NYC Top Comedy Choices for Friday 11/30/12

November 30, 2012

For more, please visit HyReviews.com.

My favorite fast food place, Tuck Shop, got hit hard by Sandy. Please check out its amazing meat & veggie mini-pies; the 68 East 1st Street store is near UCB East and open very late…and is run by a fiery Aussie redhead who’s a delight.

Stone Cold Fox: All Keyed Up

UCB Chelsea’s finest sketch troupe, Stone Cold Fox, debuts an all-new Friday night show: All Keyed Up

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: An open-mic show on a lottery system (sign-ups happen at 5:45-6:00 pm) at The Creek upstairs theatre in Queens’ Long Island City with hosts Erin Lennox and Eli Sairs: The Orphanage

7:00 pm ($8): Becky Yamamoto (rave reviews from The New York Times and The New Yorker; former beard-wearing member of band Stickerbook), and Tanisha Long perform a two-gal sketch show at The PIT upstairs theatre directed by Katie Hartman (Skinny Bitch Jesus Meeting), with tonight’s guest star Carolyn Castiglia (Last Comic Standing, VH1; for sample of Carolyn as white rapper, please click here): You’ve Ruined My LIfe

7:00 pm ($5): An improvised musical made up on the spot at The PIT downstairs lounge by  The Shady Bunch

[FREE] 7:00 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 Nate Dern and Paul Oddo: The Friday Night Hot Chicks Mic

[TOP PICK] 7:30 pm ($10): Stone Cold Fox is the only sketch troupe (vs. improv troupe) to ever be honored with an ongoing spot on the prestigious UCB Chelsea weekend schedule. It’s earned this slot because its cast is one of the finest in comedy, with each performer strong enough for potential stardom. Tonight the troupe debuts a brand new sketch show that, with strong writing and luck, will be good enough to sustain a long run: Stone Cold Fox: All Keyed Up

[TOP PICK] 7:30 pm ($10): Frank Conniff (“TV’s Frank” on Mystery Science Theater 3000, Cinematic Titanic), Kevin Avery (writer for FX’s Totally Biased; Thugs: The Musical), Carla Rhodes (“rock’n’roll ventriloquist;” MTV; for shout-out from David Letterman, please click here; for act with “Keith Richards,” please click here), and Pat O’Shea (VH1, NPR, host of Ed Sullivan on Acid) performing at UCB East hosted by Sharon Spell: The Big Shrink

[$] 7:30 pm ($20): Abby Sher, Elizabeth Crane Brandt, Mark McAdam, Melanie Hoopes, and more comics and musicians perform at The Magnet to raise funds targeted at helping Brooklyn families suffering from the effects of Hurricane Sandy: Up The Spout Again

[TOP PICK] [FREE] 8:00 pm: Jared Logan (rising star; Last Comic Standing, Comedy Central, host of ComedyJuice), Nick Vatterott (Conan O’Brien, Jimmy Fallon, Comedy Central’s The Half Hour, MTV, Second City, 2012 Andy Kaufman Award), Nore Davis, Joe Machi, and Meg Ferrill performing in the East Village’s Beauty Bar for this free weekly show hosted by Josh Carter, Josh Homer, and/or Adam Mamawala: Zebra Cake

[TOP PICK] [$] [DISCOUNTED] 8:00 pm ($65 retail or $40 here): This isn’t pure comedy, but an enchanting hodgepodge of original tall tales fueled by laughs. The 2-hour play from the wonderful guys of PigPen blends shadow puppetry, songs, inventive staging, and more to create living dreams. For my review of PigPen’s two previous shows at FringeNYC, please click here and here. This newest work is their most ambitious, and that sometimes results in the story feeling too slow or padded; but it also yields a deeper emotional payoff. And even though not all the bits hit the mark, so many of them do that you’re likely to feel satisfied—and missing PigPen’s world after the show is over. The production is at The Gym at Judson (243 Thompson Street) in the West Village: The Old Man and the Moon

8:00 pm ($5): Freestyle rapping long-form improv troupe North Coast clobbered some of the best improv groups in NYC this year at UCBT’s Cage Match. Tonight come see it perform without the pressure of competition at The PIT upstairs theatre, and also catch an improv group that includes Keisha Zollar (Doppelganger): North Coast and Nobody’s Token

[$] 8:00 pm & 10:30 pm ($32.75 & 2-drink min.) A TV star who was a cast member of MTV’s Punk’d and is now a cast member of FX’s The League headlining through Sunday at the Carolines Comedy Club: Stephen Rannazzisi

[FREE] 8:00 pm: An open-mic show that’s first come, first serve (sign-ups start at 7:30 pm), with each comic getting five minutes on stage at The Creek downstairs lounge in Queens’ Long Island City: Mic and Cheese

[TOP PICK] [$] 8:30 pm & 10:30 pm ($30 & 2-drink min.): A TV & movie star who created & hosted Last Comic Standing, was a cast member of CBS’ Gary Unmarried and Ghost Whisperer, has done extensive sports broadcasting for ESPN, and has appeared in such feature films as Jerry MacGuire, Pay It Forward, and Hereafter (opposite Matt Damon) headlining through Saturday at the Gotham Comedy Club: Jay Mohr

[TOP PICK] 9:00 pm ($10): Some of the finest improv in NYC from comedy geniuses Chris Gethard and Shannon O’Neill, plus stellar comics Silvija Ozols, Zach Woods, Michael Delaney, Will Hines, and Connor Ratliff, performing at UCB Chelsea—the all-star members of The Stepfathers

[TOP PICK] 9:00 pm ($10): Sharp improvisors at UCB East—Fran Gillespie, Michael Kayne, Amber Petty, Tim Martin, Ashley Ward, Morgan Phillips, and Winston Noel—making up a musical on the spot (formerly named Diamond Lion): KOSMOS Musical Improv

[TOP PICK] [$] [DISCOUNTED] 9:00 pm & 11:00 pm (FREE TICKETS if you reserve in advance by calling (212) 260-2445 and mention HyReviews.com, but there’s still a 2-drink min. per person): Ted Alexandro (one of the very finest stand-ups in the country; David Letterman, Conan O’Brien, Jimmy Kimmel, two Comedy Central Presents half-hour specials; frequently opens for Louis C.K.), Jessica Kirson (Jay Leno, Last Comic Standing, Comedy Central, HBO, Showtime, Bravo, VH1, Logo one-woman show My Cookie’s Gone), Mike Yard (Comedy Central), and more performing at the only comedy club in the East Village: Eastville Comedy Club

9:30 pm ($10): A PIT improv troupe making up a musical on the spot after a friendly greeting: Hello

[TOP PICK] 10:00 pm ($5): Matt Koff (Onion News Network, WitStream, 9 Am Meeting), Jenn Dodd (Identity Theft, Jenneral Assembly, I’ve Got Munchies), and Ryan Farrell (Comedy Central, Blue Bloods, All My Children) performing at The PIT downstairs lounge hosted by terrific sketch duo Skinny Bitch Jesus Meeting (Leah Rudick and Katie Hartman; Edinburgh Fringe Festival, FringeNYC) : Daddy’s Basement: A Comedy Variety Freakshow

10:00 pm ($7): Singing improvisors at The Magnet using an interview with an audience member to craft The Made-Up Musical

[TOP PICK] 10:30 pm ($10): Fran Gillespie, Jon Gabrus, Sue Galloway, Matt Fisher, Craig Rowin, Nate Lang, and/or other superb improvisors at UCB Chelsea making up scenes about an audience member’s legal dispute: The Law Firm: Law & Disorder

10:30 pm ($10): Jared Logan (rising star; Last Comic Standing, Comedy Central, host of ComedyJuice), Adam Newman (Comedy Central, MTV, College Humor, comedy CD Not for Horses), Conner O’Malley, and We Godzillas performing stand-up at UCB East hosted by Emily Axford, D’Arcy Carden, Alden Ford, Brandon Scott Jones, and/or Justin Tyler: Gentrify

[MEGA-TOP PICK] 11:00 pm ($5): I’m not sure he’s in NYC tonight, but one of the finest improvisors alive, Joe Bill (Bassprov, iO, co-founder of the Annoyance Theatre) will either personally spearhead or lead in spirit a breathtakingly brilliant group of improvisors from Chicago and New York who will blow the roof off The PIT downstairs lounge with lightning-quick dark comedy unlike anything else in NYC. The other superb players typically are Doug Stoley (Conan O’Brien, The Scene), Amey Goerlich (Indie Cage Match, Krompf, The Scene), Jodi Lennon (Exit 57, Annoyance Theatre), Jed Resnik (Annoyance Theatre, UCB), Silvija Ozols (The Stepfathers), Betsy Stover (UCB), Ari Voukydis (VH1’s Best Week Ever, UCB), Russ Armstrong (iO Chicago, The Magnet), Micah Sherman (Second City, co-host of The Scene, host of Fun), Rick Andrews (Magnet teacher/performer), and Michael Burton (Act One, The Magnet), all declaring Chica Go-Go

11:00 pm ($5): Improvisors ask an audience member to “pick out a fortune cookie, read the fortune, and then tell everyone a brief story of how it relates to his or her life. We will then improvise scenes based on the story” at The PIT upstairs theatre: Fortunate Ones

[TOP PICK] 11:30 pm ($5): Before this Magnet show, audience members may anonymously submit written confessions, secrets, rants, advice and opinions which will be used onstage by the improvisors—who include such talents as Laura Grey (stellar old-time radio style theatrical podcast Horrorgasm, top Maude sketch troupe Gramp’s, sketch/improv duo Klepper & Grey): The Friday Night Sh*w

[TOP PICK] Midnight ($5): Emily Heller (Comedy Central; staff writer for Rooftop Comedy; for ruminations on pregnancy, please click here), Jared Freid (MTV), and Beth McGregor (Edinburgh Fringe Festival) share true-life longish funny tales at this UCB East mashup of stand-up and storytelling: It’s a Long Story

[TOP PICK] [FREE] Midnight: NYC stand-ups—sometimes stellar ones—pushing boundaries for a show designed for looseness and experimentation at The Creek upstairs theatre in Queens’ Long Island City with hosts Jacqueline Novak and Chris Laker: Permission to Fail

[FREE] Midnight: This show might not be much fun for audience members, but it’s an amazing opportunity if you want to perform sketch for free and with almost zero hurdles on the prestigious UCB Chelsea stage. Plus it’s hosted by members of Maude troupe Fambly, typically including such wonderful talents as Nicole Byer and Veronica Osorio: Liquid Courage

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.

