Best New York Comedy

NYC Comedy Picks for Sunday 6/25/17

Helping judge people on what really matters for the sixth year in a row, the wonderful Jo Firestone (among the most relentlessly inventive and adventurous comics alive; staff writer for Jimmy Fallon; star of Comedy Central Stand-Up Presents special; radio host of WFMU’s Dr. Gameshow; co-author of #1 bestselling Punderdome: A Card Game for Pun Lovers) hosts as 12 of New York City’s “most warm-hearted oddballs” are judged on the content of their character via an interview portion, a talent portion, and a homemade swimsuit competition. Audience members will be given the chance to vote silently by ballot “so that no one’s feelings get too hurt:” The 6th Annual Inner Beauty Pageant (8:00 pm, $8, Brooklyn’s Littlefield (635 Sackett Street; take R subway to Union Street)

…and Aasif Mandvi (former correspondent for The Daily Show; appearances in numerous movies & TV shows) tries out a new one-man show: Come See How the Sausage is Made (8:00 pm, $10, The PIT Mainstage at 123 East 24th Street)…

…plus it’s the final day of the Del Close Marathon, which is running continuously through midnight. For the complete schedule, please click here. To view shows organized by performer, please click here. For information on buying a festival pass, please click here. To buy premium tickets online, please click here. For details on the 10 venues, please click here. Quite simply, this is the greatest improv festival in the world: 19th Annual Del Close Marathon

NYC Comedy Picks for Monday 6/26/17

Rich Vos (stand-up star on two seasons of Last Comic Standing and on Tough Crowd with Colin Quinn; Comedy Central Presents special; Opie & Anthony radio show, co-host of My Wife Hates Me podcast) is roasted by fellow comedy stars Colin Quinn, Jim Norton, Robert Kelly, Judy Gold, Jim Florentine, Keith Robinson, and “special guests” in the West Village hosted by Rich’s wife Bonnie McFarlane (HBO, David Letterman, Jay Leno, Last Comic Standing, Comedy Central Presents special; co-host of My Wife Hates Me podcast): Roast of Rich Vos (8:00 pm, $25 plus 2-drink min.; SOLD OUT, but email owner@fbpc.com to be placed on a waiting list.; Village Underground at 130 West 3rd Street)…

…and author Joe Berkowitz celebrates the release of his book about the world of pun competitions, Away With Worlds, by sharing funny stories about working on the book; hosting stand-ups Myq Kaplan (above; one of the quickest minds in comedy,rapidly rising star…and professional linguist!) and Christian Finnegan (co-star of A&E’s Black and White; Conan O’Brien; three Comedy Central specials, Netflix special The Fun Part); and hosting Punderdome champions for a live pun competition: Away With Words Book Release Show (8:30 pm; $10, Astoria Queens’ QED: A Place to Show & Tell at 27-16 23rd Avenue)

NYC Comedy Picks for Tuesday 6/27/17

The lovely and delightful Carmen Lynch (David Letterman, Conan O’Brien, Stephen Colbert, Inside Amy Schumer, Last Comic Standing finalist) performs an hour-long solo stand-up show tonight and tomorrow that Carmen will reprise at this August’s Edinburgh Fringe Festival: Lynched (8:30 pm, $5 plus 2-item food/drink min., The Fat Black Pussycat Lounge at 130 West 3rd Street)…

…and master storyteller Ophira Eisenberg (Comedy Central, VH1, Showtime, The Today Show, host of NPR’s trivia/puzzle show Ask Me Another, bestselling book Screw Everyone, comedy album Bangs!; for a sampling of Ophira’s remarkably deep comedic tales, please click here) and Adam Wade (two-time Moth GrandSlam Storytelling Champion (2006 & 2009) and record-breaking 20-time StorySlam Champion; host of The Adam Wade Show; for a sampling of Adam’s award-winning tales, please click here) team up to tell tales of pain and healing in Brooklyn: Ophira’s and Adam’s Scar Tissue: A Night of Hilarious, Heartfelt Stories (8:00 pm, $10, Brooklyn’s Union Hall at 702 Union Street; take R subway to Union Street)

NYC Comedy Pick for Wednesday 6/28/17

A live taping of a new comedic podcast that aims to provide “a fresh perspective on politics through an examination of the big-time dicks behind the policies affecting our lives,” with guests Aparna Nancherla (one of the very finest stand-ups in the country; co-star of HBO’s Crashing and Netflix’s Master of None; 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), Amy Goodman (Host/Executive Producer of Democracy Now!, a daily award-winning news program airing on over 1,400 public TV & and radio stations worldwide; author of six New York Times Bestsellers), and Erika Andiola (former Press Secretary for Latino Outreach for Bernie 2016 and current Political Director for the campaign’s successor organization Our Revolution) sponsored by Jezebel, and hosted by Joanna Rothkopf & Prachi Gupta: Six Months Deep with Big-Time Dicks (7:30 pm, Free! if you RSVP, The Bell House at 149 7th Street; take R subway to 9th Street or F/G to Fourth Avenue)

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 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
(635 Sackett 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.

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.