Don’t Applaud. Either Laugh or Don’t. (At the Comedy Cellar)

Hankinson (You Could Do Something Amazing with Your Life [You Are Raoul Moat]) presents an original and thought-provoking history of New York’s Comedy Cellar, where famous comedians brush up on skills and try out new material. Starting with Louis CK’s attempts to return to comedy after allegations that he sexually harassed colleagues, Hankinson moves back in time, relying on interviews with Comedy Cellar owner Noam Dworman, whose father opened the club in 1960 as a coffeehouse, and with the club’s staff, patrons, and comedians such as Keith Robinson, Colin Quinn, and Liza Treyger. Hankinson explores audience reactions to performances, such as one woman’s response to comedian Kevin Brennan’s act, which she called hate speech; as well as bias against comedians of color; the safety of women comics at the club; and public pressure on Dworman to fire comics who perform offensive material. Hankinson spends too much time discussing the melodramatic fallout over a slight change to the club’s famed comedians-only table in the upstairs restaurant, and he doesn’t give enough effort to exploring diversity and equity among the club's comics. This is nevertheless a fascinating read about an iconic comedy landmark.