Magoobys Joke House is a Hub of Top-Notch Comedy

Sketches of two giants of comedy stare down from the front wall at the stage of Magoobys Joke House. Richard Pryor has a wry smile on his face, like he’s amused slightly. The look on George Carlin’s mug is a bit more quizzical, as if he can’t believe what he’s hearing.

For the past 15 years, the Timonium comedy club has hosted stand-ups of all ilk, from heavyweights like Tracy Morgan, Nate Bargatze, and Richard Lewis to up-and comers and down-and-outers. Through it all, brother-owners Andrew and Marc Unger (no relation to this writer) have remained dedicated to providing a top-notch venue for the full spectrum of fans and performers of an art form that Andrew says has no equal.

“It’s just [the comic] and a mic and a different audience each night and you never know exactly how the crowd’s going to respond,” he says. “I can’t think of anything harder in entertainment.”

Andrew was in the investment banking business when, seeking a professional change, he and his brother, Marc, a stand-up comic and co-creator of the web series Thespian, took over an existing comedy club in 2007 beneath The Bowman restaurant in Parkville. Marc had performed there and thought it had the potential to be improved. Within a couple of years, the Ungers transformed it from a place attracting 50 or so people a week to one that drew upward of 400.

In 2010, they moved it to what was formerly a dinner theater on Deereco Road and, three years later, added the Wits End Saloon, an attached whiskey-focused bar that hosts open-mics on Tuesdays and Thursdays. Now, their 300-seat club is among the largest in the region.

“You want to motivate people to put some pants on and come out to see live comedy,” says Andrew, pictured above. “Make it a special night for them. Great service.  Good food. Provide an environment that is conducive to good stand-up comedy. The more intimate, the better connection the comedian has to the audience.”

Each month, the club hosts a new-talent showcase. Winners advance to a larger competition in which Magoobys crowns its New Comedian of the Year. It may soundlike a silly title, but it can provide a significant boost to a comedian’s career. Past victors include Tires stars Shane Gillis and Baltimore’s own Stavros Halkias (whose photo was recently stolen from the club’s wall-of-fame in the lobby).

Besides, silly is exactly what the Ungers were going for when they came up with the name Magoobys. A combination of Andrew’s nicknames for his two oldest c hildren, what it lacks in gravitas it makes up for with inanity.

“We knew comics would make fun of it, and they do, which is great,” he says. “It’s kind of ridiculous that you have to go work at a place called Magoobys Joke House.”

Pryor and Carlin would no doubt agree.