Best New York Comedy

For full details, please visit HyReviews.com.

Transgender singer/actress Bianca Leigh delivers a sharp comedic performance in one-woman show "Busted: The Musical"...

...and the Upright Citizens Brigade provides a free screening of its 2010 feature film "Freak Dance"

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] 6:00 pm: An open-mic stand-up show running about 90 minutes at The Creek upstairs theatre in Queens’ Long Island City with host Chris Gaynor: Open Mic Mondays

[TOP PICK] [$] 7:00 pm ($18, plus $15 food/drink min.; if you don’t drink, either the burger or lasagna is a fine choice): Transgender talent Bianca Leigh tells her story of working as a dominatrix at night and in Macys during sales days (“for the health insurance”); and of how when business slowed down because of the 2008 financial meltdown, she crossed the line—and spent a harrowing night in jail. While Bianca’s made most of her living as a dom, she has sharp comedic instincts; for example, when she accidentally knocked over a bench with her back foot during one of her energetic musical numbers, she proceeded to deliver a minute of hilarious improvised lines out of the accident without missing a beat. Bianca’s also a terrific singer and natural born performer. If you have any interest in doms, transgender, or NYC jails, come see this show at the The Laurie Beechman Theatre (in the West Bank Cafe at 407 West 42 Street, between 9th and 10th Avenues)…and don’t be shy about giving Bianca a standing ovation at the end: Busted: The Musical

7:00 pm ($5): Young improvisors at The PIT make up a musical on the spot based on an audience suggestion: The Shady Bunch

[FREE] 7:00 pm: NYC stand-ups Emily Heller, David Lee Nelson, Laura Crawford, Comic Anton, and Jay Nog performing at a free weekly show in the Manchester Pub hosted by Phoebe Robinson: Case of the Mondays Comedy

7:00 pm & 9:00 pm (no cover, 1-item min.): The perfect show for short attention spans—open-mic stand-up with 4 minutes per set and 25 comics crammed into 2 hours—with an early show hosted by Sean Donnelly & Blaine Perry at 7:00 pm, and an entirely different group of stand-ups hosted by Dan Cartwright & Dave Greek at 9:00 pm—at the Luca Lounge (222 Avenue B off 14th Street) for John Morrison’s Motel Luca

[FREE] 7:30 pm: Four improvisers form teams with comics they’ve never performed with before atThe Creek upstairs theatre in Queens’ Long Island City: The Kaleidoscope

[MEGA-TOP PICK] 8:00 pm ($5): Scott Adsit (cast member of 30 Rock, and co-writer/director/producer & cast member of Adult Swim’s awesome & Emmy-winning Moral Orel) teaming up with fellow 30 Rock actor John Lutz (who previously spent six years as a staff writer forSaturday Night Live) to form a super-smart and hilarious star improv duo that’s become one of the very best attractions at UCB West and should not be missed: John & Scott

[TOP PICK] 8:00 pm ($6.50 online or $8 at the door): James Adomian (talented impressionist; finalist on last summer’s Last Comic Standing), Emily Maya Mills (sketch troupe Birds of Prey in LA; for sample video, please click here), Sean Crespo (Onion News Network, host of Lasers in the Jungle), and amazing house band Adira Amram and the Experience (fresh, hilarious rising star singer/songwriter; winner of the 2011 ECNY Award for Best Musical Act) performing at Brooklyn’sLittlefield (622 Degraw Street) with sketches and more from a duo who between them won four 2011 ECNY Awards—including Best Variety Show and Best Hosts—Kristen Schaal and Kurt Braunohler: Hot Tub Variety with Kurt & Kristen

[TOP PICK] 8:00 pm ($10): I’m not sure if this is supposed to be a secret, but tonight’s headliner is a musical improv comedy genius who’s starred in his own Comedy Central special, and performed on Jimmy Fallon, The Electric Company, and Conan O’Brien’s Legally Prohibited tour, and whose name rhymes with Veggie Potts (for video samples, please click here); plus stand-ups Dan St. Germain (quick-witted rising star; Jimmy Fallon, MTV, VH1; for reenactment of Dan’s breakup, please click here), Cameron Esposito, and Harry Terjanian, all performing at The Ace Hotel’s Liberty Hall (20 West 29th Street) hosted by Matt McCarthy (TV, movies, commercials, you name it): Marking Out

