May | 2015 | Best New York Comedy

NYC Top Comedy Choices for Sunday 5/31/15

May 31, 2015

For more discounted NYC shows, please click here

Brett Gelman (above), Colin Quinn, Chris Gethard, Michelle Wolf, Wyatt Cenac, Jermaine Fowler, Jared Logan, and more perform stand-up at Brooklyn’s Bell House…

…and Adira Amram (above), The Reformed Whores, and The Undone Sweaters make comedic music at Brooklyn’s Union Hall

Tonight’s recommendations for the best in New York City comedy (in chronological order, with top picks noted and shows over $10 marked with $) include:

6:00 pm ($5): Sketches and other scripted comedy in 5-minute and 15-minute slots at The Magnet theatre: The Generator

6:30 pm ($5): Three NYC improv groups that are independent (i.e., not a house team of any particular improv school/theatre) compete for audience member laughs and votes at UCB East hosted by superb improvisors Amey Goerlich & Ryan Karels (half of revered improv group Krompf): Indie Cage Match

[TOP PICK] [$] 7:30 pm ($20): Superb stand-up lineup of Colin Quinn, Chris Gethard, Michelle Wolf, Brett Gelman (not in NYC very often anymore), Wyatt Cenac, Jermaine Fowler, Jared Logan, Kevin Barnett, Cyrus Ghahremani, and Max Silvestri performing at Brooklyn’s The Bell House (149 7th Street) sponsored by Vulture: Vulture Festival: Colin Quinn, Chris Gethard, Michelle Wolf, Brett Gelman, Wyatt Cenac, Jermaine Fowler, Jared Logan, and More

[TOP PICK] 7:30 pm ($5 at the door or $6.44 in advance online): Great comedic musical lineup of Adira Amram and The Experience, The Reformed Whores, and The Undone Sweaters performing at Brooklyn’s Union Hall. If you know any of these groups, rejoice and go enjoy: Adira Amram, The Reformed Whores, and The Undone Sweaters

[TOP PICK] [$] [DISCOUNTED] 7:30 pm ($25.73 online using discount code TODDB, plus 2-drink min.): World-class stand-up Todd Barry (FX’s Louie, David Letterman, Conan O’Brien, Comedy Central Presents, HBO’s Flight of the Conchords and Bored to Death, Adult Swim, feature films The Wrestler and Pete Smalls is Dead) headlines for one night only at the Carolines Comedy Club: Todd Barry

[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 Shannon O’Neill and Anthony Atamanuik, and sometimes network TV & movie stars such as Amy Poehler and Horatio Sanz: ASSSSCAT 3000

7:30 pm ($7): Comedy group Wendigo performs sketch comedy at The Magnet theatre: Magnet Sketch Team

[TOP PICK] [$] 8:00 pm, 9:45 pm and 11:30 pm ($14 per show, plus 2-item food/drink min.): Tonight’s stand-ups include Mark Normand, Joe Machi, Ryan Hamilton, Nikki Glaser, Greer Barnes, Nick Griffin, Jon Fisch, Keith Alberstadt, Rachel Feinstein, Big Jay Oakerson, Joe List, and Damien Lemon, with all three shows at Comedy Cellar(117 MacDougal Street, between 3rd Street & Minetta Lane): Comedy Cellar Sunday

[TOP PICK] 8:00 pm ($5): 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), Matt Koff (writer forThe Daily Show), Doug Smith (co-host of See You In Hell), Harrison Greenbaum (Comedy Central, Mad Magazine), Nick Rutherford, and Joe Fernandez performing stand-up at UCB East hosted by Kara Klenk (writer for VH1’s Girl Code & Guy Code and contributor to Broad City): If You Build It

[TOP PICK] 8:00 pm ($5): Superb improvisors Silvija Ozols , Morgan Philips, Abby Sher, Kevin Laibson, Brett Wean, Mike Burton, and Kevin Cragg make up theatrical scenes at The PIT downstairs lounge for this weekly show produced by Sarah Nowak & Micah Sherman: People Improvising

