UCB East Closing In February Due To Financial Difficulties

UCB East will close February 9th.

Upright Citizens Brigade will shutter its East Village outpost, UCB East, on February 9th, due to the "extreme costs" of operating in the space, according to Vulture. Members of the improv theater reportedly learned about the closure at an all-hands meeting on Wednesday night.

During the meeting, UCB co-founder Matt Besser is said to have explained the decision to merge with SubCulture, a venue on Bleecker Street, where they will keep running a more limited UCB selection. According to the NY Times, this means three nights of programs, rather than the previous seven, beginning February 15th.

"Due to the long-term cost of rent, property taxes, and other expenses associated with operating a second venue in NYC, UCB has created this new experience at SubCulture to reduce the financial impact," UCB4—which is to say, Amy Poehler, Ian Roberts, Matt Walsh, and Besser, who founded the theater—said in a statement. "This move allows us to continue to offer a second venue to our performers and audience. We are forever grateful to the incredible staff, performers and countless dedicated UCB-ers who have committed so much time and effort into making it possible for us to perform and view alternative comedy in NYC."

UCB East originally opened in 2011, immediately kicking up controversy in the neighborhood with a sign reading "Hot Chicks Room" which hung over the entrance to its bar, and also with its curtain selection. (Red, velvet, apparently very enraging. Here's what Amy Poehler had to say when we asked her about the "controversy.")

Although UCB has become a popular institution for aspiring comics, it has attracted criticism for its business model, which is built on unpaid performers. It's also faced other financial difficulties recently: in December, the theater laid off a number of staffers, a move the UCB4 characterized as "a matter of life and death for the company," according to journalist Seth Simons. At the time, management said they had no plans to close UCB East, while also acknowledging that the theater's path forward was not particularly clear.

UCB will continue to operate its other New York City venue, located in Hell's Kitchen, and its two Los Angeles locations. In an email to the company, UCB's New York artistic director Michael Hartney wrote that, "It is sad to lose a venue, especially when it affects employees we care about." And indeed, the company's 15-year technical director, Pat Baer, tweeted Wednesday that he's looking for a job.

Here's Craig Wedren performing at UCB East for our Gothamist House series.