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John Mulaney performs at the 8:00 pm Comedy Cellar…
…and Aparna Nancherla is among the stellar improvisors at Act One
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] 5:00 pm: A smorgasbord of of stand-up, comedic music, comedic dance, sketch, and more at The Creek upstairs theatre in Queens’ Long Island City hosted by Mike Fiorito: Mishmash Mashup
[FREE] 7:00 pm: A headlining set from Eddie Pepitone (Conan O’Brien, Jimmy Kimmel, Last Comic Standing, Comedy Central) at The Creek upstairs theatre in Queens’ Long Island City: Eddie Pepitone
[TOP PICK] 7:30 pm ($10) and 9:30 pm [FREE]: UCB Chelsea’s signature improv comedy extravaganza, which typically includes superstars in the improv world such as Chris Gethard, and occasionally network TV & movie stars such as Amy Poehler and Horatio Sanz: ASSSSCAT 3000
7:30 pm ($7): New groups Baby Shoes and Action Park perform sketch comedy at The Magnet theatre: Magnet Sketch Teams
[$] 7:30 pm ($42 & 2-drink min.) A comic best known for his appearances on Comedy Central celebrity roasts, but who’s also performed on David Letterman, Conan O’Brien, Jay Leno, The Today Show, The View, HBO, CNN, MSNBC—and even ABC’s Dancing with the Stars!—headlining tonight and Sunday at the Carolines Comedy Club: Jeffrey Ross
[TOP PICK] [$] 8:00, 9:45 pm, and 11:30 pm ($14 per show, plus 2-item food/drink min.): Tonight’s lineups include John Mulaney, Nick Griffin, and Keith Alberstadt at the 8:00 show; Judah Friedlander, Gary Gulman, and Gregg Rogell at the 9:45 show; and Mark Normand, Ryan Hamilton, Big Jay Oakerson, and Joe List at the 11:30 show, with all shows at Comedy Cellar (117 MacDougal Street, between 3rd Street & Minetta Lane): Comedy Cellar Sunday
[TOP PICK] 8:00 pm ($5): Superb improv comics Micah Sherman, Aparna Nancherla, Bob Kulhan, and Kevin Cragg, plus guest improv groups Mead and Horse Room, join host Skycopter (which includes the incredible David Carl) to make up one-act plays on the spot at The PIT downstairs lounge: Act One
8:00 pm ($5): Claudia Cogan (Last Comic Standing, MTV, Logo, here! TV), Selena Coppock (author of book The New Rules for Blondes, host of Connotation), Paul Oddo, Taylor Ketchum, Myka Fox, and Will Miles performing stand-up at UCB East hosted by Kara Klenk (Comedy Central, Spike, Nickelodeon): If You Build It
[FREE] 8:00 pm: The Roundtable of Gentlemen present a roast of comic Marcus Parks at The Creek upstairs theatre in Queens’ Long Island City: The Roast of Marcus Parks
8:00 pm ($12): A one-woman show written by Katherine Knowles and performed by Ann Marie Yoo “about expectation, failure, and nose rings” at The PIT downstairs lounge: Ways We Disappoint Our Parents
8:00 pm ($15; no min.): An evening of Brazilian-themed comedy and music with host Julia Melim performing at The Stand Comedy Club (239 Third Avenue & 20th Street): The Brazilian Hour
[TOP PICK] [FREE] 9:00 pm: Typically terrific stand-ups (not announced) performing at Brooklyn’s Knitting Factory (361 Metropolitan Avenue) typically hosted by the wonderful Hannibal Buress (former staff writer for 30 Rock, Saturday Night Live; David Letterman, Jimmy Fallon, Louie, The Eric Andre Show, host of Comedy Night, one-hour Comedy Central specials Animal Furnace and Live From Chicago): Comedy Night
[TOP PICK] [FREE] 9:00 pm: Dan St. Germain (enormously likeable and rapidly rising star who has several TV shows in the works; Jimmy Fallon, Comedy Central Half-Hour Special, The Electric Company, MTV, VH1), Justy Dodge (co-host of Married to Comedy podcast and Too Much Information on comicalradio.com; “I was kind of a tomboy growing up. Like, I had Barbies, but only because my Ninja Turtles needed bitches;” for dark bio video, please click here), Nick Mullen, Michael Joyce, and Travis Irvine performing at the East Village’s Beauty Bar for this free weekly stand-up show hosted by Adam Sokol, Brad Austin, and/or Nate Fridson: Comedy at Beauty Bar