[TOP PICK] 8:00 pm ($5): Jena Friedman (wry dark comedy stand-up and rising star; producer for The Daily Show,former staff writer for David Letterman), John Early (30 Rock, Broad City, Netflix’s Wet Hot American Summer), Nick Rutherford (writer for Saturday Night Live; sketch group Good Neighbor), Greg Barris (host of Heart of Darkness), Ryan Bennett, Nick Naney, and Matt Stowe performing stand-up, plus sketch from Livia Scott (comedic chameleon;Conan O’Brien, Law & Order, VH1, feature film National Lampoon’s Dirty Movie; sketch groups Legs For Days andThe Livia Scott Sketch Program) and duo Good Cop Great Cop, all performing at Brooklyn’s Shea Stadium (20 Meadow Street) hosted by Brett Davis & Sally Burtnick: The Macaulay Culkin Show

8:00 pm ($5): Improv group Modern Baby makes up scenes that the tech book interjects with sound effects and songs that must be instantly incorporated into the show’s narrative at The PIT downstairs lounge: MIX TAPE Vol. 3

[DISCOUNTED] 8:00 pm ($10 online using code SFBMAY; no min.): Stand-ups Dino Vigo, Reggie Conquest, Lois Thompson, and more performing at The Stand Comedy Club (239 Third Avenue & 20th Street) hosted by Amanda Seales & Marc Lamont Hill: Smart, Funny, and Black

[FREE] 8:00 pm: NYC stand-ups performing at The Creek upstairs theatre in Queens’ Long Island City typically hosted by Peggy O’Leary: Creek Cave Live

[TOP PICK] 9:00 pm ($7): Strong lineup of Kurt Metzger (staff writer for Inside Amy Schumer; Jimmy Fallon, Comedy Central special White Precious, Comedy Central Presents, Ugly Americans), Ryan Hamilton (Conan O’Brien, Last Comic Standing, Comedy Central, Showtime), Jared Logan (Comedy Central Half Hour, Last Comic Standing, CNN, TBS), Sherrod Small (writer/performer on TBS’ Are We There Yet?, Comedy Central, VH1), Phil Hanley (Seth Meyers, Comedy Central Half Hour, Craig Ferguson, host of Chemistry), and Megan Gailey performing stand-up at Brooklyn’sKnitting Factory (361 Metropolitan Avenue) hosted by Will Miles, Clark Jones, and/or Kenny DeForest: Comedy Night at the Knit: Kurt Metzger, Ryan Hamilton, Jared Logan, and More

[TOP PICK] 9:00 pm ($10): Duo improv from Louis Kornfeld & Rick Andrews at The Magnet theatre: Kornfeld & Andrews

[TOP PICK] 9:30 pm ($5): Superb improvisors and guest improv groups 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

[TOP PICK] 10:00 pm ($15; no min.): Mark Normand (one of the very finest stand-ups in the country; Conan O’Brien, Comedy Central Half Hour, Inside Amy Schumer, Last Comic Standing, VH1’s Best Week Ever; comedy album Still Got It; opens for Amy Schumer), 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), Mike Vecchione (Jay Leno, Comedy Central Half Hour, Last Comic Standing, Howard Stern), Crystian Ramirez, and Vladimir Caamano performing stand-up at The Stand Comedy Club (239 Third Avenue & 20th Street): Mark Normand, Dan St. Germain, 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 hosted by James Ferrarella: Face-Plant Comedy Open Mic

[FREE] 4:45 pm: An improv jam celebrating diversity in comedy that lets audience members—whose names are drawn from a bucket—perform with sharp improv/sketch group Astronomy Club (which includes Keisha Zollar and Jonathan Braylock) at the UCB East theatre: Diversity Improv Jam

[TOP PICK] [ALMOST FREE] 5:00 pm ($1): Comedy dynamo Tracy Mull loves short-form improv games with a passion, and so is the perfect host for this jam that lets audience members—including you—put their names in a bucket. Tracy will then repeatedly pull out a name and a game and facilitate improv magic at The PIT upstairs theatre:Sunday School Short-Form Jam

[ALMOST FREE] 5:00 pm ($1): Sign up at 4:30 pm to do improv with experienced PIT performers at The PITdownstairs lounge hosted by Sasha Capelli, Eitan Levine, and Shaina Stigler: 10K Jam Jam

5:15ish pm (no cover, 1 drink min.): Weekly open mic stand-up, with comics selected from names tossed into a bucket starting at 4:55 pm, at Brooklyn’s Legion Bar (790 Metropolitan Avenue) hosted by Aaron Glaser, Irene Hartmann, and/or Carlos Delgado: Sunday Open Mic

9:30 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

[FREE] 10:00 pm: An open-mic stand-up show (sign up is at 9:45 pm) providing 5 minutes for each comic whose name is pulled from the bucket at The Creek upstairs theatre in Queens’ Long Island City hosted by Christi Chiello:Lance Bass Space Mic

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

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)

The Annoyance Theatre
(367 Bedford Ave. in Brooklyn; J/M/Z to Marcy or L to Lorimer; 50-seat theatre; shows free-$10)

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/The Standing Room
(4738 Vernon Blvd., by #7 train; Queens LIC club; free cover Fri-Sat with code LICVIP; 2-drink min.)