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NYC Top Comedy Choices for Thursday 11/29/12

November 29, 2012

For more, please visit HyReviews.com.

Kate McKinnon and Melanie Hamlett

It’s a night for hilarious tales, with comedy geniuses Kate McKinnon (above) and Chris Gethard at Don’t Tell My Mother; traveling adventurer Melanie Hamlett (and yes, that’s a real photo) at both Sideshow Goshko and Risk!…

Leslie Goshko and Lillian DeVane.jpg

…superb storyteller Leslie Goshko hosting her monthly extravaganza Sideshow Goshko; Boston-based Lillian DeVane visiting NYC to perform at Kevin Allison’s Risk!…

Tom Shillue and Jim O'Grady

…and ace storytellers Tom Shillue and Jim O’Grady performing at Tom Shillue’s Funny Story

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] [FREE] 6:00 pm: Carter Edwards (UCB talent booker) is tonight’s guest at this weekly open-mic storytelling show, with each performer given a whopping eight minutes to captivate & impress, at UCB East hosted by John Flynn: Oh, Hey Guys!

6:00 pm ($1): PIT musical improv troupe Adorable mixes with musical improv novices on-stage at the downstairs lounge for Pitch

[FREE] 6:00 pm: Open-mic stand-up with comics’ names drawn from a bucket and each chosen receiving two minutes—and if that goes well, maybe a hug (but not actual puppies)—at The Creek’s upstairs theatre in Queens’ Long Island City hosted by Ross Parsons & Trey Galyon: Free Puppies

[TOP PICK] [FREE] 7:00 pm: Leslie Goshko (delightful & razor-sharp storyteller/comic; WNYC, Sirius XM, Huffington Post) hosts this monthly storytelling show at the KGB Bar (85 East 4th Street, off Second Avenue), with tonight’s guests Melanie Hamlett (brilliant storyteller/writer; Moth Grandslam Champion, Marie Claire Magazine, amazing blog, roving adventurer), Andrew Linderman (host of Local Stories), Ted McAdams, and Michele Carlo, plus accordion playing by Dr. Michelle-Leona Godin: Sideshow Goshko

7:00 pm ($5): Two singing improv troupes make up entire musicals on the spot in this double-bill at The PIT downstairs lounge: Punchbowl and THEM

[FREE] 7:00 pm: In this free Magnet show, audience members (signing in at 6:00) can join in with improv troupe Junior Varsity to make up scenes on the spot: Magnet Mixer

7:30 pm ($5): Erik Bergstrom (cartoonist/author of Grimmer Tales, The New Yorker, blogger for Comedy Central’s Indecision 2012), Emily Heller (Comedy Central; staff writer for Rooftop Comedy; for ruminations on pregnancy, please click here), Ilana Glazer (Broad City), and Nick Turner (Jimmy Fallon, VH1) performing stand-up at UCB East hosted by Halle Kiefer: Splitsider and Tumblr’s Dog and Pony Show

[TOP PICK] 8:00 pm ($5): Saturday Night Live write Mike O’Brien “performs solo sketch and stand-up, reads a short story, and in general, does things. Come out to see experimental comedy as well as comedy that involves no experimentation” at UCB Chelsea: Mike O’Brien: 45 Minutes of Things

[TOP PICK] [$] 8:00 pm ($20): A former roommate & drinking buddy of such comedy giants as David Cross and Marc Maron performs a one-man show that was such a hit at August’s FringeNYC it’s been extended indefinitely. Please read my review by clicking here, and Jason Zinoman’s New York Times review by clicking here; and then come share an intimate hour with Matt Graham at the Soho Playhouse’s downstairs Huron Club so he can explain life and meaning and why This Too Shall Suck

[TOP PICK] 8:00 pm ($5 at the door or ($6.17 online): James Adomian (hilarious, super-charged character comic/impressionist; finalist on most recent Last Comic Standing; Harold and Kumar 2), Annie Lederman (Chelsea Lately), Liam McEneaney, and more perform stand-up along with sideshow attractions including the wonderful Cherry Pitz (burlesque), Vincent Price Lady Aye (sword swallowing), Miss Vivien (piercing burlesque), and The Goon (human blockhead) at The Creek upstairs theatre in Queens’ Long Island City for this unusual carny experience: Abigoliah’s Bizzarre Bazaar

[TOP PICK] [$] [DISCOUNTED] 8:00 pm ($65 retail or $40 here): This isn’t pure comedy, but an enchanting hodgepodge of original tall tales fueled by laughs. The 2-hour play from the wonderful guys of PigPen blends shadow puppetry, songs, inventive staging, and more to create living dreams. For my review of PigPen’s two previous shows at FringeNYC, please click here and here. This newest work is their most ambitious, and that sometimes results in the story feeling too slow or padded; but it also yields a deeper emotional payoff. And even though not all the bits hit the mark, so many of them do that you’re likely to feel satisfied—and missing PigPen’s world after the show is over. The production is at The Gym at Judson (243 Thompson Street) in the West Village: The Old Man and the Moon

8:00 pm ($5): Two singing improv troupes make up entire musicals on the spot in this double-bill at The PIT downstairs lounge: Team Black and Dagger

[$] 8:00 pm ($32.75 & 2-drink min.) A TV star who was a cast member of MTV’s Punk’d and is now a cast member of FX’s The League headlining through Sunday at the Carolines Comedy Club: Stephen Rannazzisi

8:00 pm-MIdnight ($7 for the entire evening): The Magnet house troupes Junior Varsity, Hello Laser, Horses, and The Boss performing improv for two hours, followed at 10:00 pm by Medusa (all improvisers stay on stage at all times, and alternate between speaking roles and playing inanimate objects), and then at 11:00 improv troupe competition Inspirado (like UCBT’s Cage Match, but with a game-like challenge component) featuring Featherweight vs. Weekend of Regret: The Magnet’s Night Out

[TOP PICK] 8:00 pm doors, 8:30 pm show ($10, which includes a free beer): Star storyteller Tom Shillue (Conan O’Brien, The Daily Show, Comedy Central Presents, 2011 ECNY Award for Best Storyteller) gathers top comics to tell funny stories at the Brooklyn Brewery (79 North 11th Street), with tonight’s guests Eric Slovin (writer for Saturday Night Live 2002-2005 and Important Things with Demetri Martin; Comedy Central Presents), Jim O’Grady (The New York Times, Moth GrandSlam Champion), Carolyn Castiglia (Last Comic Standing, VH1; for sample of Carolyn as white rapper, please click here), and Joanne Solomon (upcoming essay collection Walking Mr. Lieberman): Tom Shillue’s Funny Story

[TOP PICK] [$] 8:30 pm ($30 & 2-drink min.): A TV & movie star who created & hosted Last Comic Standing, was a cast member of CBS’ Gary Unmarried and Ghost Whisperer, has done extensive sports broadcasting for ESPN, and has appeared in such feature films as Jerry MacGuire, Pay It Forward, and Hereafter (opposite Matt Damon) headlining through Saturday at the Gotham Comedy Club: Jay Mohr

[TOP PICK] [$] 9:00 pm ($15): A killer lineup of genius comics telling confessional stories:Kate McKinnon (genius sketch comic and stellar cast member of Saturday Night Live; voice actress for Adult Swim’s Venture Brothers and Comedy Central’s Ugly Americans), Chris Gethard (brilliant improvisor and comedic storyteller; star of Comedy Central sitcom Big Lake and Manhattan Cable Access’ The Chris Gethard Show; The Stepfathers, The Nights of Our Lives, author of new bestseller A Bad Idea I’m About to Do and Weird New York), Lizz Winstead (co-creator of The Daily Show, former host on Air America), and Jen Kober (co-star of HBO’s Treme, punched out Larry David on HBO’s Curb Your Enthusiasm, Showtime) sharing embarrassing moments at 92Y Tribeca (200 Hudson Street): Don’t Tell My Mother

[TOP PICK] [$] [DISCOUNTED] 9:00 pm (FREE TICKETS if you reserve in advance by calling (212) 260-2445 and mention HyReviews.com, but there’s still a 2-drink min. per person): Ted Alexandro (one of the very finest stand-ups in the country; David Letterman, Conan O’Brien, Jimmy Kimmel, two Comedy Central Presents half-hour specials; frequently opens for Louis C.K.), Mike Yard (Comedy Central), and more performing at the only comedy club in the East Village: Eastville Comedy Club

[TOP PICK] [FREE] 9:00ish pm: Terrific NYC stand-ups (the lineup is typically announced around 3:00 pm; for an update, please click here) performing on this free weekly show at the Kabin Bar and Lounge hosted by Chesley Calloway and/or comedy genius Sean Patton: Comedy as a Second Language

9:00 pm ($5): Erin Judge (Comedy Central; comedy album So Many Choices; for hilarious short bit on men vs. women, please click here), Adam Lowitt (Executive Producer of The Daily Show), Neal Stastny, Anthony Devito, Anton Shuford, and David Smithyman performing stand-up at UCB East hosted by Adam Conover and/or Emily Heller: Fresh Out

[TOP PICK] 9:30 pm ($5): Tig Notaro (hilarious stand-up; Comedy Central Presents, The Sarah Silverman Program, staff writer for the upcoming Amy Schumer show on Comedy Central; for Louis CK on Tig, and to buy an extraordinary set she performed, please click here and here) makes a rare NYC appearance with her friend Dave Hill (one of the most original and hilariously sharp alternative comics in the country; HBO, Comedy Central, MTV, VH1, NPR, bands Valley Lodge and Diamondsnake, champion rapper; book Tasteful Nudes) at The Dave Hill Explosion

[TOP PICK] 9:30 pm ($10): Melanie Hamlett (brilliant storyteller/writer; Moth Grandslam Champion, Marie Claire Magazine, amazing blog, roving adventurer), Lillian DeVane (Boston-based stand-up), Julia Wiedeman (one-woman show Naked People), and Candice Guardin performing at The PIT upstairs theatre to share tales on tonight’s theme Thanks at one of the finest storytelling shows in the country along with host Kevin Allison (legendary MTV sketch series The State, HBO, Comedy Central, VH1): Risk!

