Best New York Comedy

For full details, please visit HyReviews.com.

Storyteller Cyndi Freeman chronicles her journey to burlesque in "Wonder Woman: A How To Guide For Little Jewish Girls," John Hodgman reads from his upcoming new book at "Lollygaggin' with David Rees"...

...David Cross and brand new mom Andrea Rosen are at "Variety SHAC" ...

...and stand-ups Jessi Klein and Ali Wong perform at "Totally J/K "

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): The auditions of two comedic one-act plays hoping to get on the UCB West schedule, and about which I know nothing except they have cool titles: Kate Riley is Not a Lady andMinnesota Bitch

[FREE] 6:00 pm: Weekly open-mic storytelling show, with each performer given a whopping eight minutes to captivate & impress, at UCB East hosted by John Flynn (The Nights of Our Lives) and tonight’s guest-host Jon Gabrus (Conan O’Brien, Best Week Ever, The Law Firm, The Nights of Our Lives; co-creator & co-star of Spike TV’s Mocap, LLC): Oh, Hey Guys!

[FREE] 6:00 pm: Open-mic stand-up with comics drawing names from a bucket, with each chosen one receiving three minutes at The Creek’s upstairs theatre in Queens’ Long Island City: Corby Haas

[FREE] 6:30 pm: In this free Magnet show, audience members (signing in at 6:00) can join in with improv troupe The Boss to make up scenes on the spot: Magnet Mixer

[TOP PICK] 7:00 pm (no cover, 1-item min.): John Hodgman (Daily Show commentator, bestselling author of The Areas of My Expertise and More Information Than You Require, and the underrated PC in Apple Computer ads), Todd Hanson (head writer for The Onion; Adult Swim’s Squidbilliesand Aqua Teen Hunger Force; The Aristocrats), and more performing at Luca Lounge (222 Avenue B off 14th Street) with cartoonist host David Rees: Lollygaggin’ with David Rees

[TOP PICK] 7:00 pm ($5): Sharp NYC comics tell tales of “the role that got away” in these behind-the-scenes audience of broken dreams at The PIT downstairs lounge, hosted by Jen Kwok: Role Call

7:00 pm ($5): “No sweeps, no tag outs, no Baldwins. Inspired by Chicago’s JTS Brown, this improv troupe formlessly flows from moment to moment. Each entrance and exit starts a new scene, while performers use devices ranging from monologues to in-scene questions in order to break into characters and relationships quicker and deeper” at The PIT upstairs theatre: Scoresby

[MEGA-TOP PICK] 7:30 pm ($5): A one-hour monthly show at UCB East featuring “a compilation of my favorite stories and home videos that I’ve been working on for the past two years” from storytelling giant Adam Wade (two-time Moth GrandSlam Storytelling Champion (2006 & 2009) and record-breaking 17-time StorySlam Champion; The New York Times Magazine; host of hilarious monthly storytelling extravaganzas Real Tales of College and The Adam Wade show; for Adam’s award-winning tale of being an NBC page on Conan O’Brien, please click here): Adam Wade’s Big Heart

[TOP PICK] [$] 7:30 pm ($20): Delightful storyteller & burlesque performer Cyndi Freeman (MothSlam champion, two-time FringeNYC award winner) performs a one-woman show that “traces her journey from a little suburban Jewish girl obsessed with Wonder Woman to a fabulous burlesque queen in NYC, recounting tales of personal heroics while joyfully spewing trivia about America’s first and favorite female superhero. Join her on a crusade to right wrongs while wearing fabulous outfits, directed by Obie Award winner David Drake” at Stage Left Studios (214 West 30th Street, 6th floor): Wonder Woman: A How To Guide For Little Jewish Girls

[TOP PICK] 8:00 pm ($5): Comedic storyteller Cameron Esposito performing her acclaimed hour-long solo show at UCB West for one night only: Side Mullet Nation

[TOP PICK] 8:00 pm ($5): Bridgid Ryan (Chester) and Ted McAdams (1001 Nights) tell tales revolving this month’s theme, Bad Jobs, at The PIT downstairs lounge along with young hosts Michelle Markowitz & Bryan Rucker, who say they’re Failing Our Twenties

[TOP PICK] [$] 8:00 pm ($30 & 2-drink min.): A TV & movie star who created & hosted Last Comic Standing, was a cast member of CBS’ Gary Unmarried and Ghost Whisperer, has done extensive sports broadcasting for ESPN, and has appeared in such feature films as Jerry MacGuire, Pay It Forward, and Hereafter (opposite Matt Damon) headlining tonight and Saturday at the Gotham Comedy Club: Jay Mohr