From legendary NYC comedy site Brooklyn Vegan: Thank God for Hy Bender’s religiously updated show bible BestNewYorkComedy.com. He is literally the only person in NYC providing daily summaries of what’s happening comedy-wise. It must be exhausting keeping that monster of a website alive…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.

Leave a Comment » | Best New York Live Comedy Shows | Tagged: Adira Amram, Brett Gelman, Live Comedy shows in NYC tonight, New York Comedy, NYC Comedy, NYC Improv, NYC Sketch, Stand-Up, Vulture Festival | Permalink
Posted by hybender

NYC Top Comedy Choices for Saturday 5/30/15

May 30, 2015

For more discounted NYC shows, please click here

New York Funny Songs Festival 2015, Day 3

The 3rd and final day of Jessica Delfino’s NY Funny Songs Fest includes 50 comedic musicians competing at The Creek. For the complete schedule, please click here. To watch shows online via livestream, please click here.

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] 6:00 pm ($11.50 via Goldstar [vs. $20 at the door]): Ted Greenberg (Emmy-winningDavid Letterman writer) performs a fun, fast-paced theatrical comedy show—complete with audience interaction andaudience rides home!—at The Complete Performer

6:00 pm ($5): Improv troupes Fried Bologna, Gainfully Unemployed, Magic, and Fly Girls performing at The Magnet theatre: The Rundown

6:00 pm ($5): Stand-up comedy from Laotian Sandy Chansamone and other Asian comics, plus gay comics including Sal Capizzi, at The PIT downstairs lounge: The Chink and The Twink

[TOP PICK] [FREE] 7:00 pm: 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; comedy album I Did It; frequently opens for Louis C.K.) tries out new material one last night at The Creek upstairs theatre in Queens’ Long Island City: Week at the Creek: Ted Alexandro

[TOP PICK] 7:00 pm ($10): Star improvisors Brandon Scott Jones, Tami Sagher, Eric Drysdale, Grace Parra, Christina Gausas, Jen Bartels, and Cipha Sounds make up scenes at the UCB Chelsea theatre as group Maravilla

[TOP PICK] 7:00 pm ($10): Superb comics Sebastian Conelli Sebastian Conelli (improv member of 2014 Cage MatchChampion The Enemy), Glenn Boozan (writer & star of hilarious sketch show Dorothy Goes to Hollywood), and more helps audience members relive their champion moments via improv at the UCB East theatre: Slamball: When We Were Kings

[TOP PICK] [$] 7:00 pm, 7:15 pm, 8:45 pm, 9:15 pm, 10:30 pm, 11:15 pm, and 12:15 am ($20-$24 per show, plus 2-item food/drink min.): Tonight’s stand-ups include Colin Quinn, Todd Barry, Mark Normand, Ryan Hamilton, Greer Barnes, Gregg Rogell, Marina Franklin, Nikki Glazer, Jon Fisch, Lynne Koplitz, Robert Kelly, Lenny Marcus, Dov Davidoff, and Ricky Velez, with four of the shows at Comedy Cellar (117 MacDougal Street, between 3rd Street & Minetta Lane), and the 7:15, 9:15, and 11:15 shows at Village Underground (130 West 3rd Street, off Sixth Avenue): Comedy Cellar Saturday

[TOP PICK] [$] [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): 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, co-star of feature film The Wrestler, star of delightful documentary The Crowd Work Tour), Moody McCarthy, Gary Vider, Jordan Rock, and more performing at the only comedy club in the East Village: Eastville Comedy Club

7:00 pm ($10): Political activists and pundits mix with comics at this political comedy show that makes fun of the news at The PIT downstairs lounge: Electoral Dysfunction

