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; webseries Teachers Lounge; frequently opens for Louis C.K. and Jim Gaffigan) tries out new material for an upcoming hour-long special every night through Saturday : Week at the Creek: Ted Alexandro (7:00 pm, Free!, The Creek upstairs theatre in Queens’ LIC at 10-93 Jackson Avenue)
More recommendations for the best in New York City comedy tonight (in chronological order, with top picks noted and shows over $10 marked with $) include:
[FREE] 6:00 pm to midnight: Six free hours of improvisation—including at 8:00 pm group Poor Melissa, which includes Dana Shulman, Adrian Sexton, and Emily Mathwich—at The PIT Underground: Super Free Monday
[TOP PICK] 7:00 pm ($7): In this all-gal double-bill, first group Darling Satan hosts stand-ups, storytellers, character comics, and improvisors; and then group The Box hosts “an intersectional feminist comedy, panel, and interview show,” all at The PIT Mainstage: She Makes Me Laugh & The Box
[TOP PICK] [$] 7:30 pm, 9:30 pm, and 11:30 pm ($12 plus 2-item food/drink min.): Some of the finest stand-ups in the country spread among three shows at Comedy Cellar (117 MacDougal Street, between 3rd Street & Minetta Lane): Comedy Cellar Monday
[TOP PICK] [$] 7:30 pm ($25): Ophira Eisenberg tapes her comedy trivia radio show live, with tonight’s guest veteran stand-up Judy Gold (Conan O’Brien, Jay Leno, HBO, Comedy Central, VH1, The View) at Brooklyn’s The Bell House (149 7th Street): Ask Me Another
7:30 pm ($7): House sketch groups Trouble Town and Chillionaire perform at The Magnet theatre: Magnet Sketch Teams
[MEGA-TOP PICK] [$] 8:00 pm ($15): A top-notch theatrical troupe that’s equally fine at compelling acting and split-second comedy uses actual material on the Web, performed verbatim, to craft laugh-out-loud scenes spearheaded by superb creators/performers Jen Jamula & Allison Goldberg at The PIT Mainstage: Blogologues
[TOP PICK] 8:00 pm ($8): Adrienne Iapalucci (David Letterman, Last Comic Standing, VH1), Chris Lamberth (AXS TV), Jourdain Fisher, Alzo Slade, and Molly Ruben Long performing stand-up at Brooklyn’s Littlefield (622 Degraw Street) hosted by the wonderful Wyatt Cenac (former star correspondent for The Daily Show; writer for South Park, Adult Swim; albums Comedy Person and Brooklyn): Night Train
[TOP PICK] 8:00 pm ($7): Michelle Buteau (VH1’s Morning Buzz and Best Week Ever, Comedy Central’s Key & Peele, FOX’s Enlisted, Craig Ferguson, Last Comic Standing, @midnight, comedy album Shut Up), Annie Lederman (Comedy Central’s Roast Battle, @midnight, This is Not Happening; MTV’s Guy Code Vs. Girl Code; Chelsea Lately), Anna Roisman (MTV; co-host of You Probably Think This Song Is About You), and Matt Bachus performing stand-up at UCB East hosted by the charming Ruby Karp: We Hope You Have Fun
[TOP PICK] [$] 8:00 pm ($5 plus 2-item food/drink min.): Judah Friedlander, Dan Soder, Lynne Koplitz, and more trying out fresh stand-up material at The Fat Black Pussycat Lounge (130 West 3rd Street): New Joke Night
8:00 pm ($7): At the UCB Chelsea theatre, the talented Natasha Vaynblat plays motivational speakers, life coaches, and “sad sacks” on her road to self-improvement: Self Help Your Self, Help! …
…and in the second other of this double bill, a faux TV episode by sketch group Nipsey in which “As a father/daughter duo, Albert and Corinne work great. As co-owners of a cigar store-turned-vape shop, they’ve got a lot to learn! And when the big Vape Expo comes to town Darcy, Gayle, and Heath have kooky ideas about how to make waves!:” Nipsey: Vape Lyfe
8:00 pm ($5): Musical improv at The PIT Loft (154 West 29th Street) from group Good Catch
[FREE] 8:00 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
