by April Fool’s Day will be the worst prank ever for fans of Meltdown Comics and the NerdMelt Showroom for comedy inside of it.
The joint is closing for good on March 30, 2018.
We are very sad to announce the closure of the NerdMelt Showroom starting March 30th. Thanks to all the performers, producers, audience members, staff, and anyone else who helped build this wonderful community. Much love to you all! https://t.co/PWgUkao4Sz
— NerdMelt Showroom (@NerdMelt) March 21, 2018
That Twitter link brings you to this note:
We know this is very soon and unexpected; it’s as much of a shock to us as it is to you.
We want to thank you for all the support you’ve shown over the years, and we hope you have enjoyed any and all experiences you’ve had at the NerdMelt Showroom. We are so proud to have put on such remarkable shows, to have featured such talented performers, and to have entertained such wonderful audience members. This is truly the end of an era.
We hope you are able to attend a show before we close–check out our calendar for the remaining events.
Meltdown Comics had been around for 25 years. Chris Hardwick used the upstairs as a launching pad for The Nerdist Podcast and others that followed. Downstairs in the back, Emily V. Gordon made the NerdMelt Showroom run from the start, with help from the show she produced with husband Kumail Nanjiani and Jonah Ray. That weekly showcase begat multiple seasons on Comedy Central.
Many other show ideas were born in NerdMelt.
I last visited the place this January, where Marcella Arguello had taken over the hot Wednesday night slot with Woman Crush Wednesdays.
It was still a great show and a great room.
So, what happened?
Nerdist posted a letter written by Meltdown Comics founder Gaston Dominguez-Letelier.
It reads, in part:
“No business is easy, least of all one rooted in paper surrounded by brick and mortar, yet against all odds we survived just long enough to host, share, and celebrate some of the most creative and imaginative artists in the world. It has been my personal privilege to welcome so many incredibly talented minds through our doors giving them and their work a home in this great city of ours.
And what a wonderfully surreal run it’s been… we’ve watched every fad, trend, and next big thing come and go while customers became celebrities, children blossomed to adults, geeks morphed into moguls, and fanboys scored Oscars. Throughout it all, I’ve been most fortunate to be surrounded by my family and the best staff anyone could have ever wished for – through thick and thin you supported Meltdown and invested in me, I will never be able to repay you but know that I am eternally grateful and forever in your debt.
As I prepare to extinguish Sunset’s neon know that there is a new path for me (more later) and I close Meltdown without any regret. For 25 years I have been enriched by every inquisitive mind I have encountered on this journey and for that I humbly thank you, all of you.”
Combined with the recent closure of iO West, NerdMelt’s departure will create a big void in LA’s indie comedy scene.
