old comic from the San Fernando Valley. (Vaca volition soon statesman appearing monthly.) On Saturday, “The Office” prima Robinson returned to adjacent retired an 8 p.m. lineup including Chaunte Wayans, Jay Larson and Alonzo Bodden.

“Happy International Women’s Day!” helium crooned to the well-dressed, dancing audience, playing keyboard and creating his ain opus medleys combining “Edelweiss,” “Summer Lovin,” “Livin’ connected a Prayer,” “I Want It That Way,” and “Hot successful Herre.” Robinson extended his interactive set, chatting with the grandma successful the beforehand enactment and pulling an aspiring crooner from the backmost to riff a fewer Blues numbers.

Comedian Craig Robinson performs astatine the Upstairs Comedy Club connected March 8 successful Los Angeles.

(Eric Thayer / For The Times)

Under booker Sarah Mello, who spearheaded clothing-donation drives pursuing January’s fires, proceeds from each shows payment the experience-forward Big Smile Foundation and SevaSphere, a nonprofit addressing section homelessness and nutrient insecurity.

The Upstairs’ 6,000-square-foot abstraction astatine 1415 S. Los Angeles St. is northbound of the 10 successful the Fashion District. There is simply a two-drink minimum and popcorn for merchantability astatine present, with aboriginal plans expanding to ground-level retail and Italian dining. Street parking is free; an attended batch crossed 15th Street astatine 1501 S. Los Angeles is $8. The club’s ticketing and scheduling accusation are astatine TheUpstairsLA.com.

Audience members respond astatine the Upstairs Comedy Club connected March 8 successful Los Angeles.

(Eric Thayer / For The Times)

Downtown offers a “young, hip” and dense population, positive a much divers benignant of instrumentality basal than Hollywood oregon Santa Monica’s clusters of drama venues, says Mello.

Owner Sam Sleiman, a spouse successful Kinetic Media Management, purchased the gathering with the intention, helium says, to “make the Fashion District fashionable.” Before the erstwhile warehouse abstraction was upgraded, helium recalls, it was packed precocious with dusty retention boxes reaching the metallic rafters overhead. Wholesale concern owners successful the area, struggling arsenic covering income progressively determination online, look to reshape the territory crossed the adjacent decade.

“It’s safe, it’s changing, and it’s decidedly worthy coming to instrumentality a look at,” Sleiman says of downtown L.A. He cites the club’s information unit and ongoing conversations with metropolis officials including main of constabulary Jim McDonnell, aiming to situation ingrained perceptions of the vicinity aft dark.

Original “Saturday Night Live” castmember Garrett Morris maintained his Downtown Blues & Comedy Club successful antithetic locations from 2007 until closing during the pandemic. Under shaper Abbey Londer (now main of unit astatine Netflix Is a Joke festival), the high-profile Riot L.A. Comedy Festival continued 2012-2017 successful DTLA theaters and bars. Weekly and monthly shows person continued rotating astatine comedy-friendly outposts specified arsenic Crane’s Bar oregon Grand Central Market post-pandemic, but full-time clubs haven’t historically tested their luck downtown.

“Comedy’s ever needed, but decidedly present much than ever,” the Upstairs booker Sarah Mello emphasizes. “We tin beryllium astir and beryllium bittersweet oregon grumpy and kick astir the world, oregon you tin conscionable spell retired and get a bully laugh.”

(Eric Thayer / For The Times)

Diversity and find are among Mello’s booking priorities astatine the Upstairs. “Funny is funny. I don’t attraction what you look like; are you funny?” she asks. She hopes the Upstairs becomes known for consistently bully shows nary substance the nighttime oregon the lineup. “I get the champion of the best, but I’m besides going to present you to the adjacent best.”

Having worked “all of the main clubs” since 2007, learning the concern broadside from hostess to management, the Mello Comedic live-production marque expanded crossed the state and into nationwide casting. Pandemic lockdown saw Mello pivot to Zoom and outdoor shows, including aggregate locations downtown. She met Enrique Salazar, who primitively brought her connected astatine Icon Concerts, the touring location of Gabriel Iglesias and Jo Koy.

A lounge section, album-art partition mural, backstage country and different offstage abstraction volition beryllium disposable for comics to utilize erstwhile signaling podcasts and filming projects.

“Stand-up artists are creatives,” says Upstairs manager Salazar, a seasoned of L.A. clubs for much than 15 years. “Our abstraction is their abstraction to usage whenever they want. We are conscionable a stopping crushed successful the trajectory of their career.”

The Upstairs’ 6,000-square ft abstraction astatine 1415 S. Los Angeles St. is northbound of the 10 successful the Fashion District.

(Marcus Ubungen / Los Angeles Times)

Hoping to equate the Upstairs’ stand-up endowment with that of immoderate productions from the Broadway Theatre District six blocks north, Sleiman envisions paying much per spot, possibly adjacent treble existent spot rates astatine much established L.A. clubs, with “the thought that comics should beryllium capable to bash 3 oregon 4 spots a nighttime astir municipality without a time job.”

Respecting stand-up artistry successful a unrecorded mounting besides ensures that assemblage experiences stay paramount. Particularly erstwhile underserved audiences are surviving successful the aftermath of devastating fires oregon escalating sociopolitical upheaval, Mello says. “Comedy’s ever needed, but decidedly present much than ever,” she emphasizes. “We tin beryllium astir and beryllium bittersweet oregon grumpy and kick astir the world, oregon you tin conscionable spell retired and get a bully laugh. Any flight that’s needed, I privation our nine to beryllium the spot wherever radical travel to bash that.”

Echoes Salazar: “Laughter is truthful important to people. It’s a large mode to hide astir the issues and troubles you’re having, particularly successful a satellite that seems to beryllium precise divided currently. One happening we tin each benignant of hold connected is needing to person a laughter together. Comedy gives you the opening to bash that.”