New York Comedy Institution The Creek & The Cave Shuts Down Permanently
The Creek & the Cave.Another New York City institution has closed after the city shuttered comedy clubs amid the coronavirus pandemic. Rebecca Trent, the owner of The Creek & The Cave in Long Island City, revealed on Thursday that the venue would not reopen after 14 years in business. Trent announced the closure in a Facebook post. “I wanted to wait until the election before I let you all officially know something that I’m sure most of you already know,” she wrote. “The Creek & The Cave is not going to reopen. I simply wasn’t in a strong enough position going into the pandemic to sustain the Creek without going into insurmountable debt. (Most would say I’m already there.)”
The club was known for cultivating a looser, less polished atmosphere than its Manhattan equivalents, allowing stand-ups, improvisors, and sketch comedians to workshop newer shows. It took chances on less established performers, cultivating the early talents of Michael Che, the Lucas Brothers, and Michelle Wolf. It was also a regular performance spot for comics like Colin Quinn, who workshopped his one-man show Unconstitutional there.
The venue received backlash last year for its association with controversial figures, in particular the Legion of Skanks podcast, which taped at the venue until criticism over a scheduled appearance by Milo Yiannopoulos prompted the show to move elsewhere. Trent seemed to acknowledge some of this in her announcement of the club’s closure. “I know my time at the helm of the Creek wasn’t everyone’s favorite. There were times when I was too angry, too outspoken, too passionate, too much. I disappointed people, I know,” she wrote, adding, “I served this community as hard as I could. I took chances on people and offered stage time to everyone as fairly as I could. The Masters, The Proven, The Villains, The Dorks and The Yet to be Brilliant all graced that stage for 14 years. Because when someone has a stage it becomes their sacred duty to say yes to the artists that grace it, to give them time and space and permission to fail so that they can become great.”
When I started comedy, people told me “I don’t go to The Creek and Cave, they’re brutal there.” When I finally went everyone couldn’t have been nicer. What Rebecca gave to the community was saintly (you could do three free mics a day if you wanted) and I’m gonna miss it terribly
— Dan Winner of the Coney Island Comedy Festival (@dan_wickes) November 12, 2020this is sad!!! one of the few times my dad has seen me do comedy live was at this place. at the end of the set he asked "so are you planning to make money doing this?" RIP ♥️ https://t.co/dYxImsEhgW
— Ayo Edebiri (@ayoedebiri) November 12, 2020The @creekandcave allowed comics to master their craft without spending money or bringing people to do so. It was a unique venue and remained true the vision of its owner @rebelcave. She backed comics even when it was unpopular to do so. Many of them didn’t return the favor.
— Tim Dillon (@TimJDillon) November 12, 2020What I'll miss most about the Creek and the Cave besides doing occasionally well at one of their mics? The bartenders. They were cool people.
— Otto Fernandez (@OttoFernandez) November 12, 2020Rebecca let me run 45 Jokes About My Dead Dad special at the Creek and Cave, it was EXTREMELY helpful. Especially bad news when an independent club goes down.
— Laurie Kilmartin- West Bend WI, March 5 (@anylaurie16) November 12, 2020RIP creek and the cave, the only comedy club where u didn’t get heckled by audience members but by the comedians
— Darian Lusk (@eatpraylusk) November 12, 2020The Creek is the second comedy club to close this year, after Dangerfield’s shut its doors last month after 50 years in business. And it comes at a particularly grim time for the New York City comedy scene, with comics relegated to outdoor shows since the city shut down performance venues in March. Club owners came together back in September to lobby Governor Cuomo for permission to reopen under the same regulations as indoor dining. And at least one club owner, Marko Elgart, has since gone rogue, reopening Brooklyn club EastVille in spite of the restrictions. Trent, who has been the Creek’s owner and booker for the past 14 years, spoke to Vulture briefly about the club’s closure. “Comedy is essential and they’re going to have to figure something out before this happens to other clubs,” she wrote in a text message. “When the city loses its culturals it loses its heart.”
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