No Joke: Brokerage Still Going Strong

In Detroit, the assembly lines churn out cars. On Long Island, they churn out comedians.

Eddie Murphy. Andy Kaufman. Billy Crystal. Rodney Dangerfield. I'm guessing you've heard of them.

If you've watched any television at all the last 20 years, you've seen an episode or two of "Seinfeld", as in Jerry. "Everybody Loves Raymond", as in Romano. " The King of Queens", as in Kevin James. Long Island bred - all of them.

Somewhere along the way to stardom, they all appeared at the Brokerage Comedy Club in Bellmore. For 30 years the club has been churning out talent, and packing in crowds.  It's not as easy as you think.

Brokerage is one of only three remaining comedy clubs on the entire island, along with Governor's in Levittown and McGuire's in Bohemia. Besides the talent that has appeared on their stages, the clubs have one man in common: Marc Lund.

Time for a Change

Three years ago, Lund and his partners bought the Brokerage. They soon purchased Governor's and are close to buying McGuire's. Three for three. 

Lund's goal was to jazz up the Brokerage and freshen up the Long Island comedy circuit.

"[The previous owners] got stale, you get burned out after a while," Lund said.  "The acts were [bad], so we had to come in here and change the whole culture...we revitalized it to the point where we built the business again."

Lund himself started out as a stand up comedian. He soon began managing acts, and when the opportunity to buy the Brokerage presented itself, he jumped at it.  He added a separate bar area to the club, and a full menu.

"It gets in your blood, this business," Lund says.

From Boom to Bust

It's a business that has seen better days on Long Island. During the comedy boom of the 1980s, there were 14 comedy clubs here, including forgotten spots like Chuckles in Mineola, East Side in Huntington and Laughs in East Hampton. 

"Statistically speaking, more stand up comics have done 'The Tonight Show' from Long Island than any other geographical area in the world," Lund says.

 So why did the boom go bust?

Lund says television began offering more comedy options. "The Comedy Channel" and "Ha!" were created. In 1991 they merged to form Comedy Central.  The channel launched on April Fool's Day, but for clubs on the island, it was no laughing matter.

People could now stay home and watch stand up acts, rather than go out and pay for the privilege. Most of the clubs went under, and Lund says people don't know what they're missing.

"What [networks] do is, they target a demographic," he said. "They look for a six-foot, good looking kid with five minutes of material."

Lund says funny is funny, regardless of what the performer looks like. He believes people are tired of mediocre comedy on TV, tired of reality shows, and wishes to draw them back to where it all began for the stars: the clubs.

"On any given night in our club, you'll find better talent than you'll ever find on TV, and I can say that without being ashamed."

The Laughs Continue

Tonight's show at the Brokerage stars Vince Dantona. Dantona's a ventriloquist, and has been performing with his dummy, George, for over 35 years. Dantona performs regularly in Atlantic City and has toured with the USO. A former Marine Corps drill instructor himself, the Medford resident won $10,000 on ABC's "America's Funniest People" in 1981.

Dantona has been performing here since the place opened. So what keeps luring him back here after all this time?

"Management here treats you a lot better than a lot of the other places," Dantona said. "[Other places] stick you in a corner, 'you go on in a little bit.' Here they take care of you, it's a pleasure to come out here."

Opening for Dantona are Preston Simpson and Mick Thomas. They also cite the intimate atmosphere at the Brokerage as reasons they keep coming back. One of the rules (if you can call it that) of performing here? Stick around at the bar after your set.

"They treat you really well here, it's a family type atmosphere, they encourage you to stay after the show. Talk to the customers, which comics love to do," said Simpson, who says mingling often can lead to future gigs. After all, you never know who's in the audience.

While Simpson is from Pittsburgh, Thomas took a longer route to the Long Island comedy scene. His home is Patchogue, after coming over from Ireland - not exactly a hot bed of comedy clubs.

"I've always wanted to do comedy since I was 5 years old...there's no clubs in Ireland, so I came over here, it was one of my goals before I turned 30, and on the week before my 30th birthday I got up on stage for the first time - absolutely hooked," Thomas said.

Funny Future

As part of the rejuvenation of the Brokerage, Lund offers comedy classes, hoping the club can continue to breed new talent like it did decades ago. He also rents the club, and his talent out for sweet sixteens and other private parties.

Lund is not sure there will ever be another comedy boom on the island. Between cable TV, the Internet, and pro sports, there's a lot more competition for folks' entertainment dollars than if the club opened in, say, Nebraska.

Still, he believes buying into the Brokerage and its sister clubs will be a sound investment.

"You hope the wives grab the husbands by the ears and say, 'you're coming out, I don't give a [damn]'...if we didn't think it was a good investment, we wouldn't have bought a second [club], or a third, " Lund said.  "And after that," he said confidently, "there will be a fourth."

Looks like the assembly line isn't slowing down anytime soon.  No joke.

Brokerage Comedy Club is at 2797 Merrick Road, and can be reached at 516-785-8655. For information on upcoming shows and classes go to brokerage.ning.com.