Best New York Comedy

For more, please visit HyReviews.com.

Marc Maron performs a rare NYC solo show for free (but space is very limited, so getting on line way early is recommended) at Brooklyn’s Union Hall

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] 4:00 pm: An unusually early walk-in open-mic stand-up show at The Creek downstairs lounge in Queens’ Long Island City: Face-Plant Comedy Showcase

[FREE] 5:00 pm: A mix of longform, shortform, and musical improv from five groups, typically including Mishmosh, at The Creek upstairs theatre in Queens’ Long Island City hosted by Michael Venzor: The Long and Short of It

[FREE] 5:30 pm: Open-mic stand-up, with 3 minutes per comic (unless not many folks show up, in which case there’ll be more time), with names drawn out of a bucket at UCB East in the bar area (“Hot Chicks Room”) hosted by Emmy Blotnick, Matt Nedostup, and/or Sachi Ezurafor: Sledgehammer

6:00 pm ($5): Open-mic stand-up that includes professional feedback on each comic’s 5-minute set at Queens LIC’s Laughing Devil Comedy Club (4738 Vernon Blvd.): Mic-Shop: Open Mic Workshop

[TOP PICK] 7:30 pm ($10) and 9:30 pm [FREE]: UCB Chelsea’s signature improv comedy extravaganza, which typically includes superstars in the improv world such as Chris Gethard, and occasionally network TV & movie stars such as Amy Poehler and Horatio Sanz: ASSSCAT 3000

[FREE] 7:30 pm: Sketch, improv, and more at The Creek upstairs theatre in Queens’ Long Island City from comedy troupe Froduce

[TOP PICK] 8:00 pm ($5): Jared Logan (rising star; Last Comic Standing, Comedy Central, CNN, TBS, host of ComedyJuice), Michael Che (David Letterman, Comedy Central), Selena Coppock (author of upcoming book The New Rules for Blondes), Lou Perez (ace sketch comic), Christian Spicer (co-host of Impro(vs)tandup at UCBT-LA), and Drew Michael performing stand-up at UCB East hosted by Kara Klenk: If You Build It

[TOP PICK] 8:00 pm ($10): “Musical sketch comedy that skewers and dissects pop culture one roll of the dice at at time” at The PIT upstairs theatre: Pop Roulette

[TOP PICK] [$] 8:00 pm ($38.25 & 2-drink min.): A stand-up veteran who’s appeared on David Letterman, Jay Leno, and Last Comic Standing; hosted the HBO stand-up showcase Down and Dirty; was a cast member of the wonderful though short-lived HBO sitcom Lucky Louie, and performed his own HBO half-hour One Night Stand special; has appeared in such hit films as Spider-Man; is a regular on XM Satellite Radio’s The Opie & Anthony Show; and is the author of the book Happy Endings, headlining one last night at the Carolines Comedy Club: Jim Norton

[TOP PICK] [DISCOUNTED] 8:00 pm ($10 online using discount code MILK; no min.): Rachel Feinstein (finalist on Last Comic Standing; Comedy Central Presents, HBO, The Apprentice, opens for Sarah Silverman on tour), Jermaine Fowler (MTV’s Guy Code, Comedy Central, Adult Swim’s The Eric Andre Show), Sam Morril (Comedy Central), Yannis Pappas (Comedy Central, VH1), and more performing stand-up that rips something or someone deserving to shreds at The Stand Comedy Club (239 Third Avenue & 20th Street): Invitation to a Beheading: Rachel Feinstein, Jermaine Fowler, and More

[TOP PICK] 8:00 pm ($5): From Dan Hodapp & Micah Sherman (producers of The Scene), improvisors make up one-act plays on the spot at The PIT downstairs lounge, with tonight’s groups Rubin, The Lottery, FligFlog, and Sweaters: Act One

[$] 8:00 pm ($14 plus 2-item food/drink min.): Judah Friedlander (one of the quickest minds in comedy; 30 Rock, Meet the Parents, Along Came Polly, author of How to Beat Up Anybody), Lynne Koplitz (Joan Know’s Best, IFC’s Z Rock, host of WB’s Life & Style), Michael Che (David Letterman, Comedy Central), Godfrey (Comedy Central Presents, Louie, 30 Rock, VH1; films Zoolander, Original Gangsters, Soul Plane; 7 Up Yours ads), and Mike Vecchione (Last Comic Standing, Howard Stern) performing at Comedy Cellar (117 MacDougal Street, between 3rd Street & Minetta Lane) hosted by Jermaine Fowler (MTV’s Guy Code, Comedy Central, Adult Swim’s The Eric Andre Show): Judah Friedlander, Lynne Koplitz, Michael Che, and More

8:00 pm ($7): Barry Rothbart (Conan O’Brien, Jay Leno, Comedy Central, MTV’s Punk’d, IFC’s Do Whatever), Dan Soder (Comedy Central, VH1; for set about being a hypochondriatic drug user, please click here), Jim Tews, and more performing stand-up at Brooklyn’s Union Hall hosted by Caroline Creaghead: Creaghead & Company