8:00 pm-Midnight ($7 for the entire evening): Magnet house troupes The Boss (with special guest Armando Diaz), Hello Laser, The Boss, Dunk, and Junior Varsity performing improv, followed by improv competition Inspirado (like UCBT’s Cage Match, but with a game-like challenge component) with last week’s winner pitted against Hello Laser at 11:00 pm: The Magnet’s Night Out

8:00 pm ($5): Any show ballsy enough to begin its description with “Have you ever loved a mop? Susan-Kate Heaney has…” is worth exploring. This one-woman show is happening at The PITupstairs theatre: Confessions of a Mop-oholic

[FREE] 8:00 pm: NYC stand-ups (for tonight’s lineup, please click here) performing at The Creek’supstairs theatre in Queens’ Long Island City accompanied by banjo music from Doug Goldstein and hosted by Andy Kleinman: Happy Sounds Comedy

[$] 8:00 pm ($27.25 & 2-drink min.) A stand-up who’s been called “The African King of Comedy,” and has performed on HBO’s Def Comedy Jam and Bad Boys of Comedy, BET’s ComedyView, and the feature film Next Friday headlining tonight and Sunday at the Carolines Comedy Club: Michael Blackson

[TOP PICK] 9:00 pm ($5): Jessi Klein (fresh, unique, deliciously organic comic who’s one of the best stand-ups in the country; former staff writer for Saturday Night Live; Comedy Central, VH1, NBC, CNN, Adult Swim), Ali Wong (fearless, razor-sharp, hilarious comedy dynamo; Jay Leno, FOX, cast member of upcoming NBC sitcom Are You There Vodka, It’s Me Chelsea; upcoming Oliver Stone film Savages; headlining this weekend at Carolines), and Baron Vaughn (co-star of USA’sFacing Kate and Comedy Central’s The Awkward Comedy Show; MTV, VH1) performing at UCB East with best bud hosts Noah Garfinkel & Joe Mande (author of Look At This F*cking Hipster): Totally J/K

[FREE] 9:00ish pm: Typically terrific NYC stand-ups performing on this weekly show at the Kabin Bar and Lounge hosted by Chesley Calloway and comedy genius Sean Patton: Comedy as a Second Language

[TOP PICK] 9:30 pm ($5): TV & movie star David Cross (HBO’s Mr. Show, FOX’s Arrested Development, Comedy Central’s Freak Show, Adult Swim’s Tom Goes to the Mayor and Tim and Eric Awesome Show…and scores of other TV and feature film roles), star storyteller Tom Shillue (Conan O’Brien, The Daily Show, Comedy Central Presents, 2011 ECNY Award for Best Storyteller), and Edmond Hawkins (animator for Jimmy Fallon, Wonder Showzen, Superjail!) performing at UCB West with delightful hosts Shonali Bhowmik and brand new mom Andrea Rosen: Variety SHAC

9:30 pm ($8): “A 17-person middle school talent show created and performed by two people—Jo Firestone and Dylan Marron—who like themselves more now that they’re older. A comedic tribute to the best three years of our lives, and a comedic play for anyone who ever thought it couldn’t get any better than prank calls and slow-dancing” at The PIT: Ridgefield Middle School Talent Nite

[TOP PICK] 9:30 pm (no cover, 1-item min.): Sara Schaefer (inventive, luminous comic; Emmy-nominated staff writer for Jimmy Fallon; VH1’s Best Week Ever; co-host of hit podcast You Had to Be There), Michelle Buteau (Last Comic Standing, Comedy Central; for stand-up video about Utah, sharing, and tits, please click here), John Knefel (Huffington Post; co-host of John & Molly Get Along), Neil Charles, and John Moses performing stand-up at Luca Lounge (222 Avenue B off 14th Street) for Sean Crespo’s & Carol Hartsell’s weekly comedy show Lasers in the Jungle

9:30 pm ($5): Improvisors (not announced) make up one-act plays on the spot at The PITdownstairs lounge, produced by Dan Hodapp & Micah Sherman: The Scene

[FREE] 9:30 pm: Sharp improvisors from UCBT, The Magnet, The PIT, and/or more try their hand at stand-up at The Creek in Queens’ Long Island City: Improvisers Standing Up

[$] 10:00 pm ($22 & 2-drink min.) A stand-up who’s performed on Conan O’Brien and starred in his own Comedy Central Presents half-hour special headlining for one night only at the Carolines Comedy Club: Nate Bargatze

[TOP PICK] 11:00 pm ($5): Stellar improv troupe Rogue Elephant competing with challenger Dog Court for audience laughs and votes at UCB West for the raucous Cage Match

[FREE] 11:00 pm: Weekly open-mic stand-up show at UCB East, with each comic given five minutes, hosted by Rob Stern & Amber Nelson: Gutbucket

For full details, please visit HyReviews.com.

If you know anyone who might have a thyroid problem, please tell them about my latest book: The Complete Idiot’s Guide to Thyroid Disease.