Brody Theater

Saw a show tonight, it was our first improv sketch show. It was a fun evening and I had a lot of laughs, and some of the performers were really great! A couple of the cast members seemed a little green, as I expected given they host classes at the theater. As they get more experience I would rate higher (5 stars).
Looking forward to coming back!

In a month, I’ve visited here twice and both shows were delightful and I had honest, deep laughter both times. I can’t comment on the school… yet…but I’m going to start taking classes there and will expand on my review at that time.
What I can tell you is that the people are very funny, the bar isn’t bad and the pours are generous, and the space is intimate without feeling overbearing or oppressive. About my ONLY criticism is the neighborhood, but as a strapping lad, it’s not much of an issue for me!
If you’re looking for something new to do, check the Brody Theater out!

Just completed the Standup Comedy Class with Tom Johnson. He covered everything from microphone etiquette to how to script a set. He helped every one prepare. The audience was very pleased as they came out to see us on a cold night in December 2015 and saw well prepared comics.

Hilarious shows. Fun atmosphere with friendly staff. The classes are also outstanding – improv, stand-​up, sketch, acting – everything you could want. Food can be a bit slow sometimes but for bar food the options and quality are tops. Go! Laugh!

Bravo to the team at the Brody Theatre. My wife and I grabbed tickets to a Saturday night performance of improv comedy. The venue is just the right size to offer a great seat everywhere. Before and during the show, you can enjoy food and drinks. The crew and performers did a wonderful job and we laughed throughout the performance. We enjoyed it so much we stayed for the second performance of the evening. They also have a weekly open mic night that sounds fun. We will be back again!

I’ve come here a couple times for their open mic nights to support a friend. It’s small and intimate and the quality of the open mic comics is always a toss-​up. There’s always at least a few pretty good ones. Otherwise, the setup seems pretty supportive, even for those who don’t do as well. And the MC’s that I’ve seen were pretty damn funny.
No entry fee, just a one item minimum purchase, which is awesome. The food was also surprisingly good. I had one of their paninis with a side of tater tots (don’t judge me, I love tots). I definitely want to come back to see some of the organized shows.

The improv musical I saw at Brody Theater was excellent. I’m not a huge improv fan in general, so I was pleasantly surprised by how funny it was, how well it all flowed together, and the high quality of the music itself. Definitely recommended!

I’ve been coming to the Brody for years. It was one of the first places I found when I moved to Portland and it made me excited for the creative opportunities within the city. I initially started going just to watch the (increasingly popular) open mics but over time have come to love their more curated shows. The set-​up of the Brody is very intimate but you never feel like you’re the only one in there. There are tables and rows of chairs near the front, high chairs near the back, and tables and theater seating off to the side, which is elevated. I especially like the side seating. You have a nice view of the stage (unless you’re far back on the hidden away couch) and still feel the laughs bouncing around the room. Unfortunately this puts you near the door and you do have to put up with the (slight) noise of people walking in and out. The bathroom is sort of awkwardly placed at the far side of the room and I do feel a little weird coming in and out of there as the audience kind of sees your coming and going. Not a huge deal though.
The mics are generally hosted by a more established comic. Who performs on the show is a true grab bag of good and bad. I used to watch Ian Karmel and Shane Torres (both of whom have moved out of Portland and on to jobs that include national TV) do hilarious sets up there for crowds of just a couple dozen or less. I love watching all that raw talent and seeing the comics develop their voices over time. Portland has some awesome people. Of course there are total trainwrecks but even those are kind of fun to watch in a cringey way and they’ll be off in a couple minutes. There is a one item minimum for the free mics and they’re nice enough to have that either be food or alcohol. A lot of nights I’m not drinking and just getting some food (they have a surprisingly robust and tasty menu) or a snack fulfills that requirement. They don’t hound you or anything but it’s the least a person can do for a couple hours of free entertainment. The bar is in the back of the room with a nice view to the stage and it never takes more than a couple minutes to be served.
They have paid shows of the stand-​up and improv variety. I’ve never been much of an improv fan but they have some awesome teams up there who create an entire scene and characters on an almost bare stage. The bareness and basement feel of the place are actually some of its charms. You can tell the building is old as hell but it’s very atmospheric and there are old B movie posters hung all over the place.
The curated comedy-​shows are almost always under $ 10 and feature some of the best stand-​ups in town. Since it’s a pay show they usually show up with their A game material and really want to make the audience laugh. I have noticed that a lot of times the audience is largely made up of comedians but as a civilian I don’t mind. The people are friendly and the owner Tom is a nice guy. He often works the bar in back or introduces the show, then keeps to the background. He’s even done improv on the Brody stage with Bob Odenkirk of Breaking Bad fame. That in itself is incredible.
Overall: Brody has a nice, basement feel vibe to it even though it’s street level. When the shows are packed and the audience laughing it’s one of the best places to be to see what kind of comedic talent Portland has to offer.

The boyfriend and I always try to find new and exciting things to do on a Friday night. We love comedy and I found online that on Friday nights, Brody Theater has improv. It’s different and fun to see people wing it on the fly versus seeing the usual standup and already prepared comedy routine.
I believe doors open at 7 and the show begins at 7:30. It’s $ 12 to get in, but if you have a student ID card, use that to only pay $ 9 so that you can use what you save on drinks! The drinks are reasonably priced (well drinks are around $ 4) and accompanies well with the randomness that goes on with the improv crew.
There were about eight individuals up there working it and creating various and interesting scenarios. They even involve the crowd by getting ideas of what scene they can put themselves in. I highly recommend their improv for something new and different on a Friday night with your boo thang.