9:00 pm ($5): A one-man show by Dave Warth, with some on-stage assistance from Rosie Whalen and directed by Justin Peters, at The Magnet theatre: Everything
[TOP PICK] 9:30 pm ($10): Brilliant improvisors Dan Hodapp (Hodapp & Rothwell), Micah Sherman (The Baldwins), Bob Kulhan (The Annoyance), Abby Sher (Second City MainStage), and Will Nunziata (Sea Legs) make up theatrical scenes at The PIT upstairs theatre: People Improvising
[TOP PICK] [DISCOUNTED] [FREE] 10:00 pm (FREE online using code TEACH; no min.): Judah Friedlander (one of the quickest minds in comedy; 30 Rock, Meet the Parents, Along Came Polly, author of How to Beat Up Anybody), Adrienne Iapalucci (David Letterman, Last Comic Standing, VH1), Joe List (HBO, Last Comic Standing, Comedy Central), Pete Lee (David Letterman, Comedy Central Half Hour, VH1), Damien Lemon (MTV2’s Guy Code, Comedy Central), and Luis J. Gomez performing at The Stand Comedy Club (239 Third Avenue & 20th Street): Judah Friedlander, Adrienne Iapalucci, Joe List, and More
Sunday Open Mics & Open Stages
[FREE] 4:00 pm: An unusually early walk-in open-mic stand-up show (put your name in the bucket at 3:45), providing 3 minutes or more per comic at The Creek downstairs lounge in Queens’ Long Island City: Face-Plant Comedy Open Mic
[ALMOST FREE] 5:00 pm ($1): Sign up at 4:30 pm to do improv with experienced PIT performers at The PIT downstairs lounge hosted by Sasha Capelli, Eitan Levine, and Shaina Stigler: 10K Jam Jam
[FREE] 5:30 pm: Open-mic stand-up, with 3 minutes per comic (unless not many folks show up, in which case there’ll be more time), with names drawn out of a bucket at UCB East in the bar area (“Hot Chicks Room”) hosted by Emmy Blotnick, Matt Nedostup, and/or Sachi Ezurafor: Sledgehammer
6:00 pm ($5): Open-mic stand-up that includes professional feedback on each comic’s 5-minute set at Queens LIC’s Laughing Devil Comedy Club (4738 Vernon Blvd.): Mic-Shop: Open Mic Workshop
6:00 pm ($5): Hour-long open mic stand-up providing 5 minutes per comic. Check-in is at 5:45 at the new Comedians Club of New York (158 West 72nd Street), which was formerly The Triad Theatre: Comedians Club Open Mic
[FREE] 10:00 pm: The only open-stage show for entire groups of improvisors and sketch comics, running weekly at UCB East hosted by Austin Rodrigues: Bring Your Own Team: Improv/Sketch Team Jam
[FREE] 10:00 pm: Open-mic show for sketch and character bits running 3-5 minutes at The Magnet hosted by Sebastian Conelli. Everyone who signs up—at 9:45 pm at the box office—is likely to get onstage: Sketch in Progress
11:00 pm ($3): Open-mic comedy, with 3-5 minutes per walk-in performer who signs up (first come, first serve) at The PIT downstairs lounge, hosted by Will Neville: Amateur Night At The Gemini
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.)
Comic Strip Live
(1568 Second Avenue, off 81st; Upper East Side club with typically solid lineups; 2-drink min.)
Stand Up NY
(236 West 78th Street, off Broadway; Upper West Side club with typically solid lineups; 2-drink min.)
Laughing Devil
(4738 Vernon Blvd., by #7 train; Queens LIC club, with MST3K-style movie night on Thursdays; 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.
Please feel encouraged to reach out to tell me about comedy shows, hire me for book or screenplay work, or for any other reason by emailing me at hy@hyreviews.com.
Best New York Comedy 