The WIP Theater, 6670 N. Northwest Hwy., hosts comedy and improv shows, plus theater classes for kids. View Full Caption Erin Mulkewich/GoFundMe/Rebuild the WIP Theater

CHICAGO — More than 100 people combined for almost $9,000 in donations to The WIP Theater, 6670 N. Northwest Highway, within 24 hours of the Edison Park comedy club being damaged in a fire Sunday morning.

The fire was reported just before 10 a.m., according to Officer Christine Calace, a Chicago Police spokeswoman.

No one was hurt in the fire, according to Erin Mulkewich, the director of the theater's training center. But the damage was widespread enough that "pretty much everything's going to have to be built from scratch," she said.

"The entire front area that we just had remodeled in the past year burned down, the stage got ruined and the green room was flooded," Mulkewich said. "It's a lot, so we're just trying to figure out what to do next."

Describing the fire as "devastating," Mulkewich launched a GoFundMe page Sunday in hopes of helping owner Tony Valle rebuild the theater and "make the world a better place for many more years to come," she wrote.

Mulkewich posted photos on the page showing severe damage to the theater's interior.

She launched the online fundraiser as a test to "see how fast we could start rebuilding," but didn't expect the deluge of donations that followed, she said.

"We knew we had a core group of people in the community who appreciated us, but I don't think we realized how important we are to so many people," Mulkewich said. "It's just an overwhelming feeling of love."

[Erin Mulkewich/GoFundMe/Rebuild the WIP Theater]