News track: Penguins owner keeps laughter flowing through various venues

CEDAR RAPIDS — First came Hollywood’s Comedy Club, then two years later — 1989 — Jeff Johnson bought the business, housed in the basement below Gringo’s at 207 First Ave. SE. He changed the named to Penguins Comedy Club, and stayed there until the 2008 flood inundated that space.

The next weekend, Penguins resumed its funny business at the Clarion Hotel & Convention Center (now the Ramada Inn) at 525 33rd Ave. SW.

Penguins returned downtown Oct. 15, 2010, sharing space with The Piano Lounge in the basement at 208 Second Ave. SE, basically across the alley from the club’s original home. The Piano Lounge became The Vault in February 2012, and in 2014, Johnson sold the comedy club to the new Vault owners, but retained ownership of the Penguins name, and continued booking and marketing acts there.

Johnson said the space had changed owners four times since then, until the pandemic closed the doors in March 2020.

“The owners of it at that point decided not to reopen after things came out of COVID,” said Johnson, now 61, of Fairfax.

What’s happened since

The pandemic became the pivot point for Penguins.

“After that, I decided that I was going to do shows using the Penguins names in two different locations,” Johnson said. “One is the Olympic Theater — I’ve done probably 10 shows there — and I’ve done probably three or four shows at the Ideal Theater. They're both really cool theaters and fun little venues.”

All of those events have sold out or nearly sold out, showing Johnson “the demand is huge” for comedy in this area. “There's definitely an appetite for comedy,” he said, noting that a couple other local venues also serve up comedy, mostly as open mic events.

Johnson still brings comedians and acts to the Paramount Theatre, as well. On an especially busy night March 23, he booked Creed Bratton (a singer in The Grass Roots and an actor in television’s “The Office”) at the Olympic, and A.J. Croce with his “Croce Plays Croce” musical act at the Paramount.

When Johnson isn’t using the Penguins name, he books acts under the umbrella of the USA Entertainment Agency he founded. The brand’s website says he’s booked more than 8,000 live band, comedy acts and dueling pianos shows in the Midwest since 1989.

One of Johnson’s major successes was launching the touring version of the Impractical Jokers at Penguins on Nov. 6, 2012. He still serves as the touring manager for the wildly successful pranksters who sell out major stadiums at home and abroad.

Fall season

Since summers are a tough time to book shows, he’s ramping up for fall.

He has five shows booked at the Olympic South Side Theater, 1202 Third St. SE, and three at the Ideal Theater, 213 16th Ave. SE, just a block or so apart in the NewBo District, as well as the Paramount Theatre and at the Riverside Casino Event Center.

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Billed as the Olympic Theater Comedy Series Presented by Penguins Comedy Club, the lineup includes Pat Godwin and Jeff Oskay on Sept. 30; Heywood Banks on Oct. 14; Michael Palasak on Oct. 26; Dueling Pianos on Nov. 22; and Doug Thompson’s hypnosis show on Dec. 18. Johnson also is negotiating to bring Bobcat Goldthwait there in February 2024 but that deal hasn’t been finalized

At the Ideal Theater: Dan Alten and Danny Franks on Oct. 6; Nathan Timmel on Nov. 3; and Tim Sullivan on Nov. 25.

At the Paramount Theatre, 123 Third Ave. SE: Singer/songwriter Maddie Poppe on Dec. 10 and a Cher Tribute titled “The Beat Goes On,” starring Lisa McClowry, on Jan. 25.

And at the Riverside Casino Event Center, 3184 Highway 22, Riverside: Bored Teachers on Sept. 28; Howie Mandel on Oct. 20; Larry the Cable Guy on Oct. 27; and Nikki Glaser on Oct. 28.

Tickets and information are available on the Penguins Facebook page and riversidecasinoandresort.com/eventcenter.html.

Venue views

For comedy, Johnson prefers the intimacy of smaller venues.

“I personally love having comedy in low ceilings, an intimate venue, close to the stage, because it's just a better experience than when you go see a comic in an arena or a huge theater,” he said.

Pointing to the Ideal, he added, “Even though the ceilings aren’t super low, the people are sitting really close to the stage, and the laughter is right there. It's so good to watch a show when you can be that close to the audience and the audience can see the comic’s face.”

And laughter is the best medicine, as people venture back into the venues after all the pandemic pauses.

“I think it's so important — especially now that people can go out and laugh — for mental health,” Johnson said. “They always talk about how healthy it is to laugh. It’s like going to a movie — you're gone for an hour and a half to two hours, and you hopefully just put your struggles and your cares away. And that's what comedy does, in most cases.”

Comments: (319) 368-8508; diana.nollen@thegazette.com