Inside the Blue Room: Former employees speak out amid performer backlash

Former employees are now speaking up about their time at Blue Room Comedy Club LLC after comedians blasted the downtown Springfield venue over the weekend and multiple media reports followed.

Springfield Business Journal sought comment from those with knowledge of the 420 W. College St. club after comedians Heather Shaw and Liza Treyger alleged nonpayment and other issues in now-viral videos posted Oct. 10 and 11. Treyger had been scheduled to perform at Blue Room the weekend of Oct. 10, while Shaw had been on the calendar for Oct. 24-25. Comedian Matt McCusker also reportedly posted on Instagram that his Dec. 12-13 shows at Blue Room were "canceled due to the club going out of business."

Blue Room owner Christopher Richele said he intends to keep the club going and is actively working to process refunds for canceled shows.

“I think we can make it – definitely want to make it,” he said in an interview with SBJ this morning. “My spirit's beaten, and I really would like to gain everybody's trust back. I'm doing everything I can to fight for comedy in Springfield, Missouri.”

Blue Room was founded in 2016, holding its first shows in a room inside Billiards at 541 E. St. Louis St. before relocating to College Station in 2020, according to past reporting. 

Industry reputation
Amber Perhacs and Holland Wilson are two former Blue Room employees who provided emailed responses to SBJ's request for comment.

Perhacs and Wilson both described pay complications among Blue Room employees and dysfunction under Richele's leadership.

Perhacs, who had two stints at Blue Room from April 2022-January 2023 and November 2023-May 2024, said she was paid for most of her time there. However, she said she was never paid for her final shift and that the tip payout system "was complicated and never fully disclosed."

Wilson, who worked at Blue Room from September 2023 to June of this year, also pointed to unreliable tips "due to fluctuations in the tip-out system" and said pay was reliable only for W-2 employees.

"He increased my pay right after he promised me a higher position, then dropped it back down less than a month later and instead hired someone from outside the club who didn't have experience, and I wound up having to train my new boss," Wilson said of Richele. "When I started working there, my hourly rate on busy shows was fairly high. By the time I quit, it felt like I was making half the tips I had been originally for the same work even though I was one of the senior crew. People who were brought in to work for a night or a weekend might never see their money."

Regarding the allegations levied by the former employees related to pay, Richele said he was unsure what specific instances they were referring to.

“We’ve used APlus Payroll the entire time with the payroll system ... and their tips go on the check,” he said. “I’m not aware of that.”

Perhacs said that one of the times she left employment at Blue Room, it was due to disagreements between Richele and Mollye Richele. Mollye Richele filed for divorce against Chris Richele last year in a case that is ongoing, local court records show.

Perhacs described Mollye Richele as "the light that made the Blue Room shine and make a name for itself as far as NYC."

Mollye Richele did not respond to a request for comment by deadline.

Noting that Chris Richele is "an excellent salesman" who "has a self-deprecating charm that entices you to stay and see how it plays out," Wilson alleges the Blue Room owner has an "inability to maintain his commitments and admit when he's wrong."

"He burned bridges with comics, employees and regulars, and eventually his wife. She stood up to him and in response he pushed her out of the club," Wilson alleges. "She was the beating heart of his business and he ripped out the heart rather than admit fault. Several long-term employees left after that, and those who stayed did so for money. There's no loyalty in that crew anymore."

Both Perhacs and Wilson say Blue Room had once elevated Springfield's comedy scene, but they described a business that is falling out of favor with employees, performers and customers.

Performer backlash
This past weekend, two comedians took to social media to air complaints about Blue Room, starting with Treyger on Oct. 10 and Shaw the day after.

Treyger, who also uses the moniker Glittercheese, said in the video posted to her social media pages that her shows were not happening at Blue Room over payment issues. 

"Do not go to Springfield, Missouri, to come see me," she said in the video. "They were not going to pay me. Give me my money. Give everyone their money. Refund people. Stop lying."

In a separate video, Shaw said she would not be at Blue Room for shows she had been scheduled to perform later this month. 

"The club doesn't pay. They do the whole bait and switch. You show up, you do your work and then they don't pay you or they give you a check that's just written in crayon and not real," Shaw said in the video. "Don't support that club, don't buy tickets to the shows, don't buy tickets to my shows. If you did buy tickets, I'm very sorry. I've heard it's hard to get a refund."

Shaw said in a separate video posted to her Facebook account that the operators of the Fountain City Comedy Festival in Kansas City and Loony Bin Comedy Club in Tulsa, Oklahoma, had agreed to provide free entry to her upcoming performances to anyone who had purchased tickets to her shows at Blue Room. 

While declining to comment on Blue Room or its operators, Gillioz Center for Arts and Entertainment Executive Director Geoff Steele told SBJ that customers should research venues before making purchases.

"Are there good promoters and bad promoters? Absolutely. Springfield is no different than any other community," Steele said via email. "We encourage patrons to research online and be very cautious of ticket resellers. The venue is your friend. If you have a question, call the venue."

Owner responds
Richele told SBJ this morning he wanted to apologize to the Springfield community in the wake of the backlash facing his comedy club.

“I do feel like I owe a huge apology to the city for what they think is unfair treatment to artists. I think it really feels more like lack of communication on our part,” he said. “But at the same time, I think this was an unfair outlash to the club and the culture.”

With the Treyger shows, Richele said he ended up canceling after 11th hour negotiations failed to renegotiate the contract due to costs outpacing ticket sales.

“If I had known the first comedian would have done a public outcry, I would have just ate the cost,” he said. “It literally was just a $1,000 difference. I should have just risked it for the biscuit.”

Richele said customers who showed up to the Treyger shows were refunded on-site or attended shows with replacement comedians.

Past issues
The latest kerfuffle at Blue Room is not the first time that the comedy club has been in the spotlight over allegations related to cancellations and refunds.

Ashley Reynolds, who reports for KY3 under the On Your Side tagline, in April highlighted ticket issues related to shows involving actor and comedian Damon Wayans Jr. that never occurred. 

Blue Room's profile on the Better Business Bureau's website indicates the club is not accredited with the BBB. The profile points to 12 complaints that were filed in the last three years and closed in the last 12 months. 

"Paid for tickets. Show got canceled," reads a May 2023 comment on Blue Room's BBB profile. "I have tried multiple times, multiple ways, for many months to get someone to contact me. They won't."

In many cases involving former complaints at the BBB, the business responded that refunds had been issued.