CHELSEA — Comedian Louis C.K. has sold out venues across the country, but a group of lucky comedy aficionados got the chance to see a set of new material at a surprise show in Chelsea — for free.
Louis C.K. appeared unexpectedly at the Upright Citizens Brigade Theatre at 307 W. 26th St. on Monday night, much to the joy of his surprised audience.
"It was awesome, really wasn't expecting that," wrote user sqrage on Reddit. "It was all new material as far as I could tell, which was, by the way, hilarious."
UCB staffer Alex Sidtis confirmed that C.K. showed up to delight audiences with his unique form of blunt humor at "Whiplash," the comedy theater's free 11 p.m. show. The comedian's popularity has grown during the past year after a whirlwind stand-up tour and a successful TV show, "Louie," on FX. Sidtis said the comedian occasionally drops in to test out new material.
There were approximately 200 people in the audience, and C.K. was on stage for about 25 minutes, according to John Frisciante, UCB artistic associate.
C.K. recently made headlines by making his latest comedy special, "Live at the Beacon Theater," available online for $5. As of Dec. 21, C.K. had made more than $1 million in online sales, and gave about $280,000 to charities.
