The Rivoli
Encyclopedia
The Rivoli is a bar, restaurant and performance space, established in 1982, on Queen Street West
in Toronto
, Ontario
. The club originally earned a reputation as one of Canada's hippest music clubs, and many major Canadian
comedy and musical performers have played on its stage, including The Kids in the Hall
, Gordon Downie
, The Frantics
, Sean Cullen
and the infamous Dark Shows. The Drowsy Chaperone
premiered at The Rivoli and went on to subsequent productions and eventually a highly successful run on Broadway.
In the 1980s, the Rivoli was synonymous with Toronto's black-garbed Queen West scene (Mike Myers'
Saturday Night Live
German club character Dieter was inspired by a Rivoli waiter). This reputation waned as the club's clientele became more eclectic and upscale, but the Rivoli's atmosphere is still unique. Talent scouts for Montreal
's Just For Laughs
comedy festival and the major television networks still routinely troll the Monday night comedy shows.
From 1987-1990 the Journal of Wild Culture held its regular avant-garde vaudeville nights, the Café of Wild Culture, featuring a mix of artists exploring the magazine's ecology and imagination mandate. Since the 1990s the Rivoli has been home to The ALTdot COMedy Lounge
, Toronto's most popular alternative comedy
show. In 2005, a second weekly show was added, The Sketch Comedy Lounge.
The venue is divided into two main areas, the front and the back. The front of the venue has a bar along most of its west wall. The east side of the front room, separated from the bar by a dividing wall, are tables for dining. The back room of the venue contains a stage at the back. There is a smaller bar in the back room, and some bar seating along the side walls. The audience area is sometimes open for standing room, sometimes tables and chairs are set up, and sometimes chairs are set up in rows. Seating is rarely assigned or reserved. Patrons are typically free to eat or drink in the front room without paying for admission to shows. The Rivoli's menu is known for an eclectic and upscale motif.
Queen Street West
Queen Street West describes both the western branch of Queen Street, a major east-west thoroughfare, and a series of neighbourhoods or commercial districts, situated west of Yonge Street in downtown Toronto, Ontario, Canada. Queen Street begins in the west at the intersection of King Street, The...
in Toronto
Toronto
Toronto is the provincial capital of Ontario and the largest city in Canada. It is located in Southern Ontario on the northwestern shore of Lake Ontario. A relatively modern city, Toronto's history dates back to the late-18th century, when its land was first purchased by the British monarchy from...
, Ontario
Ontario
Ontario is a province of Canada, located in east-central Canada. It is Canada's most populous province and second largest in total area. It is home to the nation's most populous city, Toronto, and the nation's capital, Ottawa....
. The club originally earned a reputation as one of Canada's hippest music clubs, and many major Canadian
Canada
Canada is a North American country consisting of ten provinces and three territories. Located in the northern part of the continent, it extends from the Atlantic Ocean in the east to the Pacific Ocean in the west, and northward into the Arctic Ocean...
comedy and musical performers have played on its stage, including The Kids in the Hall
The Kids in the Hall
The Kids in the Hall is a Canadian sketch comedy group formed in 1984, consisting of comedians Dave Foley, Kevin McDonald, Bruce McCulloch, Mark McKinney, and Scott Thompson. Their eponymous television show ran from 1988 to 1994 on CBC in Canada, and 1989 to 1995 on CBS and HBO in the United States...
, Gordon Downie
Gordon Downie
Gordon Edgar Downie is a Canadian rock musician, writer and occasional actor. He is the lead singer and lyricist for the Canadian rock band The Tragically Hip. He has released three solo albums, Coke Machine Glow in 2001, Battle of the Nudes in 2003; and The Grand Bounce in 2010...
, The Frantics
The Frantics
The Frantics or Frantics is the name of:*The Frantics , a punk rock band.*The Frantics , a Canadian comedy troupe.*The Frantics , a Showtime network series....
, Sean Cullen
Seán Cullen
Seán Cullen is a Canadian comedian. He is known for combining improvisation with mimicry and music. Cullen has been described in Time as the "vanguard of comedy's next generation". He is best known for voicing Four, Five & Seven in Seven Little Monsters. -Career:Cullen entered into the public eye...
and the infamous Dark Shows. The Drowsy Chaperone
The Drowsy Chaperone
The Drowsy Chaperone is a musical with book by Bob Martin and Don McKellar and music and lyrics by Lisa Lambert and Greg Morrison. It debuted in 1998 at The Rivoli in Toronto and opened on Broadway on 1 May 2006. The show won the Tony Award for Best Book and Best Score. It started as a spoof of old...
premiered at The Rivoli and went on to subsequent productions and eventually a highly successful run on Broadway.
In the 1980s, the Rivoli was synonymous with Toronto's black-garbed Queen West scene (Mike Myers'
Mike Myers (actor)
Michael John "Mike" Myers is a Canadian actor, comedian, screenwriter, and film producer of British parentage...
Saturday Night Live
Saturday Night Live
Saturday Night Live is a live American late-night television sketch comedy and variety show developed by Lorne Michaels and Dick Ebersol. The show premiered on NBC on October 11, 1975, under the original title of NBC's Saturday Night.The show's sketches often parody contemporary American culture...
German club character Dieter was inspired by a Rivoli waiter). This reputation waned as the club's clientele became more eclectic and upscale, but the Rivoli's atmosphere is still unique. Talent scouts for Montreal
Montreal
Montreal is a city in Canada. It is the largest city in the province of Quebec, the second-largest city in Canada and the seventh largest in North America...
's Just For Laughs
Just for Laughs
Just for Laughs is a comedy festival held each July in Montreal, Quebec, founded in 1983. It is the largest international comedy festival in the world.- Information :...
comedy festival and the major television networks still routinely troll the Monday night comedy shows.
From 1987-1990 the Journal of Wild Culture held its regular avant-garde vaudeville nights, the Café of Wild Culture, featuring a mix of artists exploring the magazine's ecology and imagination mandate. Since the 1990s the Rivoli has been home to The ALTdot COMedy Lounge
The ALTdot COMedy Lounge
Toronto's most popular alternative comedy show. It runs every Monday at The Rivoli Toronto's most popular alternative comedy show. It runs every Monday at The Rivoli Toronto's most popular alternative comedy show. It runs every Monday at The Rivoli (where The Kids in the Hall frequently...
, Toronto's most popular alternative comedy
Alternative comedy
Alternative comedy is a term that originated in the 1980s for a style of comedy that makes a conscious break with the mainstream comedic style of an era, and typically avoids relying on a standardised structure of a sequence of jokes with punch lines. Patton Oswalt defines it as "comedy where the...
show. In 2005, a second weekly show was added, The Sketch Comedy Lounge.
The venue is divided into two main areas, the front and the back. The front of the venue has a bar along most of its west wall. The east side of the front room, separated from the bar by a dividing wall, are tables for dining. The back room of the venue contains a stage at the back. There is a smaller bar in the back room, and some bar seating along the side walls. The audience area is sometimes open for standing room, sometimes tables and chairs are set up, and sometimes chairs are set up in rows. Seating is rarely assigned or reserved. Patrons are typically free to eat or drink in the front room without paying for admission to shows. The Rivoli's menu is known for an eclectic and upscale motif.