7:00 pm ($5): House improv groups such as Santeria and Improv Frogs perform for an hour at Brooklyn’s The Annoyance Theatre (367 Bedford Avenue; take J/M/Z to Marcy Avenue or L to Lorimer Street): Annoyance Improv Teams

7:00 pm ($5): “Jeff and Rachel Scherer are happily married improvisers, but they’re ready to spice things up with one of their favorite performers, Geoff Grimwood. Watch as they tenderly explore Jeff on Geoff, Geoff on Rachel, Rachel on Jeff, and even all three on each other. It’s four scenes for the price of one improv threesome” at The PIT upstairs theatre: Rachel and Jeff Have a Threesome

[TOP PICK] 7:30 pm ($10): “A rapid fire medley of 50 comedic musicians singing a funny song each” at Queens LIC’sThe Creek upstairs theatre hosted by The Reformed Whores (raunchy comedic singing duo Marie Cecile Anderson & Katy Frame; album Ladies Don’t Spit; CBS’ The Doctors) and streamed live on DailyMotion.com: 50 Funny Songs Contest

[TOP PICK] 7:30 pm ($10): Improv powerhouses Charlie Todd, Jim Santangeli, Natasha Rothwell, Brandon Gardner, Chelsea Clarke, 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

[TOP PICK] 7:30 pm ($10): “Created in 1995 at the iO Theater in Chicago, The Armando Diaz Experience is the longest running improv show ever. A guest monologist takes a suggestion from the audience and shares true personal tales. These stories are then brought to life by a rotating cast of improv all-stars…and occasionally Armando himself”—with tonight’s guest storyteller Rob Penty at The Magnet theatre: The Armando Diaz Experience

[TOP PICK] [$] [DISCOUNTED] 8:00 pm ($24.75 via Goldstar [vs. $29 at the door]): The only FringeNYC show to ever include a barbershop quartet singing about alcohol and three rounds for each audience member (for my full review, which includes a rave for the spectacular Nicole DiMattei, please click here) is now playing as a perfect show for a date every Friday & Saturday night at the West Village’s Soho Playhouse (15 Vandam Street, in the downstairs Huron Club): The Imbible: A Spirited History of Drinking

[TOP PICK] 8:00 pm ($10): Stellar improv groups The Baldwins (which includes Micah Sherman, Sarah Nowak, and Brigid Boyle) and Big Black Car (which includes Chris Grace, Nate Starkey, and Ashley Ward) make stuff up at The PIT upstairs theatre: The Baldwins and Big Black Car

8:00 pm ($10): A freestyle rapping long-form improv troupe takes the stage for nearly an hour at The PIT downstairs lounge: North Coast

8:00 pm ($8): Joe Pera, Natasha Vaynblat, and Gary Richardson get drunk and then compete at presenting genuine dissertations by real scientists at Brooklyn’s The Annoyance Theatre (367 Bedford Avenue; take J/M/Z to Marcy Avenue or L to Lorimer Street): Drunk Science

[TOP PICK] 8:30 pm ($10): Improv group Airwolf—which includes such talents as Molly Lloyd, Tim Martin, Achilles Stamatelaky, John Frusciante, and Emily Axford, and in 2012 crushed 15 improv groups in a row at Cage Match, entirely owns the UCB East stage tonight at Airwolf: Let’s Go Back to Your Place

[FREE] 8:30 pm: This show-and-tell event encourages you to “bring your weird family photos, demonstrate how many flips you can do in a row, reveal the tattoo your uncle gave you at last year’s family retreat—share anything crazy, kooky, strange or insane; the best of the best will win prizes and bragging rights,” plus stand-up from Brandon Scott Wolf (contributor to SNL’s Weekend Update), Liz Miele (Conan O’Brien, Comedy Central, Damaged), Aaron Glaser (Jimmy Fallon, Wolf of Wall Street; host of Midnight Stand-Up), Dru Johnston, Matt Rain, and Kerryn Feehan, all performing at Brooklyn’s Over the Eight (594 Union Ave) produced by Lukas Kaiser and hosted by Sameer Naseem: Show/Tell Show

[TOP PICK] 9:00 pm ($10): An improvised apocalypse from superb comics Anthony Atamanuik, John Murray, and more at the UCB Chelsea theatre: Goat

