Buffalo Comedy Collective

Good Time Rating: 5 out of 5 giggles

Accessibility Rating: 5 out of 5 removable ramps

5/24/25

Buffalo Comedy Collective

Buffalo, NY

My 10-year-old loves stand up. And improv. And live comedy. And I want to nurture that, I do. But the thing about live, improvisational comedy is one second they're doing fart jokes and my kid is laughing her butt off, and the next second it's dick jokes and I've got to explain some things in the car ride home.

So when my talented friend Lexie told me her improv comedy show, ComedySportz, was family friendly, no one was more psyched than the Small Blonde Child (SBC).

Driving there, I briefly had the notion that instead of a comedy show, Lexie was actually leading us down a dark alley to murder us. The Buffalo Comedy Collective's building looks like an old abandoned warehouse because, well, it sort of is. But don't be fooled by its exterior. A few helpful signs lead us into a beautifully refurbished bar/lounge. The old brick walls just add to the charm of this bright and welcoming space that should be noted, has flat, perfectly smooth floors. There are board games if you'd just like to hang and maybe have a few drinks - the bar offers beer/wine, sodas, popcorn, and paninis.

We headed into the theater to the left, and there was a moment where my heart sank. There's a significant step up to get to the seats. I say a moment, because as soon as they saw me, a portable ramp appeared mere seconds later. Frankly, I was impressed that they had a ramp at all, let alone that they produced it that fast. We picked a spot in the front row, and, without asking, someone followed us so they could remove a seat to make room for my power chair. It was all so easy.

Speaking of easy, it wasn't hard to get front row seats, because there were not a lot of people there. In fact, they had to cancel the following show- a more adult geared stand up routine- because of poor attendance. This is a shame because, and I really cannot say this enough, the show was SO GOOD! YOU SHOULD ALL GO! THERE SHOULD NOT BE EMPTY SEATS! But you wouldn't know attendance was poor from the way the actors behaved. They absolutely gave it their all, small crowd be damned.

ComedySportz is a competitive match between two teams of improvers, with jerseys and a ref and everything. They play a series of improv games, like Six Things, Scattergories, and Blind Line. Points are awarded for funny, and deducted for bad puns and jokes that would make SBC uncomfortable. Audience participation is not required, but encouraged, as all of the games rely on prompts from the audience. They even played one game, Pillars, where they pulled two people up on stage, and, much to her delight, SBC was one of those selected. They had her spitting out random words as they played out a scene, like live action mad libs. The actors were quick on their feet and all around hilarious. If you like shows like Who's Line is it Anyway or half the stuff on Dropout, you will like this.

Speaking as someone who likes to get up on stage herself, I gotta talk about the stage itself. IT HAS A WHEELCHAIR RAMP. I'm highly involved in community theater, and while every theater I've worked with goes out of their way to accommodate my disability, not a one of them has a fully accessible stage. At Buffalo Comedy Collective I could have raised my hand to volunteer and rolled right up there. Better yet, I could take one of the improv classes they offer and do the whole thing in my chair. I could audition and maybe be a part of it! (Although honestly I might be lost without a script).

I could also practically do donuts in their bathrooms, but I'm way more excited about the stage thing. The stage thing is everything.

Later, I shot off a quick email to one of the owners suggesting they add accessibility information to their website. Not only did he say they'd get right on that, he had follow up questions about what the best wording will be! It's refreshing to have a business respond with such positivity and speed, instead of acting like they've been personally attacked and then changing nothing (looking at you, Shea's 710).

I'll be sure to return to Buffalo Comedy Collective. Go give them your money.

UPDATES

Good news! Frightworld has added accessibility information to their website, as promised.

Bad news! Here's how it reads: "Our entrance and lobby are wheelchair accessible, but our haunted houses are not due to their temporary nature. We apologize for any inconvenience."

Like, dude. It's not an "inconvenience", it's an ADA violation. And in case you were wondering, yes, according to the ADA even structures of a "temporary nature" have to be accessible.

I've never reported anyone to the ADA before, but I'm thinking this might be a good place to start. I'll be sure to update how that goes.

In other news, due to a series of unfortunate events, Mister Sizzle's closed and I cried. But! They are now reopen at two locations under the name Augie's. Unfortunately their front door situation at their original location hasn't been addressed yet. Although given the chaos of closing, then opening, and then opening a new store I don't completely blame them for putting that on the back burner. I have faith that it will be fixed, fingers crossed sooner rather than later. I'll update again if/when there are changes.