For more, please visit HyReviews.com.
Catch Michelle Wolf for just $7.37 headlining Tuesday at Carolines
The PIT’s Sketch Comedy Festival continues, tonight featuring such stellar groups as Skinny Bitch Jesus Meeting…
…and Murderfist
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] 4:30 pm-12:30 am ($8 per show, $50 for all-you-can-see festival pass): A full evening of sketch comedy, consisting of 11 shows playing at The PIT upstairs theater and downstairs lounge, for the 3rd of 4 days of this annual festival running through Sunday: New York City Sketch Comedy Festival 2013
[TOP PICK] [$] 6:00 pm ($15, which includes 1 drink; reservations highly recommended by calling 212.989.9319): Four funny people tell amazing stories. Three of the tales are absolutely true…but one of them is a pack of lies. The audience then asks questions to try and identify the fibber—and everyone who does gets a free t-shirt! This evening’s yarn-spinners are Ed Gavagan (TED Talks), Christine Gentry (NPR’s This American Life), Erin Barker (The Moth Radio Hour), and Bill Chambers (Ten Foot Rat Cabaret). Come to the West Village’s Cornelia Street Cafe (29 Cornelia Street) and let host Andy Christie (The New York Times, NPR, Moth GrandSlam champion, exceptionally nice guy) attempt to mislead you at The Liar Show
[TOP PICK] [$] 7:00 pm, 7:45 pm, 9:15 pm, 9:45 pm, and 11:00 pm ($20-$24 per show, plus 2-item food/drink min.): Tonight’s lineups include Paul Mecurio at 9:45 and 11:00; and no other heavy-hitters, but that makes me suspect there’ll be some famous drop-ins tonight (no promises, though…), with four of the shows at Comedy Cellar (117 MacDougal Street, between 3rd Street & Minetta Lane), and the 7:45 pm and 9:45 pm shows at Village Underground (130 West 3rd Street, off Sixth Avenue): Comedy Cellar Saturday
[$] [DISCOUNTED] 7:00 pm & 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): Christian Finnegan (Conan O’Brien, co-star of TBS’ Are We There Yet?; three Comedy Central specials; MSNBC, VH1’s Best Week Ever, Chappelle’s Show, The Today Show), Dean Edwards (Saturday Night Live, MTV’s Celebrity Deathmatch, HBO’s The Sopranos, feature film Scared Shrekless), and more performing at the only comedy club in the East Village: Eastville Comedy Club
7:30 pm ($10): Improv powerhouses Charlie Todd, Jim Santangeli, Natasha Rothwell, and more at UCB Chelsea interview an audience member about where he or she grew up and then “turn that town’s tourist attractions, landmarks, hangouts, local celebrities, urban legends, and more into a hilarious show made up on the spot:” The Curfew: Not From Around Here
7:30 pm ($10): Sharp Magnet improvisors “perform organic freeform improvisation in two mind-blowing parts; the only rule is that there are no rules:” The Weave
[TOP PICK] [$] 8:00 pm ($20; no drink min.): Todd Barry (David Letterman, Conan O’Brien, Comedy Central Presents, FX’s Louie, HBO’s Flight of the Conchords and Bored to Death, Adult Swim, feature films The Wrestler and Pete Smalls is Dead), Russ Meneve (Conan O’Brien, Jay Leno), Marina Franklin (Jay Leno, Last Comic Standing, Chappelle’s Show, VH1), Big Jay Oakerson (Comedy Central Presents, Louie, HBO, Showtime, MTV, IFC), Paul Virzi (FOX, Spike TV), and Modi (Comedy Central) performing stand-up at The Stand Comedy Club (239 Third Avenue & 20th Street): Todd Barry, Russ Meneve, Marina Franklin, and More
[TOP PICK] [$] 8:00 pm ($18): Comic Matt Graham, who’s a bone fide international Scrabble champion, performs a show about Scrabble and life at the West Village’s Soho Playhouse: The Great III Am
[FREE] 8:00 pm: Reid Faylor, Matteo Lane, Zoe Zimmerman, Peggy O’Leary, and Queen City Cobra performing at this show that asks, “Want to see your favorite stand-up comics get slapped by Satan himself? He only hosts bringer shows, but join as they step into the Big Man’s shoes and put NYC’s finest through comedy purgatory. Hula-hoops, celebrity impressions, unwanted audience participation, all incorporated into each performance! Will they triumph or will the nether world eat their souls? Come see for yourself in this monthly showcase” at Queens LIC’s The Creek upstairs theatre hosted by Matt Wayne & Doug Smith: See You in Hell
[TOP PICK] 8:30 pm ($10): UCBT improv troupe Airwolf—which includes such talents as John Frusciante, Molly Lloyd, Tim Martin, and Emily Axford, and last year crushed 15 improv groups in Cage Match, entirely owns the UCB East stage tonight at Airwolf: Let’s Go Back to Your Place
[FREE] 8:30 pm: NYC stand-ups (not announced) performing at The Irish Exit (978 Second Avenue, off 52nd Street, in the back room) hosted by Gary Vider (hilarious writer & deadpan stand-up; for sample jokes, please click here): Comedy at Irish Exit
[TOP PICK] 9:00 pm ($10): While Death by Roo Roo is out of town, Harold Night group Bucky—which includes brilliant improvisor Sasheer Zamata—takes this prestigious spot for one night only, making up scenes at the UCB Chelsea theatre: Bucky: Here and Now
9:00 pm ($10): Magnet improvisors team up with poets at Kiss*Punch*Poem