TOP PICK] 8:30 pm ($5): Spring Day (charming stand-up & sketch comic with cerebral palsy) shares: “I hope you’re enjoying March because it’s National Cerebral Palsy Awareness Month. Are you aware that people with cerebral palsy have trouble marching? Well, you do now…By the way, I’m leaving New York at the end of March and moving to London to work at the BBC. I’ve put together a group of people I love performing with for stand-up and a few games you will not want to miss. Please come to see seriously funny people fucking around for 5 dollars on a Monday night. This is the last time you will get to see me. No pressure,” with guests May Wilkerson, Kara Buller, Charlie Nadler, JC Best, Samantha SJ Bednarz, Usama Siddiquee, Jay Nog, and Gary N. Hannon performing at Astoria Queens’ QED: A Place to Show & Tell (27-16 23rd Avenue): Muppets F*cking: Funny People Fucking Around
9:00 pm ($10): All-gal sketch groups Boobie Nights and Fertile as Fuck perform at The Magnet theatre: The Lady Sketch Show
9:30 ($7): House sketch groups The Foundation and Choir try out new material at UCB Chelsea for Maude Night
9:30 pm ($5): Improv group Astronomy Club—which includes Keisha Zollar and Jonathan Braylock—gets race-related stories from the audience and a guest monologist, and then makes up scenes based on those tales at the UCB East theatre: Astronomy Club: Let’s Talk About Race, Baby!
9:30 pm ($7): Talented improvisors (not announced) make up scenes in support of HeForShe Arts Week (which champions gender equality) at The PIT Mainstage: Improv for HeForShe Arts Week
9:30 pm ($7): A comedy group celebrates four years of performing together at The PIT Loft (154 West 29th Street): The Hand-Me-Downs Handsome Hour
[TOP PICK] [FREE] 10:00 pm: Christian Finnegan (co-star of A&E’s Black and White; Conan O’Brien; three Comedy Central specials, Netflix special The Fun Part; TBS, VH1, MSNBC, Chappelle’s Show, The Today Show), Annie Lederman (Comedy Central’s Roast Battle, @midnight, This is Not Happening; MTV’s Guy Code Vs. Girl Code; Chelsea Lately), Crystian Ramirez, Sarah Tollemache, Luis J. Gomez, Jourdain Fisher, Wendi Starling, and more performing for this free weekly show at The Stand Comedy Club (239 Third Avenue, off 20th Street) hosted by Aaron Berg (TV series 24 Hour Rental, documentary A Universal Language): Frantic Mondays
[TOP PICK] 10:30 pm ($7): Storytellers share their true “coming out” tales, and then improvisors make up either a play or a musical based on each story at The Magnet theatre: Thank You For Coming Out: An LGBTQ Event
[MEGA-TOP PICK] [FREE; reservations go quickly, but you can probably get in if you arrive early and are okay with standing] 11:00 pm: Some of the finest comics in the world—who aren’t announced in advance, but it’s usually a great lineup and often an extraordinary one—at UCB Chelsea typically hosted by Aparna Nancherla (one of the best stand-ups in the country; former writer for Seth Meyers; Conan O’Brien, @Midnight, Comedy Central Half Hour, comedy album Just Putting It Out There): Whiplash
[TOP PICK] 11:00 pm ($5): A gay-themed variety show at the UCB East theatre hosted by Timothy Dunn: Queerball
Monday Open Mics & Jams
4:30 pm-7:00 pm ($5 plus 1 drink min., with drinks as low as $2): Walk-in stand-up open mic with two rounds, the first providing 5-6 minutes per set and the second 2-3 minutes per set, at The Grisly Pear (107 MacDougal Street) hosted by Tuval Mor: Kickin It Open Mic
5:00 pm ($5): Two-hour open-mic for 20 stand-ups performing for 5 minutes each, with sign-up online here, at the Stand Up NY Comedy Club (236 West 78th Street): Stand Up NY Open Mic
[FREE] 6:00 pm: Open mic stand-up show that provides each performer who shows up time on stage at The Creek downstairs lounge in Queens’ LIC (10-93 Jackson Avenue) hosted by Jacob Lie & Stu Melton: Raining Buckets
