Guy on the Couch

Have you ever had a friend that needs a place to stay?  “No problem,” you tell them.  “Come on over, stay on my couch. Just make sure you pick up after yourself.”   But then after 18 months they are still there, they still do not have a job and they still have no place to go.

You can’t even bring a date home out of fear of the crumbs and cockroaches.   Something has to be done, right?  How do you get rid of them?

What if they have been a great roommate?  They picked up after themselves, were hardly ever there, and brought their own food.  Would you still want to get rid of them?  Some people learn that after the “guy on the couch” phase, they just need to be alone.

After the flood of 08’, Penguins Comedy Club needed a place to stay.  Their home in Downtown Cedar Rapids was flooded and wiped out.  Quickly their friends at Clarion Hotel in Southwest Cedar Rapids invited them to come on over and sleep on the couch. 

The couch at the Clarion hotel was a small room on the back side of the hotel that held about 65 people.  It had a tiny office and a tiny bar.  The room was the size of a double wide trailer. The conditions were a lot different than what Penguins was used to, but they adapted. 

In the beginning everything was great.  Comedians were funny, audiences were good, sales were doing well and it looked like a great relationship had formed.   Then 24 months later the Clarion decided they just wanted to be alone. 

Clarion began to get jealous of all the good looking dates that Penguins was bringing home and decided they need to make a clean break.  “No problem,” Penguins told Clarion.  “I totally understand.”  “I was going to tell you that things are getting really serious with my girlfriend and I was going to move to her place.” “Which one?” asked the Clarion.  “The Piano Lounge.” 

The Piano Lounge and Penguins Comedy Club team up to bring first class entertainment to Cedar Rapids.  Comedy shows will be held every Friday and Saturday at 7pm with dueling pianos to start at 9:30.  The first show in the new location is this Friday at 7pm with Comedian Tim Cavanaugh.