For full details, please visit HyReviews.com.
For the best of Bill Hicks, please click here.
- Brilliant spinners of comedic mini-musicals Micah Bucey & Nicholas Williams perform at Joe’s Pub as The Gay Agenda
Tonight’s recommendations for the best in New York City comedy (in chronological order, with top picks noted and shows over $10 marked with $) include:
[FREE] 6:00 pm: Kevin Allison (legendary MTV sketch series The State, HBO, Comedy Central, VH1, host of award-winning storytelling show Risk!) hosts this free open-mic show for storytellers, in which you can put your name in a hat for the chance to tell a five-minute true story…and if it’s a good one, possibly be included in Kevin’s popular podcasts on the Web: Risk! Storyslam
[TOP PICK] [$] [DISCOUNTED] 7:00 pm ($15 at the door on $18.50 online with discount codeFISHFAN): My #1 pick for the 2007 FringeNYC Festival, this wonderful group of actresses/improvisors portray characters as if they were in a play, but improvise everything they say and do. The luminous performers include Katharine Heller, Brenna Palughi, Lynne Rosenberg, Lauren Seikaly, and Molly Knefel, each of whom is immensely appealing and quick-witted. Further, they have an intimate, lovely chemistry with each other; and they’ve all committed to baring their personal lives, thinly disguised via their characters (hence the title’s Naked). As a result, this is one of the most honest & nuanced improvised shows you’ll ever see.
In last week’s show, Katharine Heller dressed like a tea-partier and Molly Knefel was Justin Bieber, while Lauren Seikaly’s character fretted over her husband possibly having an affair, and Lynne Rosenberg’s character broke up with her wimpy boyfriend over the phone so she could pursue a one-night stand, in an episode titled Trick or Cheating.
Although every episode is a wonderful theatrical event, readers of this site no longer have to pay theatrical prices; you can see this show for a mere $15 by mentioning code FISHFAN at the door. Check out some videos of previous episodes here; and then get in the habit of attending the Soho Playhouse to experience the always fresh and surprising Naked in a Fishbowl
[TOP PICK] [FREE] 7:00 pm: Ali Wong (fearless, razor-sharp, hilarious comedy dynamo; MTV, Comedy Central), Colin Jost (writer for SNL), Sean O’Connor (MTV, This American Life), Chris Lambert performing at a free weekly show in the Manchester Pub hosted by Phoebe Robinson: Case of the Mondays Comedy
7:30 pm (no cover, 1-item min.): The perfect show for short attention spans—open-mic stand-up with 4½ minutes per set and 25 comics crammed into 2½ hours at the Luca Lounge (222 Avenue B off 14th Street)—at John Morrison’s Motel Luca
[TOP PICK] [$] 8:00 pm ($15 & 2-drink min.) Judge Kristen Schaal, host Bonnie McFarlane, and talents including Tim Ellis and Leslie Goshko on a show judging contestants for one of the most prestigious awards in comedy at the Gotham Comedy Club: Sixth Annual Andy Kaufman Awards Semi-Finals
[TOP PICK] 8:00 pm ($5): NYC dog-owning comics appear on stage with their pooches to tell canine tales and/or do tricks, with performers including Ophira Eisenberg, Brandy Barber, Kambri Crews, Dan Curry, Tony Camin, Giulia Rozzi, Sean Crespo & Carol Hartsell, Eliot Glazer, and Glennis McMurray in a show that just makes me say “God bless UCBT:” Yappy Hour
8:00 pm ($5): Brothers Hari Kondabolu (Comedy Central, Jimmy Kimmel) and Ashok Kondabolu (Dap in Das Racist) host a talk show, with tonight’s guest W. Kamau Bell (FringeNYC one-man show W. Kamau Bell Curve: Ending Racism in About an Hour): The Untitled Kondabolu Brothers Project
[TOP PICK] [$] 9:30 pm ($15 at the door or $18 online, plus $12 min. if you sit at a table): Brilliant comedic singer/songwriter/actor Micah Bucey and his partner Nicholas Williams performing a tour de force series of parodies in the form of mini-musicals at Joe’s Pub for their intimate and joyful show The Gay Agenda
9:30 pm ($5): Young UCBT talents mock the extremist right in this one-night-only sketch show: The Tea Party’s Rockin’ Midterm Election Eve
10:00 pm ($5): “From the invocation of a name pulled from the obituary pages, the recently deceased gets a final chance to have his or her story told on stage through a series of improvised scenes.” Come celebrate the life and death of a complete stranger—good taste optional—at Dearly Beloved Presents The Wake
[TOP PICK] [FREE] 11:00 pm: “Glenn Beck’s new bestselling political thriller, The Overton Window, was so inspiring to comedian Joe Mande that he sat down and rewrote the story for the big screen. Come watch as Mande and a few of his friends read the script on stage in hopes of getting a movie deal”—with such stellar talents as Dave Hill, John Mulaney, Julie Klausner, Matt McCarthy, Gabe Liedman, and Max Silvestri: A Reading of Joe Mande’s Screenplay Adaptation of Glenn Beck’s Novel
[FREE] 11:00 pm: Stand-up open-mic hosted by Michelle Wolf and Erin Lennox: Fresh
For full details, please visit HyReviews.com.
For the best of Bill Hicks, please click here.