[TOP PICK] 9:30 pm ($5): Improvisors make up one-act plays on the spot at The PIT downstairs lounge, produced by Dan Hodapp & Micah Sherman: The Scene

[TOP PICK] 9:45 doors, 10:15 pm show ($9; show up 30-60 minutes early to buy snacks/drinks): Mystery Science Theater 3000 goes street in this delightful series by Wyatt Cenac (star correspondent for The Daily Show) and Donwill (hip-hop group Tanya Morgan) in which the boys watch a ridiculous movie and yell comments at it throughout. It all happens at Brooklyn’s reRun (147 Front Street, between Pearl & Jay Streets), with tonight’s film a happy surprise: Shouting at the Screen

[TOP PICK] [FREE] 10:00 pm: Politically incorrect stand-ups compete in this unique show for which each comic performs a set and then has to provide biting commentary on a popular online video. The audience then votes on who was the most savagely funny and has won the right to return the following month. It all happens at The Creek’s upstairs theatre in Queens’ Long Island City hosted by Mike Feeney: On the Offensive

[TOP PICK] 11:00 pm ($5): UCBT improv troupes Airwolf and Graceland compete for audience laughs and votes at UCB Chelsea for the raucous Cage Match

11:00 pm ($5): Nick Turner and Team Submarine each perform 30-minute stand-up sets at UCB East hosted by Adam Newman: Big Long Sets

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.

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NYC Top Comedy Choices for Wednesday 11/28/12

November 28, 2012

For more, please visit HyReviews.com.

My favorite fast food place, Tuck Shop, got hit hard by Sandy. Please check out its amazing meat & veggie mini-pies; the 68 East 1st Street store is near UCB East and open very late…and is run by a fiery Aussie redhead who’s a delight.

Frank Conniff

Quick-witted nerds Frank Conniff (TV’s Frank on MST3K), Jared Logan, Mike Lawrence, and Sean Donnelly…

Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles II: The Secret of the Ooze

…dissect cinema classic “Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles II: The Secret of the Ooze” at Robbie Collier’s “Hey We Live There”

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] [$] [DISCOUNTED] 3:00 pm & 8:00 pm ($65 retail or $40 here): This isn’t pure comedy, but an enchanting hodgepodge of original tall tales fueled by laughs. The 2-hour play from the wonderful guys of PigPen blends shadow puppetry, songs, inventive staging, and more to create living dreams. For my review of PigPen’s two previous shows at FringeNYC, please click here and here. This newest work is their most ambitious, and that sometimes results in the story feeling too slow or padded; but it also yields a deeper emotional payoff. And even though not all the bits hit the mark, so many of them do that you’re likely to feel satisfied—and missing PigPen’s world after the show is over. The production is at The Gym at Judson (243 Thompson Street) in the West Village: The Old Man and the Moon

[TOP PICK] 6:00 pm ($5): Stand-up star & author Dave Hill, author Pete Hamill, and sex writer Tristan Taormino are interviewed at UCB Chelsea for this live taping of Ken Freedman’s & Andy Breckman’s radio show WFMU’s 7 Second Delay Live

[FREE] 6:00 pm to midnight: Six free hours of improvisation at The PIT upstairs theatre: Super Free Wednesday

[FREE] 6:00 pm: Open-mic stand-up providing 3 minutes per comic at Queens LIC’s The Creek upstairs theatre hosted by Max Corbel & Benel Germosen: Cracking It

7:00 pm ($5): Storytellers Caitlin Brodnick and Erick Hellwig tell personal tales of Thanksgiving which are then improvised by troupe Moscow Rivers Sharks and/or improv duo Starkey & Grace at The PIT downstairs lounge: True Story

7:00 pm-12:30 am ($7 for the entire evening): Magnet house troupes Nintendo, Bloomer, Flower Girl, Brick, Chet Watkins, Featherweight, Dr. Champagne, and The Wrath performing improv, followed by a free audience interactive show with Dr. Champagne at 11:30 pm: The Magnet’s Megawatt

[$] [DISCOUNTED] 7:30 pm ($7.37 if you use code BREAKOUT online or by phone, plus 2-drink min.) A talented storyteller and stand-up who’s performed on Jimmy Kimmel, MTV, and VH1, written for Playgirl Magazine, and co-hosts NYC shows Dive Comedy and Stripped Stories, headlining for one night only at the Carolines Comedy Club: Giulia Rozzi

[FREE] 7:30 pm: Kate Berlant (MTV, CNN, host of Crime & Punishment, notable hair), Phoebe Robinson (TV Guide’s 100 TV Shows To See Before You Die and 25 Biggest Reality Star Blunders), Doogie Horner, and Ken Schultz performing stand-up at the Parkside Lounge (317 East Houston, between Avenues B and C) along with hosts Brendan McLaughlin and David Smithyman: We’re Nice People

7:30 pm ($5): Expanding the UCB longform improv showcased on Harold Night is this weekly show at UCB East which tonight features troupes City Mouse and Huxtable: Lloyd Night

[TOP PICK] 8:00 pm ($5): Longtime UCBT stars Neil Casey (writer for Saturday Night Live; Death by Roo Roo) and Will Hines (The Stepfathers) in a two-man sketch show at UCB Chelsea directed by Michael Delaney: Small Men

8:00 pm ($5): Sketch comedy from superb duo Skinny Bitch Jesus Meeting, Jenn Dodd, and more at The PIT downstairs lounge hosted by Mark Lawrence: Gay Death Presents

[FREE] 8:00 pm: NYC stand-ups do sets “and then have a discussion about what’s going on in the world and the mysteries of life” at The Creek upstairs theatre in Queens’ Long Island City, hosted by Chris Laker: The Show

[FREE] 8:30 pm: Typically terrific NYC comics (not announced) performing at this free weekly comedy show at Brooklyn’s Cameo (behind Lovin’ Cup) typically hosted by Gabe Liedman and/or Max Silvestri: Big Terrific

[TOP PICK] 9:00 pm ($5): Superb improvisors—and actual brothers—Will Hines and Kevin Hines make use of their intimate knowledge of each other to gracefully invent scenes at UCB East (with Will presumably racing over from his 8:00 pm sketch show at UCB Chelsea is beyond me…) performing as duo The Brothers Hines

[FREE] 9:00 pm: Al Jackson (Comedy Central Presents, Last Comic Standing, MTV; has memorable advice about how to choose a wife), Mike Dobbins Mike Dobbins (unique stream-of-consciousness stand-up), Geno Bisconte (Sirius XM Radio), Alli Breen, Carolina Hidalgo, and Brian Allen Mitchell performing stand-up at this free weekly comedy show at Lucky Jack’s Bar (129 Orchard Street) produced by Kyle Fincham, Lance Weiss, and Brendon Fitzgibbons: Gandhi, Is That You?

[TOP PICK] 9:30 pm ($5): One of the finest comedic storytelling shows in the country, in which brilliant writer/performers (not announced this month) tell tales that are brutally honest and utterly hilarious at the UCB Chelsea theatre: The Nights of Our Lives

[TOP PICK] 9:30 pm ($5): The wonderful Julie Sharbutt (improv shows Gravid Water, Mystic Improv, The Scene, Birds) and Zhubin Parang (writer for The Daily Show; improv shows What I Did For Love, HUNK, The Scene) perform duo improv “exploring a world of deeply felt character relationships while sitting in chairs” at The PIT downstairs lounge: Chairs

[TOP PICK] [FREE] 10:00 pm: The NYC-based feature film Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles II: Secret of the Ooze is screened and torn apart by NYC comedic commentators Frank Conniff (TV’s Frank on Mystery Science Theater 3000), Jared Logan, Mike Lawrence, and Sean Donnelly at Queens LIC’s The Creek hosted by Robbie Collier: Hey We Live There!: TMNT II

[TOP PICK] 10:00 pm ($5): The instructors of UCB’s classes include some of the finest improvisors in the country. In this new weekly show a bunch of them get on stage at UCB East, along with hosts Betsy Stover and Ari Voukydis: Hot for Teacher: The UCB Faculty Show

[TOP PICK] [FREE] 11:00 pm: The wonderful Sasheer Zamata (Doppelganger) hosts 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. Tonight’s scheduled lineup includes sketch comedy genius & SNL cast member Kate McKinnon; for the complete list, please click here.) Come support the experimentation, and periodic magical surprises, that this uniquely organic rollercoaster of a weekly show at UCB Chelsea makes possible—and don’t forget to toss $1 in the bucket on your way out: School Night

11:00 pm ($5): Mike Brown performs solo improv—after an opening act from another solo improvisor, Just Ben— at The PIT downstairs lounge: Mike Brown Solo Improv Extravaganza

[FREE] 11:00 pm: Open-mic stand-up running until 1:00 am, with time divided evenly between performers (up to five minutes), at The Creek downstairs lounge in Queens’ Long Island City with host Rob Stern: Bucket ‘O Buckets

[FREE] 11:00 pm: Your opportunity to perform on the stage of UCB East with improv veterans, hosted by UCBT Harold Night house troupe Grandma’s Ashes: The Improv Jam

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.

