The National Comedy Center, the nation’s official cultural institution and non-profit museum dedicated to comedy as an art form, announced today that it has launched a new online content platform featuring exclusive content directly from its interactive comedy exhibits, as an extension of the museum during its temporary closure.

National Comedy Center Anywhere tells the story of comedy via commentary from the artists themselves, and rare archival material never-before-seen outside of the Comedy Center -- just named the “Best New Museum in the Country” six weeks ago by USA Today, and named to TIME magazine’s “World’s Greatest Places” in 2019.

“We want to enable our online visitors to explore the great works and unique voices that have shaped our culture through comedy. Our mission is to provide education on the comedic arts in the form of commentary and contextualization of its bodies of work, while providing an examination of the time-honed creative processes that have elevated comedy to an art,” said Journey Gunderson, National Comedy Center Executive Director.

“Now is not the time to stop. We need laughter more than ever.”

With the museum in Jamestown, New York temporarily closed as a COVID-19 precaution, National Comedy Center Anywhere provides an unprecedented opportunity for anyone, no matter where they live, to enjoy content directly from the National Comedy Center and its archives, never before seen outside its walls.

The platform takes each visitor on a journey through the world of comedy, including stand-up, sketch and improv, late night TV, film, the latest online comedy, and more.

In addition to footage from its interactive exhibits, the Comedy Center’s online platform will feature selections from its archives, including rare artifacts and documents from some of comedy’s greatest talent, along with special event highlights from its renowned Lucille Ball Comedy Festival and its National Comedy Center Dialogues.

The platform will also be presenting live-streamed stand-up comedy shows in the coming weeks.

“With the healing power of laughter more important than ever in these challenging times, we hope we can bring a taste of our unique National Comedy Center experience into your homes until we can re-open our doors and welcome visitors to Jamestown once again. In the meantime, National Comedy Center Anywhere is a virtual comedy hug for everyone who needs it right now, in addition to providing some much-needed support for our vital non-profit cultural institution,” added Gunderson.

The platform features a selection of free material with the option to upgrade to access more content from the museum. Upgraded access includes one additional gift access to share the laughter with a friend or family member, plus one admission ticket to the National Comedy Center visitor experience in Jamestown, NY, which can be used when the museum re-opens in the coming months. The $19.50 fee for upgraded access will support the mission and ongoing operations of the National Comedy Center during this critical time, while sharing comedy content with a friend or loved one.

Visitors can begin their National Comedy Center Anywhere experience now, by visiting ComedyCenter.org/Anywhere.

Sample National Comedy Center Anywhere video, The “Healing Power of Laughter”: https://anywhere.comedycenter.org/programs/healingpower?categoryId=31550