6:00 pm & 8:00 pm ($5 for both comics and audience members, no drink min.): 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 opportunity for you to perform with improv veterans in 7-minute montage sets celebrating diversity at The Magnet theatre: Diversity Improv Jam
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 The Parkside Lounge (317 East Houston Street, off Avenue B) hosted by Nathan P., followed by a raucous afterparty with dancing & drink specials from 10:00 to midnight: Inspired Word’s Open Mic Joint
11:00 pm ($5): Open mic stand-up, with each comic getting 5 minutes and room for 15 comics who sign up per show, at The PIT Mainstage hosted by John Field: The Power Exchange
[FREE] 11:00 pm: Open mic stand-up show that provides each performer whose name is pulled from a bucket 4 minutes on stage at The Creek upstairs theatre in Queens’ Long Island City hosted by Joseph Robert: PBR & Scrap Paper Open Mic Stand-Up
[FREE] 11:00 pm: Improv students are welcomed onto the stage at The PIT Underground for this weekly open access show hosted by such improv talents as Gary DeNoia and Langston Belton at The PIT Underground: Base Jam
For many more shows, please click the following links to top NYC comedy venues:
Best Inexpensive Stand-Up, Improv, Sketch, and Storytelling
Upright Citizens Brigade Chelsea (307 West 26th Street): 150-seater; one of the most respected comedy theatres in the world; especially strong on improv, sketch, solo shows, and one-act comedic plays; shows free-$10
Upright Citizens Brigade East (153 East 3rd Street): 99-seater; a top comedy venue that focuses more than sister theatre UCB Chelsea on stand-up and screenings, and on experimental shows taking big risks; shows free-$10
The PIT Striker (Upstairs) Theatre (123 East 24th Street): 88-seater; a top venue that’s a powerful rival of UCB, and often surpasses UCB when blending comedy with music and/or theatricality; shows free-$20
The PIT Underground (Downstairs) Theatre (123 East 24th Street): 40-seater; often more quirky & experimental than upstairs Striker; shows free-$10
The PIT Loft (154 West 29th Street): 50-seater; not at the level of its two sister PIT theatres, but evolving; shows free-$10
The Magnet (254 West 29th Street): 60-seat theatre; strong on improv, musical improv, sketch, and energy; shows $5-$10
The Annoyance Theatre (367 Bedford Ave. in Brooklyn; J/M/Z to Marcy or L to Lorimer): 50-seat theatre; spinning off from Chicago’s Annoyance Theatre, brings a fiercely fresh, experimental approach to improv and sketch; shows free-$10
The Creek and the Cave (Queens’ Long Island City): 40-seat theatre upstairs, 25 downstairs; virtually all shows free
Union Hall (702 Union Street in Brooklyn; R to Union Street): 50-seat theatre; shows $5-$20
Littlefield (622 Degraw Street in Brooklyn; R to Union Street): 100-seat theatre; shows $5-${20
Bell House (149 7th Street in Brooklyn; R to 9th Street or F/G to Fourth Ave.): 200-seat theatre; shows $10-$25
QED: A Place to Show & Tell (27-16 23rd Avenue in Astoria Queens; N/Q to Ditmars Boulevard): 40-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.
Village Underground (130 West 3rd Street): Comedy Cellar’s larger sister venue, just around the corner with the same top comics; 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.
The Standing Room (4738 Vernon Blvd., by #7 train; Queens LIC club): No drink min.—support this policy!
From legendary NYC comedy site Brooklyn Vegan: Thank God for Hy Bender’s religiously updated show bible BestNewYorkComedy.com…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.
For a desktop version of this site that includes more material—such as NYC theatre discounts and FringeNYC coverage—please click here.
Please feel encouraged to reach out to tell me about comedy shows, submit material to my short story anthology Ghosts on Drugs, or for any other reason by emailing me at hy@hyreviews.com.
Best New York Comedy 