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NYC Top Comedy Choices for Tuesday 11/27/12

November 27, 2012

For more, please visit HyReviews.com.

My favorite fast food place, Tuck Shop, got hit hard by Sandy. Please check out its amazing meat & veggie mini-pies; the 68 East 1st Street store is near UCB East and open very late…and is run by a fiery Aussie redhead who’s a delight.

Fancy Pitch Meeting

Comics try to sell TV shows in Brooklyn at Fancy Pitch Meeting…

John Jameson Irish Whiskey

…and John Gemberling reunites with Anthony Atamanuik for the holidays to host The Tony and Johnny Show, which tonight focuses on a Deep Sea Adventure

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:

6:00 pm ($5): A comedic play about one of the most tragic events in American history, written & directed by Brandon Gardener (The Curfew, Improv Nerds), and featuring Brandon Scott Jones as Miss Laura Keene, at the UCB Chelsea theatre: The Assassination of Abraham Lincoln: A Comedy

[FREE] 6:00 pm: Open mic for comedy of all types (with sign-up starting at 6:00) at Queens LIC’s The Creek upstairs theatre hosted by Chesley Calloway (co-host of renowned Comedy as a Second Language): The Ches Club

[TOP PICK] 7:00 pm-Midnight ($7 for the whole evening): In this 5-hour extravaganza, four of The Magnet’s singing improv troupes make up a musical on the spot based on an audience suggestion: Atticus and Aquarius (at 7:00) and The Montels and Mint Condition (at 8:30); followed at 10:15 by a free show that lets audience members join in with musical improv troupe Mint Condition ! to make up stories in song: Musical Magnet Mixer

7:00 pm ($5): Comics who are sports junkies talk about their passion at The PIT downstairs lounge: Sports! Live!

7:00 pm ($8): All-gal sketch/improv troupe Vacation hosts a variety show featuring Skinny Bitch Jesus Meeting (duo sketch), Sarah Grodsky (solo character sketch), and Charla Laurlston (stand-up) performing at The PIT upstairs theatre: Lady Business

7:30 pm-9:15 pm ($5): Long form improv known as The Harold from UCB Chelsea house troupes GoodGirl, Rocks, and Bucky at this first half of Harold Night

[TOP PICK] 8:00 pm ($10 at the door or $12.75 online): “As a busy TV executive you get soooo tired of sitting through shitty pitches so we’ve done you the favor of condensing the very best ideas from the most hilarious minds in the city and bringing them to you in one sitting. You, after all, are the ones sitting on piles of money (not really, but feel free to check under your seat for a stray bill… you never know) needed to turn their ridiculous dreams into hit TV shows” at Brooklyn’s Union Hall, with pitches from Jeffrey Joseph, Kate Berlant, Adam Newman, Dan Wilber, and more hosted by Caroline Creaghead: Fancy Pitch Meeting

[TOP PICK] 8:00 pm (no cover, 1 drink min.): Chris Gethard (brilliant improvisor and comedic storyteller; star of Comedy Central sitcom Big Lake and Manhattan Cable Access’ The Chris Gethard Show; The Stepfathers, The Nights of Our Lives, author of new bestseller A Bad Idea I’m About to Do and Weird New York), Mike Lawrence (nerd persona but razor-sharp mind has made this stand-up a rapidly rising star; Conan O’Brien, Jimmy Fallon, Comedy Central’s John Oliver’s NY Stand-Up), Trey Galyon, and more performing stand-up at Sidewalk NYC (94 Avenue A) produced by Chenoa Estrada, Emily Heller, and George Gordon and hosted tonight by George Gordon: The Afterlife

[TOP PICK] [$] [DISCOUNTED] 8:00 pm ($65 retail or $40 here): This isn’t pure comedy, but an enchanting hodgepodge of original tall tales fueled by laughs. The 2-hour play from the wonderful guys of PigPen blends shadow puppetry, songs, inventive staging, and more to create living dreams. For my review of PigPen’s two previous shows at FringeNYC, please click here and here. This newest work is their most ambitious, and that sometimes results in the story feeling too slow or padded; but it also yields a deeper emotional payoff. And even though not all the bits hit the mark, so many of them do that you’re likely to feel satisfied—and missing PigPen’s world after the show is over. The production is at The Gym at Judson (243 Thompson Street) in the West Village: The Old Man and the Moon

8:00 pm ($5): Mark Normand (hilarious stand-up; Last Comic Standing, Comedy Central; co-host of Hot Soup and We’re All Friends Here), Streeter Seidell (Editor-in-Chief of College Humor; Jimmy Kimmel, MTV’s Pranked), Maddog Mattern (Sirius Radio, Howard Stern TV; to see Maddog handle a heckler, please click here), and more performing stand-up at UCB East hosted by “weirdo” Mike Bocchetti : Being Normal Sucks

8:00 pm (no cover, 1 drink min.): NYC stand-ups (not yet announced, but for an update please click here) at Sidewalk NYC (94 Avenue A) produced by Chenoa Estrada, Emily Heller, and George Gordon: The Afterlife

8:00 pm ($5): Sketch comics Jenny Donoghue, Matthew Robert Gehring, Josh Lay, and Melissa Klein each showing off his or her best solo character work, plus music from the lovely Reformed Whores, at The PIT downstairs lounge hosted by Sam Martin & Branson Reese: Comedy Expo

8:00 pm ($8): A dozen sharp talents deliver brand new sketch comedy at The PIT upstairs theatre: Big Business

[FREE] 8:00 pm: NYC stand-ups (not announced) performing at Queens LIC’s The Creek upstairs theatre hosted by the wonderful Joe Pera, Dan Licata, and Charles Gould: Dan + Joe + Charles’ Show

[FREE] 8:30 pm: Typically sharp NYC stand-ups (for an update, please click here) performing at Cake Shop (152 Ludlow Street, between Rivington & Stanton) hosted by Kate Berlant (MTV, CNN, notable hair): Crime & Punishment

[TOP PICK] 9:00 pm ($5): Dave Hill (one of the most original and hilariously sharp alternative comics in the country; HBO, Comedy Central, MTV, VH1, NPR, The Dave Hill Explosion, bands Valley Lodge and Diamondsnake, champion rapper; new book Tasteful Nudes), Eugene Mirman (Conan O’Brien, Comedy Central Presents, HBO’s Flight of the Conchords, FOX’s Bob’s Burgers, Adult Swim’s Delocated, VH1; pioneer of NYC downtown comedy), Chris Barron (leader singer of The Spin Doctors; brought shaggy beards and Peruvian hats into vogue in the 90’s), and more performing stand-up at The Slipper Room (167 Orchard Street) hosted by Seth Herzog (Jimmy Fallon, 30 Rock, VH1): Sweet

[FREE] 9:00 pm: Joe Zimmerman (The Beards of Comedy), Roger Hailes (Chappelle’s Show, VH1, MTV; writer for FUSE’s A Different Spin with Mark Hoppus), Matt Ruby (MTV; co-host of Hot Soup and We’re All Friends Here, blog Sandpaper Suit), Matt Nedostup, and David Agyekum performing stand-up at this weekly show at Brooklyn’s The Alligator Lounge (600 Metropolitan Avenue) hosted by Sean Donnelly, Steve O’Brien, Robert Dean, and/or Kevin McCaffrey: Comedy at Alligator Lounge

9:15 pm-Midnight ($5): Long form improv known as The Harold from UCB Chelsea house troupes Sherlock & Cookies, The Regulars, and Guthrie—plus advanced improv students “strips the Harold down to its component parts and rearranges them into a rhythmically complex, mashup-inspired performance piece” for a form called Scramble NYC—at this second half (continued from 7:30 pm) of Harold Night

[TOP PICK] 9:30 pm ($5): A weekly wild experiment in dark comedy, blending sketch and improv, from two of the most brilliant, fearless, and innovative comics in the biz, John Gemberling (Death by Roo Roo, Adult Swim, Comedy Central) and Anthony Atamanuik (Death by Roo Roo, 30 Rock, Conan O’Brien, Huffington Post, The Nights of Our Lives)—with tonight’s theme “Deep Sea Adventure”—at UCB East, plus tonight’s guests Dan St. Germain (quick-witted & enormously likeable rising star; Jimmy Fallon, The Electric Company, MTV, VH1), Matt Koff (Onion News Network, WitStream, 9 Am Meeting), and Michelle Wolf (IFC’s Bunk), as well as producer Andy Rocco: The Tony and Johnny Show

9:30 pm ($8): A variety show based on the Middlenotes podcast at The PIT upstairs theatre hosted by Ryan Beck & Kyle Ayers: Middlenotes Comedy Show

9:30 pm ($5): NYC stand-ups (not announced) performing at The PIT downstairs lounge with host Chris Grace: Cold Soda Comedy

[FREE] 9:30 pm: Stand-up and sketch at Queens LIC’s The Creek upstairs theatre, typically hosted by sketch troupes Savage Animal and/or Jerk Practice: Savage Animal

[TOP PICK] [$] 10:00 pm ($15 & 2-drink min.): 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), Kyle Dunnigan (Conan O’Brien, Jay Leno, Jimmy Kimmel, Comedy Central Half Hour, The Sarah Silverman Program),   Erik Bergstrom (cartoonist/author of Grimmer Tales, The New Yorker, blogger for Comedy Central’s Indecision 2012), Louis Katz (Jimmy Fallon, HBO, Comedy Central Presents), Alison Forns (writer for Saturday Night Live), and Josh Rabinowitz (MTV’s I Just want My Pants Back) performing stand-up at the Gotham Comedy Club hosted by Jared Logan (rising star; Last Comic Standing, Comedy Central): ComedyJuice

11:00 pm ($1): A breathtaking 40 comics are given 2 minutes each in this rapid-fire open-mic stand-up show at The PIT upstairs theatre hosted with wit and energy by Jay Welch: Bring It

[FREE] 11:00 pm: Open-mic stand-up at UCB East hosted by Boris Khaykin, John Trowbridge, and/or Katie East: Tuesday Night Open Mic

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.

