For most of its 35 years, Laff’s Comedy Caffe was the only place in Tucson to see live comedy. Its four weekly shows have drawn touring comedians from all over the country into its supper-club ambience. A few times a year, the Fox Tucson Theatre or the Rialto Theatre or one of the casinos might host a nationally famous comedian, but Laff’s has been Tucson’s comedy central.
Every Thursday night, aspiring local comedians can sign up for three minutes of stage time at the club’s Thursday open mic. “We’re very proud of the fact that we’ve been holding open mics consistently,” said Casey Bynum, who currently operates Laff’s. “Thursdays are not a big moneymaker. We offer it to the comedy community because we want to foster new comedians and bring up new talent on the local scene.”
Recently, though, the Laff’s open mic has been overwhelmed; Casey said he’s had to cap the signups at 50. And meanwhile at least 10 other mics have opened up around town.
At the same time, many more bigger comedy shows are coming through Tucson’s larger venues. The Fox Tucson Theatre, the Rialto Theatre and The Linda Ronstadt Music Hall all regularly stage major players on the national comedy circuit. Laff’s is thriving, but so are other venues for standup and improv comedy all over town.
What’s happening? Priscilla Fernandez has a theory. A player on Tucson’s standup and improv scenes for 20 years, Fernandez started an open mic two years ago with local comedian Mo Urban. They call it “Lady Haha,” and bill it as an open mic for women and “marginalized folx.” For example, she said Lady Haha has hosted aspiring comics over 50, neurodivergent, immigrant, people of color, folks with disabilities and their allies.
Fernandez said she believes that more people are turning up on comedy stages because they are seeing more people like themselves on in every medium. “The landscape has changed, and more women and members of marginalized communities are running open mics and comedy shows,” she said. “There’s just so much more accessible comedy, now.”
Fernandez also celebrates that some women’s comedy is getting more “blue.” There are limits, though, she said, especially related to racist and gender characterizations. “If someone says something inappropriate onstage,” she said, “it’s important to talk to them one-on-one and let them know why that’s unacceptable, then let them decide whether they want to change or . . .go.”
In 2019, Chris Quinn started a Wednesday open mic at the Screening Room after just two years going to open mics himself. “The biggest change in the comedy scene,” he said, “is the ability to get paid,” in the town’s many independent shows. “This is the direct result of the amount of open mics that Tucson has. Comics are able to get onstage almost every night to work on jokes and perform in front of bookers.”
Quinn is also a booker. He organizes a monthly booked show at the Screening Room. About booking, he said, “I think it’s less about killing and more about not bombing. ...Having a set that brings down the show will never get you booked again.”
Casey seems to concur, but noted more specifically, “I think changes (in content) have been driven by society’s trend to being a little more critical of humor that appears mean-spirited or can be construed as an attack on someone or something.
“If you can’t be a decent person and treat others with respect and kindness,” he said, “you’ll suffer professionally, and I think that’s pretty positive for pretty much everyone.”
FIND AN OPEN MIC NEAR YOU
Wednesday
6:30 p.m. signup, 7 p.m. start. The Screening Room, 127 E. Congress Street, Chris Quinn hosts
7:30 p.m. signup, 8 p.m. start, The Rock, 136 N. Park Avenue, Corbin Michael Barker hosts
7 p.m. signup and 7:30 start, first Wednesday every month, Chicago Bar, 5954 E. Speedway Boulevard, mixed mic, Cory Lytle hosts the comedy, 6-minute sets
8:45 p.m. signup, 9 p.m. start, the last Wednesday every month, Mr. Heads, 513 N. Fourth Avenue, Autumn Horvat hosts
Thursday
6 p.m. writing workshop, 7 p.m. signup, 8 p.m. start, Laff’s Comedy Caffe, 2900 E. Broadway Boulevard, rotating hosts
7 p.m. signup, 8 p.m. start, mixed mic, first Thursday every month, Thunder Canyon Brewery, 220 E. Broadway Boulevard
9 p.m., start, second Friday of every month, Unscrewed Theater, 4500 E. Speedway Boulevard, Suite 39, unscrewedtheater.org, Allana Erickson-Lopez and Cynthia Barlow host all forms of comedy. Sign up a week ahead online.
