Best New York Comedy

For full details, please visit HyReviews.com.

One of the finest stand-ups ever records his first comedy CD tonight and tomorrow night at UCBT: Anthony Jeselnik

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:

[FREE] 7:00 pm to midnight: Five free hours of improvisation in The PIT’s Super Free Wednesday

[MEGA-TOP PICK] 8:00 pm ($5): One of the finest stand-ups ever performs his comedy CD tonight and tomorrow night at UCBT. Don’t miss Anthony Jeselnik: CD Recording

[TOP PICK] 8:00 pm ($7): Superb stand-up Todd Barry, Joe Derosa, Greg Walloch, Rob Paravonian, and “a special guest” at Dan Allen’s & Ray Devito’s monthly comedy event ¡Sacapuntas!

[TOP PICK] [FREE] 8:30: Superb NYC storytellers John Flynn and Leslie Goshko, plus stand-ups Sue Funke, Kristeen von Hagen, Nicole Shabtai, and Carrie Gravenson, all performing at this free weekly show hosted by Sharon Spell: Shrink

[TOP PICK] [FREE] 8:30 pm: Baron Vaughn, Jon Friedman, Edith Zimmerman, and Noah Garfinkel performing at this free weekly comedy show at Brooklyn’s Cameo (behind Lovin’ Cup) hosted by Gabe Liedman and Max Silvestri: Big Terrific

[TOP PICK] 9:30 pm ($5): Theatrical scenes made up on the spot with breathtaking skill by brilliant and passionate improvisors who have become one of the best comedy duos in the biz—Scott Adsit (30 Rock, Moral Orel) and Christina Gausas (Conan O’Brien, The Colbert Report), a.k.a. Adsit & Gausas

[TOP PICK] [FREE] 11:00 pm: Host Justin Purnell (The Colbert Report) providing as many as a dozen guests packed into 75 minutes performing stand-up, improv, sketch, and occasionally acts that defy categorization. The level of talent can vary wildly, but for some (like me), that’s part of the laid-back fun; and this is often one of the most amazing comedy shows in town. Come support the experimentation, and periodic magical surprises, that this uniquely organic rollercoaster of a show makes possible—and don’t forget to toss $1 in the bucket on your way out: School Night

For full details, please visit HyReviews.com.

For full details, please visit HyReviews.com.

One of the finest stand-ups in comedy history headlines for tonight only at the Comix Comedy Club: Anthony Jeselnik

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] 7:00 pm (no cover, 1-item min.): Superb storyteller Tom Shillue, pundit Leighann Lord, and musical comedy duo The Knuckleheads performing at host Eric Vetter’s No Name & a Bag O’ Chips

[TOP PICK] [$] [DISCOUNTED] 8:00 pm ($10 online using discount code TODDB & 2-drink min.): A wryly brilliant stand-up who’s one of the very best in the biz, having performed on David Letterman, Conan O’Brien, Comedy Central Presents, HBO’s Flight of the Conchords, Adult Swim, The Wrestler, and much more, delivering a deliciously long headlining set tonight at Carolines—and with the $25 tickets discounted to $10, how can you pass this up?: Todd Barry

[TOP PICK] [$] [DISCOUNTED] 8:00 pm ($15 both online and at the door using discount code JODY, otherwise $20): This top musical improv troupe has wowed audiences around the world with its skill at making up an hour-long musical moment by moment. The plot and characters, the musical accompaniment, even the song lyrics and the “choreography” are invented on the spot, with no pre-planned structure. Come see why BWC won a FringeNYC Award last August for Outstanding Unique Theatrical Event during this magical five-night NYC run, starting tonight: Baby Wants Candy

8:00 pm ($5): Nick Ross performing a show about his combating cancer, with a deliciously vibrant and adorable performance by actress Leslie Meisel as a variety of secondary characters (including the cancer itself…); and superb sketch troupe Trophy Dad performing a comedic play about a college buddy returning after 10 years to ruin his friend’s life, in the double-bill Highly Evolved Human and The Worst Guy Ever!

8:00 pm ($5): A sketch show self-described as “silly, abstract, a little bit touching, and very entertaining” from comedy duo Hobart & Michael

8:00 pm ($5): Sharp improvisors directed by James Eason “take an audience suggestion and break it into a million funny pieces,” and veteran improvisors play with “elements of monoscene, deconstruction, and La Ronde,” in the double-bill The Deconstruction and Sleepover

[FREE] 8:30 pm: Sharp comics Rob Cantrell, Thomas Dale, Kendra Cunnigham, and Tony Woods performing at Brooklyn’s Building on Bond for a free stand-up show hosted by Yannis Pappas: A Very Good Comedy Show

[TOP PICK] 9:00 pm ($10): Colin Quinn (SNL, Tough Crowd with Colin Quinn), Brooke Van Poppelen (Chicago Public Radio), Shayna Ferm (brilliant comedic singer/songwriter), Tom Shillue (Conan O’Brien, Comedy Central), Rory Albanese (Executive Producer of The Daily Show), and more performing at a blockbuster edition of Comedy Below Canal

[TOP PICK] [$] 9:30 pm ($20 & 2-item min.): One of the finest, sharpest, funniest comics in comedy history—who’s barely started his career, but is already a staff writer for Jimmy Fallon, and has performed killer sets on Conan O’Brien, HBO’s Down and Dirty, and a Comedy Central Presents half-hour special—headlining for one night only at the elegant Comix Comedy Club: Anthony Jeselnik

[TOP PICK] 9:30 pm ($5): Movie & TV comedy superstar Janeane Garofalo, Jason Trachtenburg (Trachtenburg Family Slideshow Players), and Amelie Gillette (The Onion’s The Hater columnist) joining the fresh, sexy, and razor-sharp gals of comedy group Variety SHAC

[MEGA-TOP PICK] [DISCOUNTED] [$] ($15 online or at the door with discount code ISCTHR): Genius improvisors from Chicago delivering one of the funniest shows you’ll ever see by making up a play on the spot using the language and themes of the Bard. This is the finest improv troupe in the world, and one of the best comedy shows of any kind, anywhere. Tonight begins a five-night NYC run, with every evening utterly different from the last. Try to catch every single performance of the breathtakingly skilled Improvised Shakespeare Company

[TOP PICK] 11:00 pm ($5): Vibrant improv troupes The Brothers Hines and The Scam battling for audience laughs and votes at the raucous Cage Match

For full details, please visit HyReviews.com.