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NYC Top Comedy Choices for Monday 11/26/12

November 26, 2012

For more, please visit HyReviews.com.

Amy Rutberg, Stephanie DiMaggio, and Sandy Rustin

Theatrical stars Amy Rutberg, Stephanie DiMaggio, Sandy Rustin, and more light up UCB Chelsea at Gravid Water…

Summer and Eve

…and a wonderful comedic singing group—Nadia Quinn, Emily Tarver, Aaron Quinn, and Rebecca Kaasa—perform at UCB East as Summer & Eve: Folky-Pop Musical Comedy

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] 6:00 pm ($1): Cammi Climaco (co-host of Ask Me Stories) hosts this weekly hour-long open-mic storytelling show, with audience members chosen from a bucket of names getting to tell tales for 6 minutes each at The PIT downstairs lounge: Cammi Climaco’s Storytelling Open Mic

6:00 pm ($5 cover for comics, no cover for audience with code HyReviews, plus 1-drink min.): The perfect show for short attention spans—open-mic stand-up with 4 1/2 minutes per set and 20 comics crammed into 2 hours—at the Greenwich Village Comedy Club (99 MacDougal Street) for John Morrison’s Village Motel

6:00 pm & 8:00 pm (no cover, 1 drink min. for both comics and audience members): Open mic stand-up providing 5-7 minutes per comic, with each show running 1 hour and 45 minutes. Arrive 30 minutes before the show you want to be in to get on the signup sheet. This is a fine opportunity to perform at the only comedy club in the East Village: Eastville Comedy Club Open Mic

[FREE] 6:00 pm: An open-mic stand-up show running about 90 minutes at The Creek upstairs theatre in Queens’ Long Island City with host Chris Gaynor: Open Mic Mondays

[TOP PICK] 7:00 pm ($5): Alejandro Kolleeny performs a sensitive reading at The PIT downstairs lounge of the Glenn Beck holiday classic The Christmas Sweater

7:00 pm ($5): Someone presumably named Ben improvises a one-man show, and then Shacottha Fields improvises a one-woman show, at this Magnet double-bill: Just Ben and Shacottha Fields: 1 Deep

[FREE] 7:30 pm: Four improvisers form teams with comics they’ve never performed with before at The Creek upstairs theatre in Queens’ Long Island City: The Kaleidoscope

7:30 pm ($10; sign-up starts at 7:00 pm): Open mic for stand-ups, storytellers, singers, poets, actors, and more, with 5 minutes per performer and 25 slots available, at One and One Bar’s Downstairs Nexus Lounge (76 1st Street, corner of First Avenue) hosted by Nathan P., followed by a raucous afterparty with dancing & drink specials from 10:00 to midnight: Inspired Word’s Open Mic Joint

[MEGA-TOP PICK] 8:00 pm ($5):Broadway & off-Broadway stars Stephanie DiMaggio, Cristin Milioti, Sandy Rustin, Amy Rutberg, and Julie Sharbutt mixing it up with genius improvisors John Lutz & Scott Adsit (30 Rock, John & Scott), Neil Casey (SNL, Death by Roo Roo), and Michael Delaney (The Stepfathers), as they crash improv into classic theatre scenes at UCB Chelsea for actor/director Stephen Ruddy’s Gravid Water

[TOP PICK] 8:00 pm ($5): The superb singer/musicians of Summer & Eve perform deliciously darkly ironic songs—sung beautifully—at UCB East. Check out a couple of sample songs here and here and here and here and here, and then come enjoy this wonderful show from Summer & Eve: Folky-Pop Musical Comedy

[TOP PICK] 8:00 pm ($8 at the door or $9.47 online): Brooke Van Poppelen (writer for MTV’s Epic Fall; trutV, TLC, co-host of Dive Comedy; for stand-up videos about overindulging at 30 and impersonating Morrisey, please click here and here), James Adomian (hilarious, super-charged character comic/impressionist; finalist on most recent Last Comic Standing; Harold and Kumar 2), Jermaine Fowler (FOX’s new In Living Color, MTV, Adult Swim’s The Eric Andre Show), and musical guest Har Mar Superstar performing at Brooklyn’s Littlefield (622 Degraw Street) hosted by Wyatt Cenac (star correspondent of The Daily Show): Night Train with Wyatt Cenac

8:00 pm ($5): James Adomian (hilarious, super-charged character comic/impressionist; finalist on most recent Last Comic Standing; Harold and Kumar 2), Streeter Seidell (Editor-in-Chief of College Humor; Jimmy Kimmel, MTV’s Pranked), Seth Herzog (staff comic for Jimmy Fallon; 30 Rock, Comedy Central, CBS, VH1, film actor; host of Sweet), and Nick Turner (Jimmy Fallon, VH1) performing stand-up at Brooklyn’s Union Hall hosted by Barry Rothbart (Jay Leno, Comedy Central, MTV’s Punk’d, IFC’s Do Whatever): Barry Rothbart and Friends

8:00 pm ($10): NYC stand-ups Pete Lee, Yannis Pappas, Michael Salloway, and Allan Finn performing at this monthly show at The PIT upstairs theatre hosted by twins Todd & Adam Stone: Stone and Stone Show

[TOP PICK] 8:30 pm ($5): At The Magnet, “strange, mysterious, beautiful, and disgusting, this show will dazzle you with sketch comedy… and magic!” from witchy duo Angela DeManti & Emily Shapiro: The Weird Sisters

[FREE] 9:00 pm: Kevin Barnett (Comedy Central, MTV, Sleepwalk With Me, College Humor), Yannis Pappas, Brian Cichocki, and more performing stand-up at Brooklyn’s Bar Matchless back room (557 Manhattan Avenue, near the G subway’s Nassau Avenue stop) hosted by Nimesh Patel, Mike Denny, and/or Michael Che: Broken Comedy

9:30 pm ($5): Two UCB Chelsea house sketch troupes try out fresh material: HUNK (which includes such stellar talents as Leslie Meisel, Aaron Jackson, and Zhubin Parang), and Bellevue (which I haven’t yet seen): Maude Night: HUNK & Bellevue

[FREE] 9:30 pm: Following a club format, hosts Nore Davis & Andrew Short perform stand-up throughout for a total of 25 minutes, two comics each perform a 15-minute set, and then a seasoned headliner closes out the show with a 20-minute set, all at The Creek upstairs theatre in Queens’ Long Island City: On the Road

9:30 pm ($5): The debut of 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

10:00 pm ($5): Improv is dominated by guys, so this is a rare treat—a dozen female improvisors “for an evening of comedy that will delight men, women, babies, and kittens” at The Magnet hosted by Megan Gray: We Might Just Kiss

[FREE] 10:30 pm: Improv students are welcomed onto the stage at The PIT downstairs lounge for this weekly open access show hosted by Gary DeNoia & Langston Belton: Base Jam

[TOP PICK] [FREE] 11:00 pm: Some of the finest comics in the world—who are no longer being announced in advance, but it’s virtually always a great lineup—at UCB Chelsea hosted by someone wonderful: Whiplash

[FREE] 11:00 pm: If you’re an audience member who loves stand-up, Monday at 11 should be Whiplash! night (see listing above). If you’re a comic who couldn’t get booked on UCBT’s all-star show, though, you can opt to instead practice your skills at this exceptionally supportive stand-up open-mic at The PIT upstairs theatre hosted by Jared Reed: Fresh

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.

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NYC Top Comedy Choices for Sunday 11/25/12

November 25, 2012

For more, please visit HyReviews.com.

My favorite fast food place, Tuck Shop, got hit hard by Sandy. Please check out its amazing meat & veggie mini-pies; the 68 East 1st Street store is near UCB East and open very late…and is run by a fiery Aussie redhead who’s a delight.

Jena Friedman and Lauren Olson

Jena Friedman performs at Comedy Night; Lauren Olson hosts new Magnet show Sketch Sundays…

The Shaolin Warriors

…and if you’re up for a change of pace, while this isn’t comedy, you’re likely to remember Brooklyn’s The Shaolin Warriors

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] [$] 3:00 pm ($30): A unique event—top martial arts talents performing a dazzling mix of dance, combat, and spirituality—for one afternoon only at the Walt Whitman Theatre at CUNY’s Brooklyn College (take the #2 subway to Brooklyn College/Flatbush Avenue). This isn’t comedy; but once in a while I list stuff that’s simply likely to be awesome (and yes, I’ll be there…): The Shaolin Warriors

[TOP PICK] [$] [DISCOUNTED] 3:00 pm & 10:00 pm ($28 with discount code BBOX [otherwise $40]): The return of one of the funniest comedies—and finest comedic ensembles—to grace New York, and what ended up as the very best show of this year’s FringeNYC Festival, playing at the Soho Playhouse’s upstairs theatre. Please read my review by clicking here, and then take advantage of this opportunity to see the Chicago-based 5 Lesbians Eating a Quiche

[TOP PICK] [$] [DISCOUNTED] 3:00 pm ($65 retail or $40 here): This isn’t pure comedy, but an enchanting hodgepodge of original tall tales fueled by laughs. The 2-hour play from the wonderful guys of PigPen blends shadow puppetry, songs, inventive staging, and more to create living dreams. For my review of PigPen’s two previous shows at FringeNYC, please click here and here. This newest work is their most ambitious, and that sometimes results in the story feeling too slow or padded; but it also yields a deeper emotional payoff. And even though not all the bits hit the mark, so many of them do that you’re likely to feel satisfied—and missing PigPen’s world after the show is over. The production is at The Gym at Judson (243 Thompson Street) in the West Village: The Old Man and the Moon

