This athletic shop benefits comedy clubs in New York City.
Historic 2-night, 8-show, 30-piece comics festival at venues across Manhattan paragon sports The chances of a Union Square store being a host are pretty slim.
But that’s actually what’s going to happen at this 116-year-old family-owned specialty store next week at the first event of a potential annual festival produced by 25-year-old duo David Levine and Ethan Mansour. Become. underground overground comedy.
Since April 2021, the Manhattan natives have been organizing comedy shows in unlikely locations, rearranging merchandise and tables, and installing seats and temporary stages in unlikely venues. So far, Alphabet City laundromats, Upper East Side gyms, Lower East Side staples Economy Candy, Katz’s Delicatessen, and Astor Place Hair Stylist have all welcomed the comics, loving them on the racks and in the dryers and among the pastrami. They joke about sex and private jets.
The show is always sold out and at one point had a waiting list of 11,000 people.
“People love our show because it takes them to a different place than the environment they grew up in,” Mansour explained of its popularity. “If you talk to a lot of New Yorkers, they’re like, ‘Oh my gosh, I got my first pair of skis.’ [at Paragon] In 1980. ”
“This is more than just a show. It’s an event,” Levine pointed out, offering audiences not just stand-up in bizarre locations, but an all-in-one evening of entertainment in a space that is an essential and inseparable element. of New York City, he added.
Admission prices often come with themed perks. Paragon Festival tickets also include Joe’s Pizza.
The duo, who were part of the PS 6 chess team as children, are now leveling up for what will be their most ambitious work to date and their “biggest event yet,” Mansour said. he told the Post.
During the eight shows they’ve held at Paragon since February last year, they’ve performed separate shows on each floor; Upcoming Bakusho lineup This would be a scheduling feat with sets happening on all floors at the same time.
So far, their first festival is off to a strong start. Within days of tickets going on sale April 17th for the May 15th and 16th shows, all 1,200 tickets were sold out at $65 each — and fans didn’t even know who was scheduled to perform. There remains no.
The line-up’s secrecy means it avoids using talent to produce the show, instead featuring big-name performers such as “Daily Show” correspondent Roy Wood Jr. and “Saturday Night Live” performer Marcelo Hernandez. This is typical of Mr. Levine and Mr. Mansour, who rely on their reputations. And it offers a unique experience in an environment full of unexpected nostalgia.
Paragon said it is excited to participate and leverage its large footprint and iconic New York brand for purposes beyond retail.
Since overcoming the coronavirus, the company has put a special focus on “creating unique events that bring in new customers,” said Zachary Blank, Paragon’s fourth CEO. His great-grandfather started the business in 1908.
Working with Underground Overground has been a “phenomenal experience” so far, Blank added. “They bring in a great crowd. Everyone is very nice and very polite on the way out, but that’s not always the case.”
With venue organizers excited, all tickets sold out, and pre-press secured, Levine and Mansour don’t have much left to do for the festival, but hang in there. And I’m worried that one of the headliners will get a last-minute comp to sit courtside. Dropped out at a Knicks game.
“I can’t blame them,” Levine said of comedians canceling with such excuses, “but I’ve been praying for the Knicks to lose.”