Didn’t know an improv scene existed in pdx till last friday, now that I do know, i’m going to frequent this place more often. Its a tiny place in the alphabet district, blink and you’ll miss it. Get there early to get good seats and grab a beer from the bar. I saw Brainwaves perform last weekend and they were really good.

Hidden in a slightly shady part of town, this theater space looks plain and even closed for business outside, but once you come inside you find a real neat theater space with a full bar in the back and various comfortable thrown together seating up front (plus some set-​off seating near the obscured windows), with the venue set up to frame a decent sized stage.
The improv was a lot of fun, easy going enough to make you feel at home but sharp enough to make you feel like you were watching seasoned professionals. The prime time show only cost $ 12, a pretty good deal for a 90 minute show, and I’m glad there’s at least one great place to see improv in Portland.

I went her for the Sunday evening «Diabolical Experiments» show. It was very inexpensive $ 7, cheap. The first half were student performances, and the second half was veterans doing their thing. The show was the show (I enjoyed it), but the place itself is what I’m reviewing…
I LOVE IT! It’s laid out very much like a comedy club, only with a much, much smaller house. There’s multiple levels of seating. A super cool, super affordable bar. Tea lights… TEA LIGHTS!!! I walked around the house a bit and sort of tried to do some critique on the sly… the sight lines were really good. A lot of times in make-​shift spaces there’s not enough attention given to details like that. This was either a happy accident, or someone did actually take the time and effort to make this little box into a good ass theater.
Go see things there.

I went for a Saturday night show. The place is nice, but it was maybe a third full, and worse, it just wasn’t very funny, especially for something advertised as having ‘greatest hits’ material. Sometimes the people on stage were even reading off scripts. I had a couple of smiles, I guess, but no real laughs. Maybe it would have been better if I was drunk, but as it was it was more awkward than funny.

Went here last night and had so much fun! The liquor was good. The staff make you feel comfortable the comedy was a good variety. I will be back!

I’ve taken an improv workshop here… I was introduced to the concept and gained an appreciation for how hard it is to be funny within the rules… I really liked it and plan on going back for the whole class thing.
I even came back one Sunday for their diabolical experiments show… That was pretty cool… Did not disappoint at all… a night out for 5 bucks? Sign me up!

At this point, I am writing a review for the beginner improv classes at the Brody Theater. I have, so far, been to only one show and plan to see a bunch more before I commit anything to paper (not only can you no longer commit things to paper, but you can’t even accurately SAY that you are committing it to paper… Damn technology). But worry not, no technology at ye old Brody Theater.
The Theater is small, dark and may need some work, but it still somehow quite charming. Movie posters on the wall, a small bar in the back. At least two decent-​sized bathrooms. The space feels a little cramped for the fairly large class of 15 – 17? But it’s quite cozy and fine for performances. But somehow it still works, and maybe it’s even conducive to learning to share an improv stage or some such b.s. But either way, our teacher, Marilyn makes it work and makes you want to work.
She’s the bees knees — and if you don’t have a Marilyn leading your beginner improv class, than you was robbed! She is great. On first glance she seems this tiny woman with a slightly squeaky voice, but it is soon clear that she’s a powerhouse in her own right. She’s a great and supportive teacher. The class is fun, active, challenging and the folks here really seem to want each other to do well.
One of the folks in class said they took a class at another place in town, and likes this one so much better! I was excited but incredibly nervous about the class, but I am in no way dissapointed — week after week. The Theater is in a funky part of town, lock your doors, but then again, parking is no problem!

This is a small little place near Burnside, nothing fancy inside, but intimate it is, you’re right near the stage no matter where you sit. Super simple, basic menu with just a few items. I was hungry at some point and had me some $ 4.50 tater tots. Reminded me of when I was in school and they served them with sloppy joes in the cafeteria back in the good old days when I wasn’t an adult.
The price to attend is decent and the improv actors did a great job. I recognized one guy, but couldn’t figure out where I had seen him. Turns out he’s one of the local news guys, both he and his wife are improv actors on the side. Good job I say. There are various shows along with classes and contest for locals who want to test their ability to do improv. Honestly, I thought stand up was hard, but nothing beats improv. Talk about having to think on your feet and come up with something funny to say on the spot, not easy.

It’s been about 4 months since I’ve gone (as I don’t live in Portland) but should I go back to the city I would go back to the theater.
The improv was generally good. I’d give the majority of the performers a 3 star rating but there were two in particular that I’d give 5 stars to. Of course you never know what you get when you are working with students. But the even seemed well organized.
I could do with a little less mention of politics. I noticed a lot of MC’s of improvs love to cram their political opinions down your throat for 30−70% of the time. The gentleman at Brody did about 65% of the time. (It’s fine to mention that stuff. Better to not, though)
So If I could give 3 ½ stars I would. But I can’t so 4 is the choice!

Where can you see up-​and-​coming comedians and improv specialist for less than $ 10? The Brody Theater, that’s where.
Full bar and a food menu.
What’s that… you say you were thinking about being funny? Well, the Brody has all types of improv, stand-​up, and comedy writing classes. I highly suggest you take a look.
A word about Tom Johnson… he’s a great guy and runs a good theater. So check it out the next time you are wondering «what are we doing tonight?»

This is a great venue for seeing some fresh stand up. By fresh i mean very unprocessed, unpolished, new performers (which means not necessarily set up/​punch — every seconds — pace of more established comedy headliners).
The venue itself is nicely laid out and does not feel like a clusterf*&^%k which indy theaters tend to be. Even though i paid full price (they offer heavily discounted admission on line, and thru their newsletter) i felt like i got my money’s worth. The performers were all over the place, from pretty solid to pretty hard to watch (this is a good thing in my opinion).
If i lived in PDX id be a regular here.