From backstage with Dave Chappelle to big compliments from George Lopez, Wende Curtis has much to share after over two decades of owning Comedy Works.
has become a historic comedy hub since Edd Nichols, Doug Olson and comedian George McKelvey opened its downtown location in 1981. The club opened as the Comedy Shoppe before quickly changing to its well-known moniker the same year it opened.
Originally from Garden City, Kansas, her family moved to Aurora when she was eleven in 1974. Curtis's father opened an auto parts store on Brighton Boulevard, and she assisted him by counting inventory and cleaning her family's business. She attended Hinkley High School, where she performed in musicals, and intended to attend acting school after graduating from CSU.
Owners Nichols and Olson sold Comedy Works to First Entertainment Inc. in 1990. Eleven years later, Curtis, Olson and another partner purchased the club, and by 2002, Curtis had bought out both partners to become the sole owner. Throughout her tenure, Curtis has guided Comedy Works through the industry's various stages of growth. And she's seen some great comedy along the way.
Curtis's involvement in booking began a year after joining Comedy Works, allowing her to witness the dedication and growth of comedians who would go on to become household names. She highlights the close bonds and respect that have been pillars of Comedy Works' philosophy by sharing touching tales of her encounters with renowned comedians.
"It was on a Friday night," she recalls."He died in January 2022 and had been at the South club in November. I went into the green room before the opening acts had started and we talked for a while. I met his new wife for the first time; I'd been out of town before, so I didn't get a chance to meet her. Before he goes onstage, he says, ‘I love you. Am I going to see you tomorrow?' And I said, 'I have to be Downtown, so maybe, but I don't think so.
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