Carolines On Broadway

Carolines on Broadway is a venue for stand-up comedy located in Times Square in New York City on Broadway between 49th and 50th Street. It is one of the most established, famous, and recognized stand-up comedy clubs in the United States. Its marketing slogan is "America's Premiere Comedy Nightclub." Many of the top headliners in the U.S. have performed at Carolines, including Paul Reubens, Jerry Seinfeld, Jay Leno, Bill Hicks, Andrew Dice Clay, Gilbert Gottfried, Andy Borowitz, Joy Behar, Jon Stewart, Robin Williams, Colin Quinn, Chris Rock, Norm Macdonald, Elayne Boosler, Michael Richards, Richard Belzer, Chris Rush and Mitch Hedberg. Other popular stand-ups that have headlined at Caroline's include Patrice O'Neal, Jim Norton, Greg Giraldo, Adam Ferrara, Dave Attell, Rich Vos, Bill Burr, Bob Kelly, Lee Camp, Harrison Greenbaum, Modi Rosenfeld and Stephen Lynch.

Caroline Hirsch opened her eponymous cabaret in Chelsea, New York, in 1981. She started booking comedians, and these were so popular that soon she was booking nothing else. Needing a larger venue, Caroline's moved to South Street Seaport where it gained national recognition as the venue for A&E Network's Caroline's Comedy Hour television series, which won a CableACE award for Best Stand-Up Comedy Series. In 1992, the club moved to a 300-seat space in Times Square. The new club received the American Institute of Architecture Award for Best Interior Club Design and was featured on the cover of Interior Design magazine. In December of 2009, Caroline's played host to the first public reunion of Dave Chappelle, Paul Mooney, and Charlie Murphy since the cancellation of Chappelle's Show.

Before he died of cancer, the final stand-up appearance of Bill Hicks' career was at Caroline's in January 1994. Mitch Hedberg also performed his last shows at the club before he died in March 2005. Patrice O'Neal's last shows, prior to dying from complications of a stroke a month later, were at Caroline's in October 2011.