Comedians pay tribute to the Upright Citizens Brigade as theater permanently shutters NYC locations

(Image credit: Bryan Bedder/Getty Images)

published 21 April 2020

The Upright Citizens Brigade might be responsible for creating some of the funniest people in America, but nobody was laughing Tuesday when co-founders Amy Poehler, Matt Besser, Ian Roberts, and Matt Walsh announced the permanent closure of UCB's locations in New York due to the coronavirus outbreak.

"This is devastating to us, but for some time now, even in a normal, robust economy, we have barely been able to pay the high rents in New York City for the Hell's Kitchen Theater and the Training Center," the creators wrote in an email, as reported by Vulture. "Given the indefinite shutdown of all theaters and schools in both Los Angeles and New York City and the anticipated slow and uncertain return to normal when restrictions are lifted, we cannot afford to continue on in our New York City leases."

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Jeva Lange was the executive editor at TheWeek.com. She formerly served as The Week's deputy editor and culture critic. She is also a contributor to Screen Slate, and her writing has appeared in The New York Daily News, The Awl, Vice, and Gothamist, among other publications. Jeva lives in New York City. Follow her on Twitter.