The atmosphere is intimate and friendly, with about a dozen tables set up in front of a stage surrounded by fish tanks and punctuated by a cow skull that has become the butt of several comedians’ jokes, according to Susan Dale, a comedienne who also is the manager and promoter of Tulsa Comedy Tonight.

The show isn’t a standard comedy club setup in that those who attend can get a nice meal before the jokes kick in.

“It’s dinner theater with comedy,” Dale said. “But you should get your food about an hour before the show so you can enjoy yourself without worrying about any food mishaps.”

It was unclear whether she was talking about choking on the food from laughing so hard or something else.

Even though the setting is intimate, you don’t have to sit near the front — that’s a bonus for those who fear that comedians may single them out for jokes if they sit around the stage (but they don’t really do much of that, Dale said).

Though the shows aren’t advertised as family fare, Dale strives to keep the acts relatively clean while the restaurant is open so errant saucy comments don’t make it to young, impressionable ears by mistake.

Just to be absolutely sure, the club’s Web site lists coming comedians using a rating system to allow patrons to judge beforehand whether they want to show up. The ratings rank from PG to X, but Dale said she really doesn’t book any X-rated shows. In fact, most are PG to PG-13.

National acts are only part of the story, though. Local comedians such as David Graham, Isaac Witty and John Evans can hold their own with the big acts, Dale said.

Michele Vandusen, another local comic who was the host of last week’s shows, is pleased that Cowboy Sharkies is providing a place for homegrown comics.

“It’s an ideal place for comedy in Tulsa,” she said. “And it has the best food of any comedy club I’ve ever been to.”

Not only that, but it provides young comics a place to get exposure and experience in a relatively friendly environment.

“Each show is different, every night, depending on the audience,” Vandusen said, mentioning that if she wasn’t comfortable with herself, she couldn’t do comedy. “It’s instant gratification.”
Comedy has been desperately needed in Tulsa since the Tulsa Comedy Club closed, Dale said.

“People should support it here,” she said, “so we have it forever.”