Best New York Comedy

For full details, please visit HyReviews.com.

For Hy’s coverage of the spectacular FringeNYC 2010 Festival, please click here.

Catch top FringeNYC comedy shows today from Katharine Heller ("My Dad's Crazier Than Your Dad") and Lauren Olson ("Our Condolences")

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:

[TOP PICK] [$] 4:15 pm ($18): FringeNYC is one of the most delightful annual events in NYC, and it’s happening for the rest of August; to learn lots more, please click here. Be sure to check out the Festival’s superb comedy shows—including Katharine Heller delivering an unforgettable portrait of her father (for my review, please click here) at My Dad is Crazier Than Your Dad: A Scientific Inquiry

6:30 pm & 9:00 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—with two installments running back to back every Wednesday at John Morrison’s Ochi’s Motel

[FREE] 6:00 pm to midnight: Six free hours of improvisation in The PIT’s Super Free Wednesday

[TOP PICK] [$] 8:00 pm ($18): FringeNYC is one of the most delightful annual events in NYC, and it’s happening for the rest of August; to learn lots more, please click here. Be sure to check out the Festival’s superb comedy shows—including Lauren Olson’s tale of her mom passing away and how the people around her behaved in the aftermath: Our Condolences

[TOP PICK] 8:00 pm ($5): Typically top comics (not yet announced for tonight) join best bud hosts Noah Garfinkel & Joe Mande (author of Look At This F*cking Hipster) at Totally J/K

[FREE] 8:00 pm: Sean Crespo, Cary Prusa, Andrea Gibbs, Carrie Gravenson, Peggy O’Leary, and Alison Grillo performing at this free weekly show hosted by Sharon Spell: Shrink

[MEGA-TOP PICK] 9:30 pm ($5): One of the finest comedic storytelling shows in the country, in which brilliant writer/performers—who tonight are Adam Wade, Anthony Atamanuik, John Flynn, Jon Gabrus, Carter Edwards, and wonderful host David Martin—tell tales that are brutally honest and utterly hilarious, with tonight’s can’t-be-missed theme Regrets at the gala 50th edition of The Nights of Our Lives

[TOP PICK] [FREE] 11:00 pm: Host Justin Purnell (The Colbert Report) providing as many as a dozen guests packed into 75 minutes performing stand-up, improv, sketch, and occasionally acts that defy categorization. The level of talent can vary wildly, but for some (like me), that’s part of the laid-back fun; and this is often one of the most amazing comedy shows in town. Come support the experimentation, and periodic magical surprises, that this uniquely organic rollercoaster of a show makes possible—and don’t forget to toss $1 in the bucket on your way out: School Night

For full details, please visit HyReviews.com.

For Hy’s coverage of the spectacular FringeNYC 2010 Festival, please click here.