By Cortney Casey
C & G Staff Writer

In Michigan’s all-around depressing economy, metro Detroiters need something to laugh about now more than ever.

The good news — especially considering current gas prices —is that suburbanites looking to satisfy their craving for comedy need not stray far from home.

Amid a sea of rising costs, local comedy clubs continue to represent an affordable night out, said Bill Hargis, owner of Chaplin’s Comedy Club in Clinton Township, where Friday and Saturday shows range $7-$12 per ticket.

Hargis said summer has always seen smaller crowds because people tend to migrate toward outdoor activities. But with the current economic situation, he’s found that more would-be patrons are redirecting discretionary entertainment funding toward necessities.

“It is harder to get people in the doors,” said Hargis, who purchased Fountainview Lanes 23 years ago and launched the adjacent Chaplin’s a year later. “It’s really tough out there now.”

In response, he said, the 400-seat club — which also encompasses a lounge serving food and drinks — has kept its admission prices steady and accepts competitor’s coupons.

Throughout the summer months, Chaplin’s focuses primarily on local talent, booking comics who travel nationwide the rest of the year but call Detroit home.

Hargis said comedians ranging from Jeff Foxworthy to Rosie O’Donnell to Dennis Miller have taken the stage at Chaplin’s prior to hitting the big time. Photos of the famous faces that have passed through the club line the facility’s star-studded “Wall of Fame.”

“There’s so much talent on that wall, it’s unreal,” said Hargis.

The Holly Hotel Comedy Club also is trying to appeal to penny-pinching patrons with $59 dining club memberships that combine meals in the hotel’s restaurant with free passes to the club, located in the basement.

Manager Vinnie Link said the club boasts an intimate atmosphere, seating 110-120 spectators. The casual ambience generated by its cobblestone walls and visible rafters contrasts with the formal Victorian structure above, where many visitors enjoy a multi-course meal before heading to the club, he said.

“It’s just a small room with a single stage, single microphone,” he said. “It’s really cool. Downstairs is a totally other animal.”

Link said the Holly Hotel Comedy Club’s claim to fame is serving as the launching pad for comedian Tim Allen. Since the facility’s establishment in 1984, “a lot of the local names have been through,” he said. “The comics know our venue’s cool. It has a great reputation among the comics.”

It may have relocated from downtown, but Second City Detroit, now in Novi, is still bringing the laughs.

General Business Manager Lisa Chapman said the club eliminated its main stage cast this past February in favor of hosting touring companies from Second City facilities throughout the country.

The productions remain original to Second City, with content tweaked to appeal to the area and casting done locally when possible, said Chapman.

“It’s always topical humor,” she said. “It’s very relevant to what’s going on in the state. And we definitely do localize it.”

At its inception, Second City Detroit’s downtown facility contained 350 seats arranged around cocktail tables; later, it shifted to theater-style seating to accommodate 500 guests.

Since moving to Novi, the club has returned to its roots, reverting to the cocktail table setup and seating 200, said Chapman.

“You’re still pretty close to the action,” she said.

Come fall, metro Detroiters will have another option in suburban comedy: Go Comedy! Improv in Ferndale. Pj Jacokes, a partner and producer for the club, said the goal is to be open by late September.

“Our main focus is going to be improv comedy — some of it from local troupes, most of it from a house troupe,” he said.

Go Comedy! will offer sketch comedy, a full schedule of improv performance and sketch-writing classes, and an “alternative programming night,” featuring theater, monologues, bands and other entertainment, he said. Snack food and drinks also will be available.

Jacokes said he and his two co-founders have been involved in Detroit’s improv and theater community for the last decade.

“The three of us have what we hope is a vast knowledge of the area and improv, and what works in that kind of club and doesn’t,” he said. “Ferndale’s a pretty nice fit. It’s a little bit quirky, but both Ferndale and improv are.”

You can reach Staff Writer Cortney Casey at ccasey@candgnews.com or at (586) 498-1046.