| Capitol City Comedy Club (L-49) 8120 Research Blvd., 467-2333. When the best nationally touring headline comics come through Austin, they play at Cap City. All the comics you enjoy for five sanitized minutes on Leno or Letterman can let their hair down and go nuts when they play live, and the spacious stage and showroom provide a relaxed, comfortable setting. Cap City also nurtures the local scene, hosting open mikes and special shows for up-and-coming Austin talent. With a full bar and good pub grub, Cap City is your one-stop entertainment shop, seven nights a week. ComedySportz Playhouse (L-50) 2525 W. Anderson, 266-3397. The most fun you can have at a mall would be catching a show at the Playhouse. ComedySportz is a national chain of clubs that feature structured competition in improvisational comedy. Two teams of performers face off in a series of improv games and the audience gets to decide who wins. Famous for good, clean, family fun, ComedySportz also offers good food like pizza and stromboli and beer and wine for the grown-ups. Housed in a former bank, the bathrooms at the Playhouse are behind a real vault door; don't close it behind you! Esther's Follies (L-1) 525 E. Sixth, 320-0553. If you've ever wondered what that big, colorful aquarium place sitting on the corner of Sixth & Red River is, well, you must have your head under a rock. That's Esther's Pool, where Austin's beloved comedy, magic and musical satire troupe, Esther's Follies, has been rocking Austin audiences three nights a week for 21 years. The Pool is a friendly, festive house packed with laughing faces, and when the Follies take to the street for the big picture-window finales, they'll even draw a crowd on the sidewalk. Good times are guaranteed! Ritz Lounge & Theatre (L-3) 320 E. Sixth, 474-2270. Good things come in small packages, usually with Shiner on tap and a sexy waitstaff. Climbing the treacherously narrow staircase just to the left of the Ritz's main entrance, you find yourself in what used to be the balcony section of the old Ritz Theatre. Now partitioned off for use as a alternative lounge area ("Electric Pussycat Swinger's Lounge" takes over every Wednesday night, for example), the space has also played host to Bill Daniels' "Funhouse Cinema" series, the occasional Luke Savisky film installation, and the "Dark Comedy Night" with some of the city's rowdiest stand-up comics. Quirky seating with rag-tag tables and such accomodates up to 150 people, and manager John Mitchell will let you have the space for free if you're a local filmmaker looking to screen that new opus dei of yours. Purely Austin, it's sort of a low-rent version of the Paramount, a scruffy, slingshot-wielding kid brother to that theatre's Grande Dame. Velveeta Room (L-2) 521 E. Sixth, 469-9116. The VRoom, also known as the Cheese Palace, was created for Kerry Awn's oily lounge character from Esther's, Ronnie Velveeta. Hosting stand-up comedy and the improv stylings of Monks' Night Out, the Velveeta provides alternative, creative comedy like you'll find nowhere else. Its bright, tacky colors and cheesy furnishings provide an atmosphere that just screams, "Wacky!" Nearly everyone from the Austin comedy scene who has gone on to bigger and better things honed their chops at the Velveeta; it's where tomorrow's stars are working today. | |  |
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