[FREE] 4:00 pm: An unusually early walk-in open-mic stand-up show at The Creek upstairs theatre in Queens’ Long Island City: Face-Plant Comedy Open Mic

[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

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

[$] 7:30 pm ($22 & 2-drink min.): A stand-up who starred in a Comedy Central Presents half-hour special, co-hosted P. Diddy’s Bad Boys of Comedy, and has appeared on HBO’s Def Comedy Jam and BET’s Comic View who’s been a regular on Opie & Anthony and performed his own HBO special, I Swear To God, headlining at the Carolines Comedy Club: Drew Fraser

7:30 pm ($5): Improv troupes not affiliated with any comedy school compete at UCB East for audience laughs and votes—and the privilege to go on to perform at the primary Cage Match show at UCB Chelsea—in this show hosted by the delightful Amey Goerlich & Ryan Karels (Krompf): Indie Cage Match

[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): 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 ($8): Ashley Ward, Matt Oberg, and Nate Starkey perform improv as a trio—for possibly the last time, as Nate’s moving to LA—at The PIT upstairs theatre: Poopy, Poopy, Fart, Fart

8:00 pm ($5): A mini-play at The Magnet in which Robert Weinstein and friends present a horror/comedy: Smooching & Slashing: Anatomy of a First Kiss

[TOP PICK] [FREE] 9:00 pm: Jena Friedman (wry dark comedy stand-up and rising star; producer for The Daily Show, former staff writer for David Letterman, host of Entertaining the Bartender), Mark Normand (hilarious stand-up; Last Comic Standing, Comedy Central; co-host of Hot Soup and We’re All Friends Here), Chris Lamberth, and Chris Cotton performing stand-up at Brooklyn’s Knitting Factory (361 Metropolitan Avenue) guest-hosted tonight by Jermaine Fowler (FOX’s new In Living Color, MTV, Adult Swim’s The Eric Andre Show): Comedy Night

[$] [DISCOUNTED] 9:00 pm (FREE TICKETS if you reserve in advance by calling (212) 260-2445 and mention HyReviews.com, but there’s still a 2-drink min. per person): Mike Britt (Comedy Central), Andrew Schulz (MTV 2’s Guy Code), and more performing at the only comedy club in the East Village: Eastville Comedy Club

[FREE] 9:00 pm: Erin Lennox (host of DTF, co-host of The Orphanage; for a sample of Erin’s dynamite Seriously Sports show, please click here), Matt Koff (Onion News Network, WitStream, 9 Am Meeting), Jeff Wesselschmidt, Neil Stasny, and more performing in the East Village’s Beauty Bar for this free weekly show hosted by Adam Sokol, Brad Austin, and/or Nate Fridson: Comedy at the Beauty Bar

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

[TOP PICK] 9:30 pm ($5): Sketch comedy at The Magnet hosted by the brilliant and delightful Lauren Olson (powerhouse one-woman FringeNYC show Our Condolences; sketch troupes Company 29 and Good Morning, Ladies) and Jana Schmieding (Chet Watkins, Risky Bottom): Sketch Sundays

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

10:00 pm ($5): Improv veterans Brandon Gardner, Chelsea Clarke, and Phillip Jackson hosting & performing in a show at UCB East with improvisors taken from the audience…and who may include you: Improv Nerds Jam

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.

Leave a Comment » | Best New York Live Comedy Shows | Tagged: , , , , , , , | Permalink
Posted by hybender

NYC Top Comedy Choices for Saturday 11/24/12

November 24, 2012

For more, please visit HyReviews.com.

My favorite fast food place, Tuck Shop, got hit hard by Sandy. Please check out its amazing meat & veggie mini-pies; the 68 East 1st Street store is near UCB East and open very late…and is run by a fiery Aussie redhead who’s a delight.

Tracy Morgan

Tracy Morgan headlines one last night at Carolines…

Dave Hill

…and Dave Hill performs at If You Build It

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] [$] [DISCOUNTED] 2:00 pm & 8:00 pm ($65 retail or $40 here): This isn’t pure comedy, but an enchanting hodgepodge of original tall tales fueled by laughs. The 2-hour play from the wonderful guys of PigPen blends shadow puppetry, songs, inventive staging, and more to create living dreams. For my review of PigPen’s two previous shows at FringeNYC, please click here and here. This newest work is their most ambitious, and that sometimes results in the story feeling too slow or padded; but it also yields a deeper emotional payoff. And even though not all the bits hit the mark, so many of them do that you’re likely to feel satisfied—and missing PigPen’s world after the show is over. The production is at The Gym at Judson (243 Thompson Street) in the West Village: The Old Man and the Moon

[TOP PICK] [$] [DISCOUNTED] 3:00 pm & 10:00 pm ($28 with discount code BBOX [otherwise $40]): The return of one of the funniest comedies—and finest comedic ensembles—to grace New York, and what ended up as the very best show of this year’s FringeNYC Festival, playing at the Soho Playhouse’s upstairs theatre. Please read my review by clicking here, and then take advantage of this opportunity to see the Chicago-based 5 Lesbians Eating a Quiche

[FREE] 4:00 pm: An unusually early weekly open-mic stand-up show (“starts late enough to sleep off that hangover but ends just in time to begin a new one”) at The Creek upstairs theatre in Queens’ Long Island City hosted by Jhoel Walkowski & Evan Davis: The Amateur Hour

[FREE] 5:00 pm: Stand-ups perform a tight set, then tell more jokes based on suggestions from the audience at The Creek upstairs theatre in Queens’ Long Island City hosted by Andy Rocco: Rocco’s Playground

7:00 pm ($5): Erik Bergstrom (cartoonist/author of Grimmer Tales, The New Yorker, blogger for Comedy Central’s Indecision 2012), Abbi Crutchfield (MTV, VH1; co-host of Positively Awesome and The Living Room), Wil Sylvince (Comedy Central, BET’s Comic View), and more performing at a showcase of NYC stand-ups not yet represented by a manager or agent at UCB East hosted by Luke Thayer & Seaton Smith: Unmanageable Stand-Ups

[TOP PICK] [$] 7:30 pm & 10:00 pm & Midnight ($60 & 2-drink min.): A co-star of 30 Rock who’s one of the most hilarious guys in the biz headlines one last night at the Carolines Comedy Club: Tracy Morgan

7:30 pm ($10) At The Magnet, a one-man show by storyteller Roman Rimer followed by a Q&A session with the audience: Greener Grass

[TOP PICK] 8:00 pm, 9:30 pm, and 11:00 pm ($5): The semi-finals (at 8:00 & 9:30) and finals (at 11:00) of a beloved annual November tradition at UCB Chelsea—Pat Baer’s 3-on-3 Improv Tournament

[TOP PICK] [$] 8:00 pm & 10:00 pm & 11:45 pm ($25 & 2-drink min.): A stand-up who’s starred on two seasons of Last Comic Standing; has performed a very popular Comedy Central Presents half-hour special; was a regular on Tough Crowd with Colin Quinn; was the first white comic on Def Jam; wrote for Chris Rock; played Lenny Bruce on NBC’s American Dreams; was an unlikely guest on The View; and is a regular on the Opie and Anthony radio show, headlining at the Gotham Comedy Club: Rich Vos

8:00 pm ($10): Two of the most respected PIT improv troupes performing on this weekly double-bill at the upstairs theatre: Big Black Car and The Baldwins

[FREE] 8:00 pm: NYC stand-ups (not announced) performing at this monthly gay-themed show at Queens LIC’s The Creek upstairs theatre hosted by Tom Steffen: Rapier Wit

[TOP PICK] 8:30 pm ($10): Dave Hill (one of the most original and hilariously sharp alternative comics in the country; HBO, Comedy Central, MTV, VH1, NPR, The Dave Hill Explosion, bands Valley Lodge and Diamondsnake, champion rapper; new book Tasteful Nudes), Myq Kaplan (one of the quickest minds in comedy, and rapidly rising star; finalist on most recent Last Comic Standing; David Letterman, Conan O’Brien, Jay Leno, Comedy Central Presents, hit comedy CD Vegan Mind Meld), Michelle Wolf (IFC’s Bunk), Pat O’Shea (host of Ed Sullivan on Acid), Paul Oddo (co-host of The Friday Night Hot Chicks Mic), and Adam Mamawala performing stand-up at UCB East hosted by Kara Klenk: If You Build It

[TOP PICK] [$] [DISCOUNTED] 9:00 pm & 11:00 pm (FREE TICKETS if you reserve in advance by calling (212) 260-2445 and mention HyReviews.com, but there’s still a 2-drink min. per person): Rachel Feinstein (finalist on Last Comic Standing; Comedy Central; opens for Sarah Silverman on tour), Mike Britt (Comedy Central), Andrew Schulz (MTV 2’s Guy Code), and more performing at the only comedy club in the East Village: Eastville Comedy Club

9:00 pm ($7): Magnet improvisors team up with poets at Kiss*Punch*Poem

9:30 pm ($5): Comics Michael Short, Louie Pearlman, Lauren Hunter, and more make up funny commentary about oddball short films—industrials, educationals, etc.—at The PIT downstairs lounge: Down in Front

[TOP PICK] [$] 10:00 pm ($15): Ted Greenberg (Emmy-winning David Letterman writer) performing a fun, fast-paced theatrical comedy show—complete with audience interaction and audience rides home!—at The Complete Performer

