Late-night comedy still has a mystique on Macdougal Street, where international crowds congregate every night outside the Comedy Cellar in Greenwich Village. The final shows, which go long past midnight, have a reputation for being dirtier and more raucous (a guy once threw a beer mug at Donald Trump Jr., sending him to a hospital), but the reason they have become a popular tourist destination is the possibility that Louis C.K., Chris Rock or Kevin Hart might make a surprise appearance. Unpredictability is part of the draw. Five comics who can fill arenas might share the same stage, or Dave Chappelle could tell jokes until dawn.

Manny Dworman, who co-founded the club in 1981, believed the most exciting and spontaneous work happened late, when the stakes were lower. His son, Noam, who now runs the Cellar, built it into a perpetually sold-out juggernaut with three performance spaces. For some comics, the pressure of a spot at the Cellar makes them reluctant to experiment or push buttons. “Comics now want to put their best foot forward, and this worries me,” Mr. Dworman said. “I don’t want to become the old corporate club.”

Last weekend, I stayed up long past midnight to take stock of the late shows, where the drop-ins included Amy Schumer, Leslie Jones and Mr. Chappelle (sort of).