[TOP PICK] [FREE] 10:00 pm: Hilarious, organic show in which stand-ups Amber Nelson (fearless, innovative rising star; Comedy Central; sketch troupe The Prom, co-host of The Dream Show), Michelle Wolf (super-likeable dark comic rising star; MTV, IFC, upcoming show at Carolines—use discount code BREAKOUT), Selena Coppock (author of book The New Rules for Blondes, host of Connotation), Jeff Wesselschmidt (Rooftop Comedy), Tyler Fischer, and Shakir Standley perform anything except stand-up—e.g., sketch, storytelling, improv, songs, dance, puppetry, and things we can’t even imagine—at The Creek upstairs theatre in Queens’ Long Island City hosted by Reid Faylor, Kelly Fastuca, and/or Andrew Short: Underbelly
[TOP PICK] 10:00 pm ($10): UCBT Artistic Director Nate Dern, Zhubin Parang (writer for The Daily Show), Tracey Wigfield (writer for 30 Rock), Michael Kayne (Baby Wants Candy, Diamond Lion), Aaron Jackson (Newsadoozies), and more form an improv troupe at UCB East that won this year’s prestigious Cage Match championship by springboarding scenes off interviewing an audience member about his or her love life: What I Did For Love
[TOP PICK] [$] 10:00 pm ($20): 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 West Village’s Soho Playhouse: The Complete Performer
[TOP PICK] 10:30 pm ($10): Nick Kanellis & Peter McNerney perform sharp improv at The Magnet as comedy duo Trike
[TOP PICK] 10:30 pm ($10): At UCB Chelsea, improv group Grandma’s Ashes—which includes stellar talents Ryan Karels, Morgan Grace Jarrett, Brandon Scott Jones, and more—takes your written secrets and turns them into very funny improv scenes: Grandma’s Ashes: We Won’t Tell
[TOP PICK] 11:00 ($8): NYC’s heavy metal version of a sketch troupe, which provides odd, unsettling, and fearless dark comedy—and in 2011 won the ECNY Award for Best Sketch Group—says, “Sketchfest really only exists so some sketch comedians can have sloppy drunk sex with a stranger once a year. We’ll supply the giggles to get all your no-holes all lubied up. Show us yours and we’ll show you ours. Also we asked some of our best stand-up friends to come help with some sketch. Come give a greasy kiss to Jared Logan, Amber Nelson, and Ashley Brooke Roberts. We’re doing a two hour set, so make sure you bring drugs. Also come and enter our sketch writing class on Sunday. We won’t be hung over (winky face)” performing at The PIT downstairs lounge: Murderfist
[TOP PICK] 11:30 ($5): A freestyle rap contest at UCB East with typically terrific NYC comics (not announced)—plus a volunteer from the audience!, hosted by genius human beatbox Chris “Shockwave” Sullivan (The Daily Show, The Electric Company, Freestyle Love Supreme) and Victor Varnado (Conan O’Brien, Jimmy Kimmel, Comedy Central) at one of my favorite monthly shows: The BEATdown
[TOP PICK] Midnight ($5): Andy Blitz (comedy genius best known for being an Emmy-nominated and long-time writer/performer for Late Night with Conan O’Brien; has also written for Comedy Central’s Important Things, MTV’s Human Giant, etc.; a thoroughly unique stand-up whose sets—ranging from talking peanut butter to jet-flying cats—tend to be unforgettable), 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 CDs Vegan Mind Meld and Meat Robot), Seaton Smith (Opie & Anthony Virus Tour), Eli Yudin, and more performing stand-up at UCB Chelsea hosted by Aaron Glaser: Midnight Stand-Up
Saturday Open Mics and Jams
[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] 5:30 pm: Walk-in open-mic comedy show—stand-up, character, or funny story—providing 5 minutes per comic at The Fifth Estate Bar (506 5th Avenue, off 12th Street) hosted by Meghan O’Keefe: Open Mic-hael Douglas
5:30 pm ($5): Walk-in open-mic, with sign-up at 5:15 pm and each stand-up performing for 5 minutes, at the Comedy Village Comedy Club (107 MacDougal Street): Comedy Village
Best Inexpensive Stand-Up, Improv, Sketch, and Storytelling
Upright Citizens Brigade Chelsea
(307 West 26th Street; 150-seater; shows free-$10; one of the most respected comedy theatres in the world)
Upright Citizens Brigade East
(153 East 3rd Street; 99-seat main theatre, bar area for open mics; shows free-$10)
The PIT
(123 East 24th Street; 99-seat upstairs theatre, 40-seat downstairs theatre; shows free-$15)
The Magnet
(254 West 29th Street; 60-seat theatre; shows $5-$10)
The Creek and the Cave
(Queens’ Long Island City; 40-seat theatre upstairs, 25 downstairs; virtually all shows free)
Best NYC Stand-Up Comedy Clubs
Comedy Cellar
(117 MacDougal Street; among the finest daily stand-up lineups in the world; 2-item min.)
The Stand
(239 Third Avenue; recent competitor to Comedy Cellar; no drink min.—support this policy!)
Carolines Comedy Club
(1626 Broadway; focuses on the world’s top headliners, who perform hour-long sets; 2-drink min.)
Gotham Comedy Club
(208 West 23rd Street; headliners on weekends, specialty & lineup shows weekdays; 2-drink min.)
Eastville Comedy Club
(85 East 4th Street; strong weekend lineups; no cover using code HyReviews; 2-drink min.)
Greenwich Village Comedy Club
(99 MacDougal Street; convenient if Comedy Cellar’s sold out; no cover using code HyReviews; 2-drink min.)
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.
Best New York Comedy 