Chris Gethard (comedy genius; star of The Chris Gethard Show, co-star of Mike Birbiglia film Don’t Think Twice; The Office, Comedy Central, IFC; author of A Bad Idea I’m About to Do and Weird New York), Aparna Nancherla (one of the very finest stand-ups in the country; co-star of HBO’s Crashing; former writer for Seth Meyers; Conan O’Brien, @Midnight, Comedy Central Half Hour, comedy album Just Putting It Out There; opens for Tig Notaro; hosts top weekly NYC stand-up show Whiplash), Julio Torres (writer for Saturday Night Live; Billy on the Street), Kevin Allison (legendary MTV sketch series The State, HBO, and Farah Brook Comedy Central, VH1, host of award-winning storytelling show and podcast Risk!, owner of The Story Studio), and The Reformed Whores (raunchy comedic singing duo Marie Cecile Anderson & Katy Frame; CBS, IFC; open for Weird Al Yankovic; albums Ladies Don’t Spit and Don’t Beat Around the Bush) perform stand-up, storytelling, and/or music at this fundraiser for the ACLU hosted by Blair Socci (MTV’s Ladylike) & Farah Brook named after Farah’s grandmother (who makes them both laugh): Harriet (8:00 pm, $12, Brooklyn’s Littlefield at 622 Degraw Street; take R subway to Union Street)…
…or join the lovely and lovable Liz Miele (David Letterman, Conan O’Brien, Comedy Central, Damaged) celebrating the release of her second comedy album Mind Over Melee, with opening stand-up sets by Carmen Lynch (David Letterman, Conan O’Brien, Inside Amy Schumer, Last Comic Standing finalist),Adrienne Iapalucci (David Letterman, Last Comic Standing, VH1), Nore Davis (Inside Amy Schumer, HBO’s Last Week Tonight, Boardwalk Empire, Comedy Central’s Russell Simmons Presents The Ruckus, MTV), 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), Justin Herman, and Michael Brigante: Liz Miele’s Mind Over Melee Album Release Show (9:15 pm; $10 online using discount code LizMiele, or $20 for both ticket & the album using discount code LizAlbum, plus two-drink min.; New York Comedy Club at 241 East 24th Street between Second & Third Avenues)
More recommendations for the best in New York City comedy tonight (in chronological order, with top picks noted and shows over $10 marked with $) include:
[TOP PICK] [$] 7:00 pm ($5 plus 2-item food/drink min.): Broadway, TV, and film star Colin Quinn (Trainwreck, comedy national treasure) hones material for a one-man show at The Fat Black Pussycat Lounge (130 West 3rd Street): Colin Quinn: Law Abiding Criminals
[TOP PICK] 7:00 pm-11:00 pm ($7 for the whole evening): In this 4-hour extravaganza, eight singing & dancing improv groups at The Magnet make up musicals based on audience suggestions: Magnet Musical Megawatt
[FREE] 7:00 pm: Travis Irvine (Viceland, The Guardian, PBS, Troma) tries out new stand-up material every night through Thursday at The Creek upstairs theatre in Queens’ LIC (10-93 Jackson Avenue): Week at the Creek: Travis Irvine
7:00 pm ($7): A showcase for brand new scripted shows—sketch, solo, readings, what have you—this week featuring sketch duo BenAnna, sketch group Late For Brunch, and stand-up Andrew Lee at The PIT Underground produced by the wonderful Ronny Pascale: Pilot Season
7:00 pm ($7): Improv group Honey performs and hosts other groups at The PIT Loft (154 West 29th Street): Honey and Friends
[TOP PICK] [$] 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 Tuesday
[TOP PICK] 7:30 pm ($6): Myq Kaplan (one of the quickest minds in comedy, and rapidly rising star; finalist on Last Comic Standing, semi-finalist on America’s Got Talent; David Letterman, Conan O’Brien, Seth Meyers, Jay Leno, Comedy Central Presents, comedy CDs No Kidding, Small, Dork, and Handsome, Vegan Mind Meld, and Meat Robot) hosts this monthly stand-up & music show, with tonight’s guests Josh Gondelman (writer/producer for HBO’s Last Week Tonight with John Oliver; Conan O’Brien, The New Yorker), Liz Miele (David Letterman, Conan O’Brien, Comedy Central, Damaged, comedy album Mind Over Melee), Chris “Shockwave” Sullivan (amazing human boombox; The Daily Show, The Electric Company, Freestyle Love Supreme, co-host of Battlicious), and Liz Glazer performing at Astoria Queens’ QED: A Place to Show & Tell (27-16 23rd Avenue): Myq Kaplan & Friends
