Modified On January 10, 2009
That’s the headline of the Hartford Courant article that we were hipped to by FOS Guy MacPherson.
“Now is the time; the economy is so bad that if ever there was a time to laugh, it’s right now,” says John Calash, entertainment director at Joker’s Wild.
Which is just one of the ways of looking at the current live standup comedy resurgence… at least the one in Hartford, CT.
The article contains lots of speculation, some horse manure and a lot of good, specific information on the Hartford market. William Weir, the author of the piece, needed a hook. The burgeoning scene in central Connecticut was it.
Should we take it as confirmation of a bulletproof standup business? Or should we disregard it as a fantasy? Neither. Regard every bit of information in it on its own merits, identify any opinion as just that– opinion– and don’t get caught up in trying to construct a narrative. This whole roller coaster is going to go on for some time, so folks should be leery of orgasmic optimism just as much as Eeyore-like pessimism.