8:00 pm ($7): Long form improv in which “scenes are edited by blackouts created by the director in the booth and the stage is set by the improvisers from the previous scene” at The Magnet, with performers including Desiree Nash: The Blackout

[FREE] 8:00 pm: Roger Hailes (Jimmy Fallon, Chappelle’s Show, VH1, MTV; writer for FUSE’s A Different Spin with Mark Hoppus), Jeff Wesselschmidt (Rooftop Comedy), Joel Walkowski (co-host of The Short Bus), Sunah Blisted (Playboy TV), and Frank Liotti performing at the Three of Cups lounge (83 First Avenue at 5th Street) hosted by RG Daniels: Sunday Night Stand-Up

[TOP PICK] 9:00 pm ($7): Jared Logan (rising star; Last Comic Standing, Comedy Central, CNN, TBS, host of ComedyJuice), Brooke Van Poppelen (brilliant writer, stand-up, and storyteller; writer and/or producer for MTV’s Guy Code, Girl Code, Failosophy, and Nikki & Sara Show; trutV, TLC, co-host of Dive Comedy), Hadiyah Robinson, Akaash Singh, and Drew Michael performing stand-up, plus music from DJ Roofeeo, at Brooklyn’s Knitting Factory (361 Metropolitan Avenue) hosted by the wonderful Hannibal Buress (former staff writer for 30 Rock, Saturday Night Live; David Letterman, Jimmy Fallon, Louie, The Eric Andre Show, host of Comedy Night, one-hour Comedy Central special Animal Furnace): Comedy Night

[FREE] 9:00 pm: Michael Che (David Letterman, Comedy Central), Robert Dean, JF Harris, Justin Senno, and Eli Yudin performing stand-up in the East Village’s Beauty Bar for this free weekly show hosted by Adam Sokol, Brad Austin, and/or Nate Fridson: Comedy at Beauty Bar

9:00 pm ($5): Improv veterans Brandon Gardner, Chelsea Clarke, Phillip Jackson, and/or Steve Theiss hosting & performing in a show at UCB East with guest improvisors: Improv Nerds

9:30 pm ($7): Sketch comedy at The Magnet, tonight from troupes Dispacho and Cookie Mountain: Magnet Sketch Teams

[TOP PICK] 9:30 pm ($5): All-gal storytelling show of “true tales with feelings; so many feelings…,” tonight starring Jenny Rubin (host of Here’s the Story), Natasha Rothwell, and Jenice Matias at The PIT upstairs theatre hosted by Caitlin Brodnick and Lisa Kleinman: Shut Up: An All-Female Storytelling Show

[ALMOST FREE] 9:30 pm ($1): Open-mic stand-up, with four minutes per comic, at The PIT downstairs lounge hosted by Molly Austin & Mike Brown: Vicious Cycle

[TOP PICK] [FREE] 10:00 pm: Legendary comedy star Marc Maron (a comic’s comic; David Letterman, Conan O’Brien, HBO, Comedy Central, pioneering WTF podcast) performs solo during this visit to NYC. A limited number of wristbands—required for entrance—will be distributed starting at 9:00 pm outside the performance space doors. If you want to get in, arrive on line early; chances are a lot of folks will have to be turned away at Brooklyn’s relatively small Union Hall: Marc Maron

[FREE] 10:00 pm: The only open-stage show for entire groups of improvisors and sketch comics, running weekly at UCB East hosted by Austin Rodrigues: Bring Your Own Team: Improv/Sketch Team Jam

[FREE] 10:45 pm: Open-mic show for sketch and character bits running 3-5 minutes at The Magnet hosted by Sebastian Conelli. Everyone who signs up—at 10:30 pm at the box office—is likely to get onstage: Sketch in Progress

[$] 11:30 pm ($14 plus 2-item food/drink min.): Marina Franklin (developing into one of the finest stand-ups in the country, with an uncommonly gentle, graceful style that’s pure joy; Last Comic Standing, Chappelle’s Show, Craig Ferguson, VH1, Comedy Central’s Premium Blend), Jon Fisch (David Letterman, Comedy Central, Last Comic Standing, VH1), Kurt Metzger (Jimmy Fallon, Comedy Central Presents, Ugly Americans), William Stephenson (FX’s Louie, The Chris Rock Show), and Sam Morril (Comedy Central) performing at Comedy Cellar (117 MacDougal Street, between 3rd Street & Minetta Lane) hosted by Jermaine Fowler (MTV’s Guy Code, Comedy Central, Adult Swim’s The Eric Andre Show): Marina Franklin, Jon Fisch, Kurt Metzger, and More

 From legendary NYC comedy site Brooklyn Vegan: If you want to know what is happening in NYC comedy on a particular day, you gotta get hip to this dude Hy Bender and his site Best New York Comedy. The site is updated daily and features a super exhaustive look at what is happening in the NYC comedy world that particular day. The site is updated religiously…It is your daily comedy itinerary and it scares me how on top of his shit this guy is.