9:00 pm ($10): Magnet improvisors team up with poets at Kiss*Punch*Poem

[TOP PICK] 9:30 pm ($10): This unique weekly show incorporates song and dance into sketch comedy focused on pop culture—and does it surprisingly well, with strong writing and a sharp cast of performers at The PIT upstairs theatre: Pop Roulette

9:30 pm ($5): Adam Rubin performs “half a dozen really good magic tricks—classic old-school tricks, sleek modern tricks, even brand new magic tricks invented just for this show” at Brooklyn’s The Annoyance Theatre (367 Bedford Avenue; take J/M/Z to Marcy Avenue or L to Lorimer Street): Magic Time with Rubin

[TOP PICK] 10:00 pm ($10): A powerhouse group of improvisors—Zhubin Parang (writer for The Daily Show), Michael Kayne (Baby Wants Candy, Diamond Lion), Langan Kingsley (rising star; sketch group Beige, one-woman show The Dicewoman Cometh), Aaron Jackson (Fuck That Shit, Newsadoozies), Natasha Vaynblat (one-woman show United Federation of Teachers), Nate Dern (News Editor for Funny or Die), and Jamison Guest—springboard scenes off interviewing an audience member about his or her love life at the UCB East theatre: What I Did For Love

[TOP PICK] [FREE] 10:00 pm: The debut of a monthly show in which comics perform their darkest, saddest, and most traumatically funny bits, which tonight features a sketch from group Murderfist (NYC’s fearless heavy metal version of a sketch troupe; winner of the ECNY Award), plus stand-up from Marcia Belsky, Clark Jones, Casey James Salengo, and Jordan Temple at Queens LIC’s The Creek upstairs theatre hosted by Shane Torres, Nate Fridson, and/or Alison Zeidman: Dark Spots

[TOP PICK] [$] 10:00 pm ($42 plus 2-drink minimum):The longest-running cast member in Saturday Night Live’shistory, and whose impressions have been widely applauded for their uncanny accuracy and range; and a talented stand-up who’s been a frequent guest on David Letterman, Conan O’Brien, and Jay Leno, headlining one last night at the Carolines Comedy Club: Darrell Hammond

10:00 pm ($25; no min.): 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), Nikki Glaser (former co-star of MTV’s The Nikki and Sara Show; Conan O’Brien, Jay Leno, Last Comic Sanding, Comedy Central Half Hour; podcast You Had to Be There), Big Jay Oakerson (Comedy Central Presents, Louie, HBO, Showtime, MTV, IFC), Monroe Martin (finalist on this season’s Last Comic Standing), Mike Vecchione, and Paul Virzi performing stand-up atThe Stand Comedy Club (239 Third Avenue & 20th Street): Dan St. Germain, Nikki Glaser, Big Jay Oakerson, and More

[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] 10:30 pm ($5): A unique musical improv show in which scenes explode into popular songs with with tunes you know but entirely made up lyrics. Instead of an improv pianist, this show uses a DJ spinning karaoke tracks at Brooklyn’s The Annoyance Theatre (367 Bedford Avenue; take J/M/Z to Marcy Avenue or L to Lorimer Street) directed by Philip Markle (Executive Director of The Annoyance Theatre): Happy Karaoke Fun Time!

[TOP PICK] 10:30 pm ($10): Nick Kanellis & Peter McNerney make up scenes at The Magnet as comedy duo Trike

11:00 pm ($10): Serialized sketch comedy from group Forever Dog about “a seemingly sleepy town sitting at the base of an active volcano” at The PIT upstairs theatre: Volcano Town

11:00 pm ($5): “Ruthless, materialistic CEO Frederickson gets plane-wrecked and spends six years on a deserted island. When he returns, he’s a changed man who wants nothing more than the thoughts in his head, but his former executive staff doesn’t trust in his transformation and plots his demise” at The PIT downstairs lounge: Man Alive!

Midnight ($5): Two sketch groups compete for audience laughs and votes at UCB Chelsea hosted by Alden Ford and Justin Tyler: Backyard Brawl

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”), with sign-up at 3:30 pm, at The Creek upstairs theatre in Queens’ Long Island City hosted by Raj Sivaraman & Sam Evans host: The Amateur Hour

[FREE] 6:00 pm: Veteran improvisors make up scenes with improv students from any school (selected by lottery) at Brooklyn’s The Annoyance Theatre (367 Bedford Avenue; take J/M/Z to Marcy Avenue or L to Lorimer Street):Student Mixer