7:30 pm & 9:15 pm ($7 per show): House groups at UCB Chelsea perform the classic improv form The Harold at Harold Night
[TOP PICK] [$] 8:00 pm ($10 plus 2-item food/drink min.): A live taping of a terrific weekly Sirius XM Radio comedy show, with stand-ups Dave Hill, Michelle Wolf, Dan Soder,and Greer Barnes, plus music from Helio Alves and the Come to Papa Trio, hosted by Tom Papa (host of Jerry Seinfeld-produced NBC comedy The Marriage Ref; numerous appearances on David Letterman, Conan O’Brien, Jay Leno; three Comedy Central specials): Come to Papa
[TOP PICK] 8:00 pm ($7): At this monthly game show, Kevin Avery (staff writer for HBO’s Last Week With John Oliver), LaKendra Tookes (writer for Saturday Night Live), Brandon Scott Jones (Seeso’s Debate Wars; improv group Grandma’s Ashes, co-host of Gentrify), and John Reynolds (Search Party) compete to see who can perform the best celebrity impressions at the UCB East theatre judged by Silvija Ozols (The Stepfathers), and hosted by Andy Beckerman (host of podcast Beginnings, co-host of Couples Therapy) & Ramsey Ess: Snap Impression Live
[TOP PICK] [FREE] 8:00 pm: Comics creators join super-hosts Alex Zalben, Justin Tyler, and Pete LePage in a lively & hilarious discussion about four-color pop culture at The PIT Loft (154 West 29th Street), with giveaways of comics and gift certificates (and if you can’t make it, watch in online here): Comic Book Club
8:00 pm ($10): An autobiographical one-woman show by Stephanie Gould about growing up with cerebral palsy at The PIT Mainstage directed by Chris Booth: Walk with Me
[FREE, plus FREE BEER] 8:00 pm: Enjoy a comfy seat and a free beer while you watch comedy at The Creek’s downstairs lounge in Queens’ Long Island City: Couch Cave Live
[FREE; plus FREE DRAFT BEER 8:00-8:30!] 8:00 pm: Mike Recine (Conan O’Brien, Comedy Central Half Hour), Jeff MacKinnon (MTV’s Ridiculousness), Eli Sairs (Comedy Central Roast Battles), and Eman El Husseini performing stand-up at Brooklyn’s Two Boots Pizza Williamsburg (558 Driggs Avenue) hosted by Lucas Connolly, David Piccolomini, and Jake Fromm: Ambush Comedy
[TOP PICK] [$] 8:30 pm ($5 plus 2-item food/drink min.): Daily Show correspondent Ronny Chieng tries out new stand-up material (presumably for an upcoming special) at The Fat Black Pussycat Lounge (130 West 3rd Street): Ronny Chieng Testing Stuff Out
8:30 pm ($7): Suburban New Jersey sketch group Kiss on the Lips performs in this monthly show at The PIT Underground: Kiss on the Lips
[FREE] 8:30 pm (reserve your free spots by clicking here): Typically terrific stand-ups (for the line-up, usually posted by 1:00 pm, please click here) performing at The Irish Exit (978 Second Avenue, off 52nd Street, in the back room) produced every Tuesday by Mark Normand, Matt Ruby, Gary Vider, and Sachi Ezura: Hot Soup
[TOP PICK] 9:00 pm ($7): A show aimed at mitigating stigma and empowering women to have choices by “celebrating” Molly Gaebe (sketch group Lucille) having an abortion a year ago: “A variety of acts will join Molly in honor of the anniversary, and the night will culminate with her attempting the entire dance from one of the best abortion films of all time, Dirty Dancing. Come out and hang with Molly and friends to remind people nobody puts abortion in a corner” at The PIT Loft (154 West 29th Street): Molly Gaebe’s 1 Year Abortion Anniversary Show
9:00 pm ($7): A monthly stand-up & storytelling show in which comics Michael Kayne, Bobby Hankinson, Sharron Paul, and Royce Winn are encouraged to hold nothing back at Astoria Queens’ QED: A Place to Show & Tell (27-16 23rd Avenue) produced by Caitlin Brodnick & May Wilkerson: Brutally Honest with Caitlin Brodnick
9:00 pm ($10): Katie Haller (Open Bark Night), Otis Gray (Moth Storyslam, Hungry Radio), Becca Beberaggi, Alex Pavone, Melissa Diaz, and LeClerc Andre perform stand-up or storytelling at Ridgewood’s The Footlight (465 Seneca Avenue) produced & hosted by Gracie Canaan: Wreck the Joint
9:30 pm ($7): A musical written by Noah Rauchwerk based on Louis Sachar’s story Holes and performed by Arjun Dhawan, Emily Featherman, Cole S. Fletcher, Ernest Bryant Hinnant III, Charlie Hurtt, Delia Kemph, Mahayla Laurence, Maggie McMeans, Tori Nassberg, Andrew Ricci, Elias Rubin, Andy Schumann, Tommy Prast, Taylor Turner, and Kate Anna at The PIT Mainstage: PITS! The Unauthorized Holes Musical