[TOP PICK] 10:00 pm ($11.34 online; or $10 at the door—but this show usually sells out in advance): Mark Normand (hilarious stand-up; Last Comic Standing, Comedy Central; co-host of Hot Soup and We’re All Friends Here), Dan St. Germain (quick-witted & enormously likeable rising star; Jimmy Fallon, The Electric Company, Nick Turner (Jimmy Fallon, VH1), Danny Solomon (for stand-up video about the price of NYC drinks, please click here), and more performing for this show in which stand-up and burlesque are weirdly blended together based on the reasoning “The nude female form is truly a work of art. That’s why people the world over like to jerk off to it. Who are we to disagree with the world?”at The Creek upstairs theatre in Queens’ Long Island City hosted by Pat Dixon (Comedy Central Presents): Pat Dixon’s (Nearly) Naked Lady Hour: Now with Bacon Bar

[TOP PICK] 10:30 pm ($10): UCBT improv troupe Airwolf—which includes such talents as John Frusciante, Molly Lloyd, Tim Martin, and Emily Axford, and has so far crushed 10 improv groups in a row at Cage Match, entirely owns the UCB East stage tonight at Airwolf: Let’s Go Back to Your Place

10:30 pm ($7): In this improv double-bill at The Magnet, first troupe Lead McEnroe make up scenes, and then Dustin Drury & Andrew Yurman-Glaser perform as comedy duo Upstate

Midnight ($5): Keisha Zollar (Doppelganger) & Anna Suzuki host a variety show at UCB East that’s typically a mix of stand-up, sketch, improv, and music: The Soul Glo Project

[FREE] Midnight: NYC stand-ups (not announced) at The Creek upstairs theatre in Queens’ Long Island City hosted by Nick Turner (Jimmy Fallon, VH1): Midnight Run

[FREE] Midnight: A weekly chance for you to shine at The Magnet, as students and veteran improvisors share the stage to form “rare and wonderful one-night-only teams,” with sign-up starting at 11:30 pm: Magnet Mixer

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.

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NYC Top Comedy Choices for Friday 11/23/12

November 23, 2012

For more, please visit HyReviews.com.

My favorite fast food place, Tuck Shop, got hit hard by Sandy. Please check out its amazing meat & veggie mini-pies; the 68 East 1st Street store is near UCB East and open very late…and is run by a fiery Aussie redhead who’s a delight.

Tracy Morgan

Tracy Morgan headlines tonight and Saturday at Carolines…

Rich Vos

…while Rich Vos headlines tonight and Saturday at Gotham

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] [$] [DISCOUNTED] 3:00 pm & 8:00 pm ($65 retail or $40 here): This isn’t pure comedy, but an enchanting hodgepodge of original tall tales fueled by laughs. The 2-hour play from the wonderful guys of PigPen blends shadow puppetry, songs, inventive staging, and more to create living dreams. For my review of PigPen’s two previous shows at FringeNYC, please click here and here. This newest work is their most ambitious, and that sometimes results in the story feeling too slow or padded; but it also yields a deeper emotional payoff. And even though not all the bits hit the mark, so many of them do that you’re likely to feel satisfied—and missing PigPen’s world after the show is over. The production is at The Gym at Judson (243 Thompson Street) in the West Village: The Old Man and the Moon

[FREE] 6:00 pm: An open-mic show on a lottery system (sign-ups happen at 5:45-6:00 pm) at The Creek upstairs theatre in Queens’ Long Island City with hosts Erin Lennox and Eli Sairs: The Orphanage

[FREE] 7:00 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 Nate Dern and Paul Oddo: The Friday Night Hot Chicks Mic

[TOP PICK] [$] 7:30 pm & 10:00 pm ($60 & 2-drink min.): A co-star of 30 Rock who’s one of the most hilarious guys in the biz headlines tonight and Saturday at the Carolines Comedy Club: Tracy Morgan

[TOP PICK] 7:30 pm ($10): Kicking off this double-bill at UCB Chelsea is stellar storyteller Adam Wade (two-time Moth GrandSlam Storytelling Champion (2006 & 2009) and record-breaking 18-time StorySlam Champion; The New York Times Magazine; host of hilarious monthly storytelling extravaganzas The Adam Wade Show, Tales of the Cosmos, and Whatever Happened to the Nerds?; for a sampling of Adam’s award-winning tales, please click here) giving thanks to underappreciated people in his life via tales of his deli guy, his bus driver, and his high school golf coach: Adam Wade: Unsung Heroes…

…and in the other half of this double-bill, a two-man sketch show by Matt Dennie & Josh Sharp that very loosely springs off the real events of the title but is mostly meta-comedy. I would’ve preferred something meatier, especially given the fascinating subject—436 people killed by a tiger whose damaged teeth made it difficult to eat anything other than humans—but there’s lots of energy and performance talent here, making this a solid first-time effort: Maneater: The True Story of the Champawat Tigress

[TOP PICK] 7:30 pm ($5): Stellar improvisors Aaron Jackson, Don Fanelli, Brandon Gulya, Kate Riley, and more interview an audience member about some puzzle and then act out scenes providing an unexpected answer: Sandino: Unsolved Mysteries

[FREE] 8:00 pm: Stand-up, sketch, videos, and more at Queens LIC’s The Creek upstairs theatre with Jeffrey Joseph and hosts Ron Krasnow & Joel Walkowski: The Short Bus

[FREE] 8:00 pm: An open-mic show that’s first come, first serve (sign-ups start at 7:30 pm), with each comic getting five minutes on stage at The Creek downstairs lounge in Queens’ Long Island City: Mic and Cheese

[TOP PICK] [$] 8:30 pm & 10:30 pm ($25 & 2-drink min.): A stand-up who’s starred on two seasons of Last Comic Standing; has performed a very popular Comedy Central Presents half-hour special; was a regular on Tough Crowd with Colin Quinn; was the first white comic on Def Jam; wrote for Chris Rock; played Lenny Bruce on NBC’s American Dreams; was an unlikely guest on The View; and is a regular on the Opie and Anthony radio show, headlining tonight and Saturday at the Gotham Comedy Club: Rich Vos

[TOP PICK] 9:00 pm ($10): Some of the finest improv in NYC from comedy geniuses Chris Gethard and Shannon O’Neill, plus stellar comics Silvija Ozols, Zach Woods, Michael Delaney, Will Hines, and Connor Ratliff, performing at UCB Chelsea—the all-star members of The Stepfathers

[TOP PICK] 9:00 pm ($10): Sharp improvisors at UCB East—Fran Gillespie, Michael Kayne, Amber Petty, Tim Martin, Ashley Ward, Morgan Phillips, and Winston Noel—making up a musical on the spot (formerly named Diamond Lion): KOSMOS Musical Improv

[TOP PICK] [$] [DISCOUNTED] 9:00 pm & 11:00 pm (FREE TICKETS if you reserve in advance by calling (212) 260-2445 and mention HyReviews.com, but there’s still a 2-drink min. per person): Rachel Feinstein (finalist on Last Comic Standing; Comedy Central; opens for Sarah Silverman on tour), Mike Britt (Comedy Central), Andrew Schulz (MTV 2’s Guy Code), and more performing at the only comedy club in the East Village: Eastville Comedy Club

[TOP PICK] 9:00 pm ($5): One of my favorite people, Julie Sharbutt—who’s performed with some of the greatest improvisors alive at UCBT’s Gravid Water—goes for improv gold herself with comedy partner Cathleen Carr (Birds, The Scene, Dos Experimentos) as they “hope to establish themselves as the leading voices in contemporary South Boston crime noir improv comedy. Watch them, along with tonight’s guests Erick Hellwig, Bob Kulhan, and  Chris Roberti, unspool a suspenseful, heavily-accented mystery thrilla” at The PIT downstairs lounge: Mystic Improv

9:30 pm ($10): A PIT upstairs theatre improv troupe making up a musical on the spot after a friendly greeting: Hello

10:00 pm ($5): Human beatbox duo Kaila Mullady & Terry Lewis jam with improvisors to make up scenes in a hip-hip rhythm at The PIT downstairs lounge: The Great Beatbox Experiment

[TOP PICK] 10:30 pm ($5): The last quarter-finals round of a beloved annual November tradition at UCB Chelsea—Pat Baer’s 3-on-3 Improv Tournament

10:30 pm ($5): NYC comics (not announced) performing at UCB East hosted by Emily Axford, D’Arcy Carden, Alden Ford, Brandon Scott Jones, and/or Justin Tyler: Gentrify

11:00 pm ($8): Improvised scenes by duos based on an infamous relationships section of Craigslist at The PIT upstairs theatre: Missed Connections

Midnight ($5): A variety of oddball comedy acts from UCBT talents Aaron Jackson, Connor Ratliff, Joanna Bradley, George Kareman, John Purcell, and David Greenslade at UCB East hosted by sketch duo Matt Dennie & Josh Sharp: Cool Shit / Weird Shit

[TOP PICK] [FREE] Midnight: NYC stand-ups—sometimes stellar ones—pushing boundaries for a show designed for looseness and experimentation at The Creek upstairs theatre in Queens’ Long Island City with hosts Jacqueline Novak and Chris Laker: Permission to Fail

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.

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NYC Top Comedy Choices for Thursday 11/22/12

November 22, 2012

For more, please visit HyReviews.com.