Saturday
5:30 p.m. signup, 6 p.m. start, The Music Box, 6951 E. 22nd Street., Tony Bruhn and Dom DiTolla host
Sunday
7 p.m. signup, 8 p.m. start, every other Sunday, Espresso Art Café, 942 E. University Boulevard, two-item minimum, best set wins $20, runner up gets a $15 tab, Rich Gary hosts
Monday
5:30 p.m. signup, 6 p.m. start, first Monday every month, Cheba Hut, 446 N. Campbell Avenue, Ste. 2, Cory Lytle hosts
7:30 signup, 8 p.m. start, “Comedy on the Rocks,” 7930 E. Speedway Boulevard, Joel Martin and Cati French host, 8:30 signup, 9 p.m. start, On the Rocks, 7930 E. Speedway Boulevard, Joel Martin and Cati French host
Tuesday
6:30 p.m. signup, 7 p.m. start, Bumsted’s, 1003 N. Stone Avenue, “The Bad Reputation Open Mic,” Kristine Levine hosts
Tuesday, July 18 and Aug. 1, 6 p.m. sign up, 7 p.m. show, Club Congress, Hotel Congress, 311 E. Congress Street, must be present to sign up, “Lady Haha,” all forms of comedy; priority given to “marginalized folx,” Priscilla Fernandez and Mo Urban host
7 p.m. signup, 8 p.m. start, The Mint Bar, 3540 E. Grant Road, Chris Whitney hosts
OTHER SHOWS THIS WEEK
Hotel Congress, 311 E. Congress Street. 7 p.m., Saturday, July 22,
hotelcongress.com, from $17.71, The sparkling Swish Manly guest hosts Retro Game Show’s “$9.95 Pyramid;” 8 p.m., Monday, July 27,
hotelcongress.com, free, “The Switch Comedy Show,” comedians make jokes about topics you text in.
Laff’s Comedy Caffe, 2900 E. Broadway Boulevard. 8 p.m. and 10:30 p.m. Friday, July 21, and 7 and 9:30 p.m. Saturday, July 22, laffstucson.com, $15, $20 preferred seating. Luke Null, “The Guitar Comic” plays for the laughs.
The Screening Room, 127 E. Congress Street, 8 p.m. and 10 p.m., Saturday, July 22, $10, “Lady Bits,” 8 p.m. cast: Jackie Tinsley headlines, Jen Blanco hosts Nicolette DiMaggio, Ana Montañez, Allana Lopez, Keeley Wolf, Vera Maria; 10 p.m. cast: Magghie O’Shea headlines, Allana Lopez hosts, Sonia Rita, Amie Gabusi, Jen Blanco
Tucson Improv Movement/TIM Comedy Theatre, 414 E. Ninth Street.
tucsonimprov.com, $7 each show, $10 for both shows, same night, free jam 7:30 p.m. Thursday, July 20, Improv 201 and “Fakespeare;” 6:30 p.m. Friday, July 21, Improv Jam; 7:30 p.m. “The Soapbox;” 9 p.m. “Femme Drop” Stand Up Showcase; 7:30 p.m. Saturday, July 22, “Tootpole” musical improv and “The Game Show Show;” 9 p.m. “Halfway to the Holidays”
Unscrewed Theater, 4500 E. Speedway Boulevard, unscrewedtheatre.org, $8, live or remote, $5 kids. 7:30 p.m. Friday, July 21, Not Burnt Out Just Unscrewed (NBOJU); 6 p.m. Saturday, July 22, Student Showcase: Improv Basics; 7:30 p.m. NBOJU; 9 p.m. Uncensored Improv Comedy with house teams NBOJU and The Big Daddies.
