(L-R) Kelly Buttermore, Justin Peters, Kevin Michalski, John Lasavath, and Matt Walker. Credit: Kelly Buttermore / The Commodore
Believe it or not, the creators of Tampa’s beloved Commodore saw the rundown old pool hall and thought 811 E 11th Ave. was too good to pass up.
“We definitely leapt before we looked,” Kelly Buttermore told Creative Loafing Tampa Bay. “Were we ready? Absolutely not. But, you know, ‘if you build it, they will come, right?”
Still, people didn’t immediately start coming. There were many shows where the comedians onstage outnumbered people of the audience. Buttermore is grateful that those paying customers didn’t walk out.
Turns out the vision and ambition of that first team team—including John Lasavath, Kevin Michalski, Justin Peters, and Matt Walker—has been more than enough. This weekend, the improv comedy space that evolved into so much more celebrates two years of laughs.
As Buttermore explains it, running a business like The Commodore involves a lot of leaping and being ready to adapt and evolve ideas you might’ve had. Her spot turned that corner last year, when. they realized the shop was more than an improv theater.
“While comedy (and improv, especially) will always be at the heart of what we do, we’re a performance venue now.,” she said, noting the burlesque, poetry, concerts and more that happen there. It’s a fine watering hole, too.
The Commodore in Tampa, Florida on Nov. 5, 2024. Credit: Ray Roa / Creative Loafing Tampa Bay
More than anything, the New York native added, is that the team there stands for Tampa, a weird a beautiful city that was meant to have a venue like this one.
“It’s always been our mission that what happens here embodies what makes Tampa so great. We want to hold up a mirror to Tampa and its residents and reflect the best of this city back to itself — while hopefully making people laugh along the way,” Buttermore added. “It’s taken a hell of a lot of work, on the parts of so many people, to get to this point, but it matters that we’re here. And we can’t wait to have one hell of a party this weekend to celebrate.”
That party includes Saturday’s Wreck Fest, a more than 12-hour comedy marathon that kicks off at noon that includes nearly 60 acts. Sunday includes a 90-minute year in review where Buttermore & co. will recap the year with lists and dumb its.
And anyone who wants to get started early can join the team for happy hour on Friday, Nov. 7 at 6:30 p.m. ahead of the next edition of the now beloved “Salud and Happy Days” event (this week featuring author and journalist Craig Pittman), and a special presentation of the AI v. Improv series “Electric Sheep.”
More information and tickets are available via commodorecomedy.com.
This article appears in Nov. 6 – 12, 2025.
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