Thanksgiving

Happy Thanksgiving! And yes, even today you can find places to laugh…

Drew Fraser and Dave Attell

…Drew Fraser headlines at Carolines, and Dave Attell performs at the Comedy Cellar

Most comedy venues are closed tonight, but The Creek and a few stand-up clubs are happy to welcome you and your laughs (listed in chronological order, with top picks noted and shows over $10 marked with $):

[TOP PICK] [FREE] 5:00 pm: Thanksgiving with friends—including comedy phenom Sean Patton (one of the finest stand-ups in the country; killer sets on Jimmy Fallon and Conan O’Brien, Comedy Central, VH1, feature film Wifed Out) plus members of Sean’s family, and other comics TBD, telling jokes and serving turkey & pie at The Creek’s upstairs theatre in Queens’ Long Island City hosted by Rebecca A. Trent: Thanksgiving at The Creek

[$] 7:30 pm ($22 & 2-drink min.): A stand-up who starred in a Comedy Central Presents half-hour special, co-hosted P. Diddy’s Bad Boys of Comedy, and has appeared on HBO’s Def Comedy Jam and BET’s Comic View who’s been a regular on Opie & Anthony and performed his own HBO special, I Swear To God, headlining tonight and Sunday at the Carolines Comedy Club: Drew Fraser

[$] 9:00 pm ($15 & 2-drink min.): Nick Griffin (David Letterman, Jay Leno, Comedy Central Presents), Ryan Hamilton (Conan O’Brien, Last Comic Standing, Comedy Central, Showtime), Andrew Schulz (MTV 2’s Guy Code), Jeff Lamp (Jay Leno), Mike Yard (Comedy Central, Def Comedy Jam), Modi (Comedy Central), and more performing at Comedy Cellar (117 MacDougal Street, between 3rd Street & Minetta Lane): Nick Griffin and Ryan Hamilton

[$] 9:00 pm ($15 & 2-drink min.): Rob Cantrell (Last Comic Standing, Comedy Central, VHI, documentary Metaphysical Graffiti, High Times), Ryan Hamilton (Conan O’Brien, Last Comic Standing, Comedy Central, Showtime), Maddog Mattern (to see Maddog handle a heckler, please click here), and more performing at the Stand Up New York Comedy Club (236 West 78th Street): Rob Cantrell, Ryan Hamilton, and Maddog Mattern

[$] [DISCOUNTED] 9:30 pm (no cover if you mention code HyReviews.com, but 2-drink min.): NYC stand-ups (not announced, but typically a mix between downtown & club comics) at the Greenwich Village Comedy Club (99 MacDougal Street): Stand-Up in the West Village

[TOP PICK] [$] 11:00 pm ($15 & 2-drink min.): Dave Attell (star of Comedy Central’s Insomniac with Dave Attell, David Letterman), Jena Friedman (wry dark comedy stand-up and rising star; producer for The Daily Show, former staff writer for David Letterman, host of Entertaining the Bartender), Kurt Metzger (Jimmy Fallon, Comedy Central Presents, Ugly Americans), Jermaine Fowler (FOX’s new In Living Color, MTV, Adult Swim’s The Eric Andre Show), Chris Distefano (Comedy Central, MTV2’s Guy Code), Ardie Fuqua (HBO, Comedy Central), and more performing at Comedy Cellar (117 MacDougal Street, between 3rd Street & Minetta Lane): Dave Attell and Jena Friedman

Thanksgiving

Happy Thanksgiving!!!

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NYC Top Comedy Choices for Wednesday 11/21/12

November 21, 2012

For more, please visit HyReviews.com.

My favorite fast food place, Tuck Shop, got hit hard by Sandy. Please check out its amazing meat & veggie mini-pies; the 68 East 1st Street store is near UCB East and open very late…and is run by a fiery Aussie redhead who’s a delight.

John Flynn

UCBT star John Flynn performs his best stories and jokes for the live taping of his first comedy album…

Simon Amstell

…and it’s your last chance to catch UK star Simon Amstell’s one-man show at Theatre 80 St. Marks: “Numb”

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: Open-mic stand-up providing 3 minutes per comic at Queens LIC’s The Creek upstairs theatre hosted by Max Corbel & Benel Germosen: Cracking It

7:00 pm-12:30 am ($7 for the entire evening): A special pre-holiday gathering of Magnet house troupes Organic Cranberries, Turkey-Bot 2000, A Thanksgiving Story, Millions of Thanksgiving Hugs, Football on the TV, Brick, Macy’s Day Massacre, and Christmas So Soon performing improv, followed by a free audience interactive show with Flower Girl at 11:30 pm: The Magnet’s Megawatt

7:00 pm ($5): Calise Hawkins (Jimmy Fallon, Last Comic Standing, Comedy Central, writer for Playboy.com) Chris Lamberth (national TV commercial star), Mike Denny (co-host of Bar Matchless), and Matteo Lane (visiting from Chicago) performing at The PIT downstairs lounge hosted by the delightful Abbi Crutchfield (VH1) and her husband Luke Thayer (Tyra Banks; co-host of The Living Room): Positively Awesome

[FREE] 7:00 pm to midnight: Five free hours of improvisation at The PIT upstairs theatre: Super Free Wednesday

7:00 pm ($5): Sketch comedy from Joe List (Comedy Central), Micah Sherman (Second City, The Scene), Dan Hirshon (Huffington Post), Ben Kissel, and many more performing at The PIT downstairs lounge, produced by Micah Sherman: Old School Sketch Comedy Show

[TOP PICK] [$] 7:30 pm & 10:00 pm ($60 & 2-drink min.): A co-star of 30 Rock who’s one of the most hilarious guys in the biz headlines tonight and this weekend at the Carolines Comedy Club: Tracy Morgan

7:30 pm ($5): Celebrating a lesser-known parade via improv at UCB East, featuring superb improvisor Ellena Chmielewski: The Macy’s Day Before Thanksgiving Day Parade

[MEGA-TOP PICK] [$] 8:00 pm ($26 via the box office or $30 online): UK TV star Simon Amstell (BBC’s Do Nothing, Grandma’s House) performs a brilliant one-man show about the anxieties of success and the meaning of life—and yes, he will tell you the meaning of life before the evening ends (worth the price of admission right there…). While the show is tightly scripted, Simon is one of the most lightning-quick wits in comedy, and at the performance I attended reminded me of Daniel Kitson by crafting many of the best moments on the fly from responses to the audience. (For example, when a woman in the first row abruptly got up to leave Simon did several minutes on that; and when she returned from the bathroom and explained she hadn’t missed anything because she’d seen Numb before, Simon replied, “I don’t know whether that makes it better or worse. Does that mean you waited until the part of the show you liked the least?”) Take advantage of this final chance—the NYC run ends tonight—and nab tickets at the lovely Theatre 80 St. Marks (80 St. Marks Place, between First and Second Avenues) for Simon Amstell: Numb

[TOP PICK] 8:00 pm ($5): John Flynn (superb storyteller/actor/host; The Nights of Our Lives, host of storytelling show Oh, Hey Guys!) is one of the most underrated comics in NYC. Tonight John will address that at UCB Chelsea by performing his best stories and stand-up for posterity before an enthusiastic audience—which hopefully will include you: John Flynn’s Live Comedy Album Taping

[TOP PICK] [$] 8:00 pm ($65): This isn’t pure comedy, but an enchanting hodgepodge of original tall tales fueled by laughs. The 2-hour play from the wonderful guys of PigPen blends shadow puppetry, songs, inventive staging, and more to create living dreams. For my review of PigPen’s two previous shows at FringeNYC, please click here and here. This newest work is their most ambitious, and that sometimes results in the story feeling too slow or padded; but it also yields a deeper emotional payoff. And even though not all the bits hit the mark, so many of them do that you’re likely to feel satisfied—and missing PigPen’s world after the show is over. The production is at The Gym at Judson (243 Thompson Street) in the West Village: The Old Man and the Moon

FREE] 8:00 pm: NYC stand-ups do sets “and then have a discussion about what’s going on in the world and the mysteries of life” at The Creek upstairs theatre in Queens’ Long Island City, hosted by Chris Laker: The Show

[TOP PICK] 9:00 pm ($5): The instructors of UCB’s classes include some of the finest improvisors in the country. In this new weekly show a bunch of them get on stage at UCB East, along with hosts Betsy Stover and Ari Voukydis: Hot for Teacher: The UCB Faculty Show

[TOP PICK] [$] [DISCOUNTED] 9:00 pm & 11:00 pm (FREE TICKETS if you reserve in advance by calling (212) 260-2445 and mention HyReviews.com, but there’s still a 2-drink min. per person): Rachel Feinstein (finalist on Last Comic Standing; Comedy Central; opens for Sarah Silverman on tour), Andrew Schulz (MTV 2’s Guy Code), and more performing at the only comedy club in the East Village: Eastville Comedy Club

[FREE] 9:00 pm:Al Jackson (Comedy Central Presents; come for Al’s wise advice about choosing a wife), Joe Harrington (MTV), Luke Younger, Jeff Cerulli, and Stephanie Holmes performing stand-up at this free weekly comedy show at Lucky Jack’s Bar (129 Orchard Street) produced by Kyle Fincham, Lance Weiss, and Brendon Fitzgibbons: Gandhi, Is That You?

[TOP PICK] 9:30 pm ($5): “For over a year, Patrick Waldo scrawled his moustache tag on countless advertisements around New York City, entertaining commuters and causing thousands of dollars in damage. After a three month investigation, the NYPD put an end to his spree when they arrested Waldo under felony charges of graffiti, criminal mischief, and fucking shit up,” written & starring Patrick Waldo, and directed by Nate Dern & John Flynn: Moustache Man: Confessions of a NYC Graffiti Artist…

…and in the other half of this UCB Chelsea double-bill, Harrison Greenbaum (writer for Mad Magazine; head writer of Tu Nite con Lorenzo Parro on NBCU/Telemundo; winner of the 2010 Andy Kaufman Award) performs a 30-minute stand-up set: Harrison Greenbaum

10:00 pm ($5): Chris Nester & Ross Taylor are aspiring Country Western musicians who “sneak laughs and toe-tapping-tunes in between serious moral lessons based on suggestions from the audience (sinners welcome!)” at The PIT downstairs lounge: The Oakwood Boys: MoralityProv

[FREE] 11:00 pm: Open-mic stand-up running until 1:00 am, with time divided evenly between performers (up to five minutes), at The Creek downstairs lounge in Queens’ Long Island City with host Rob Stern: Bucket ‘O Buckets

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.

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