9:30 pm ($7): Emmy Blotnick (writer for Comedy Central’s @midnight, Roast of Rob Lowe, Not Safe with Nikki Glaser; MTV’s Nikki and Sara Live, VH1’s Best Week Ever), Sonia Denis, Drew Anderson, and Jordan Raybould performing stand-up or sketch at the UCB East theatre hosted by Brian Park in the name of a popular comedy site: CollegeHumor Live
9:30 pm ($7): Improvisors springboard scenes revolving around a time and place provided by the audience The PIT Underground hosted by Jason Scott Quinn: Meanwhile…
[TOP PICK] 10:00ish pm (normally at 9:00 pm, but just this week starting an hour later) ($10): Michael Che (SNL Weekend Update star; former star correspondent for The Daily Show and staff sketch writer for Saturday Night Live; David Letterman, Jimmy Fallon, Seth Meyers, The Today Show, The View, Comedy Central Half Hour; Netflix special Michael Che Matters), Caroline Rhea (Sabrina the Teenage Witch, The Caroline Rhea Show, Curb Your Enthusiasm, Comedy Central; feature films Man in the Moon, Christmas With the Kranks, The Perfect Man), Jordan Carlos (HBO’s Girls, Comedy Central’s Broad City and The Nightly Show, Showtime, MTV’s Guy Code, Guy Court, VH1, Adult Swim), Matt Roper (UK comedy star), and more performing at The Slipper Room (167 Orchard Street) hosted by Seth Herzog (long-time Jimmy Fallon staff comic; NBC’s 30 Rock, Comedy Central’s @midnight, VH1’s Best Week Ever, CBS): Sweet
[FREE] 10:00 pm: LGBTQ-friendly stand-up at Queens LIC’s The Creek upstairs theatre hosted by Kaitlyn Holland, Elsa Waithe, and Sarah Kennedy: Rainbow Sprinkles
10:30 pm ($7): A one-man show by Steven Hajar that invites you to “Come observe the recently captured Public Enemy No. 1 down in cell block 888, the revolutionary that the nation’s top psychiatrists have been treating. And if you’re lucky, you might meet the other odd prisoners who share the maximum security cell: in the convict’s mind” at The PIT Underground: The Cell
11:00 pm ($5): Improv group Higgins looks at the Instagram photos of audience members and then uses them as springboards for comedy scenes at the UCB East theatre: Higgins: The Instagram Show
Tuesday Open Mics & Jams
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
6:00 pm ($3): A chance for gals to get on stage and improvise with veteran female comics at The PIT Loft (154 West 29th Street) hosted by Blair Silverman and friends: Lady Jam
6:00 pm ($5 for both comics and audience members): Open mic stand-up providing 5-7 minutes per comic, running 2 1/2 hours. Arrive 30 minutes before the show 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: Open mic for comedy of all types providing 2 minutes for each performer (with sign-up starting at 6:00) at Queens LIC’s The Creek upstairs theatre hosted by Tim Unkenholz: Butt Factory
[FREE] 6:30 pm: Weekly stand-up open mic, with walk-ins tossing names into a hat and set length determined by the number of comics who show up, at Bunga’s Den (137 West 14th Street, between Sixth & Seventh Avenues) hosted by Jimmy LeChase and/or Justin Perez: Townies Open Mic
[TOP PICK] [FREE] 8:00 pm: This weekly two-hour open mic storytelling show allows each performer 8 minutes to tell a compelling and funny tale at Queens LIC’s The Creek upstairs theatre hosted by Jake Hart and a guest co-host: The Dump
[FREE] 8:00 pm: Weekly open mic for any kind of act (with sign-up starting at 7:30) at Brooklyn’s Goodbye Blue Monday (1087 Broadway) hosted by Joe Crow Ryan: Goodbye Blue Monday
10:30 pm ($3): A chance for you to get on stage and improvise with PIT faculty at The PIT Loft (154 West 29th Street): Tuesday After Class: Slow Jam
11:00 pm ($5): Ten stand-ups whose names are drawn from a “golden bowl of destiny” will be given stage time, along with a few invited stand-ups, at The PIT Mainstage hosted by Will Purpura: Bring It
[FREE] 11:00 pm: Weekly walk-in open mic stand-up providing 3 minutes for each comic whose name is pulled from a bucket at Queens LIC’s The Creek upstairs theatre hosted by Michelle Slonim: Rapid Fire
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 