[TOP PICK] [FREE] 8:00 pm ($5): A free screening of a 2010 feature film by the Upright Citizens Brigade written and co-directed by Matt Besser, and starring Amy Poehler, Matt Besser, Matt Walsh, Ian Roberts, Horatio Sanz, and other comedy giants, at UCB East—which is a perfect venue because it used to be an indie movie theatre. Please note this musical comedy parody currently has a sad 2.8 (out of 10) rating on IMDB; but regardless of cinematic virtues, this is worth checking out for the talent involved: Freak Dance

[FREE] 8:00 pm: NYC stand-ups Jared Logan (hilarious angry rising star; Last Comic Standing, Comedy Central, co-host of Righteous Kill), Emily Heller (staff writer at Rooftop Comedy), Nick Turner (Jimmy Fallon; host of Monsters, co-host of Too Cool For School and If You Build It), Gonzalo Cordova, and Janine Brito, and sketch duo Rue Brutalia, performing at this free weekly show at Brooklyn’s Northeast Kingdom (18 Wyckoff Avenue) produced by rising stars Dan St. Germain (Jimmy Fallon, MTV, VH1; for reenactment of Dan’s breakup, please click here) & Mike Lawrence (shrewdly funny curmudgeon; Comedy Central), and hosted tonight by Mike and guest co-host Mike Racine: Holy Mountain

8:00 pm ($5): Sarah Lowe (The Apple Sisters, Jersey Boys) and Matt Donnelly (Penn & Teller: Tell A Lie, improv troupes Neutrino and The Faculty) return to NYC for their first show at The PIT as a married couple. They first perform an improv show based on Jackie Gleason & Audrey Meadows inThe Honeymooners, and then welcome additional improvisors to perform with them for scenes set in a Tarot Loung: Honeymooners

8:30 pm ($5): A one-woman show debuting at The Magnet from Mallory Schlossberg about how “I came to New York to be an actress and instead became a temp. To live the true NYC dream, I spent all my remaining time as an online serial dater. This is my story, from behind the cubicle…and the storage closet:” That’s Why the Lady is a Temp

[TOP PICK] 9:00 pm ($5): A monthly mix of storytelling & music from rockin’ hosts the Peter Aguero & the BTK Band, with tonight’s yarn-spinners Starlee Kine (This American Life, The New York Times), Jen Lee, Brad Lawrence, and Sharon Spell at Under St. Marks: The BTK Band: Bring It Down

[TOP PICK] [FREE] 9:00 pm: PIT owner Ali Farahnakian and razor-sharp PIT instructors perform improv at The PIT downstairs lounge in The Faculty Part 2: Electric Boogaloo; plus improv troupe Technicolor

[TOP PICK] 9:30 pm ($5): UCB West has developed several terrific in-house sketch comedy troupes, but only two of them currently rival the finest sketch groups in the country. One is Stone Cold Fox (which now has a stellar show every Friday at 7:30 pm). The other is Gramp’s, spearheaded by comedy genius Kate McKinnon, which is performing tonight. Kate’s group will be trying out all-new bits this evening, but the chances are a bunch of them will be breathtakingly smart, inventive, and hilarious. Also on this double-bill is house troupe Onassis, which isn’t in the same league, but there’s always a chance of happy surprises—all at Maude Night

9:30 pm ($5): Scott Rogowsky (writer for The Onion, co-host of 12 Angry Mascots) returns to The PIT to host “a unique talk show experience that needs to be experienced to be experienced. There will be plenty of bits, skits, chits and chats, and maybe that pretty girl you saw on the 6 train last night will be in the audience! It’s a big city, but you run into people,” including tonight’s guests Joe Mande (Comedy Central, VH1; host of Joe Mande Presents at Carolines, co-host of Totally J/K; author of book Look at This F*cking Hipster), Jim Tozzi (Wonder Showzen, Delocated, Xavier: Renegade Angel), Jeff & Eric Rosenthal (MTV’s The Check-In, Itsthereal.com), filmmaker Sean Dunnek, and musical guest Quintus: Running Late with Scott Rogowsky

[FREE] 9:30 pm: Long-form improv from troupe Casual Sex Offenders at The Creek upstairs theatre in Queens’ Long Island City: CSO Improv Comedy

10:00 pm ($5): Improv veterans Brandon Gardner & Chelsea Clarke hosting & performing in a show at UCB East with guest improvisors: Improv Nerds

[TOP PICK] [FREE] 11:00 pm: Some of the finest comics in the world—with tonight’s lineup TBA—hosted by the wonderful Leo Allen (HBO, Saturday Night Live, Conan O’Brien, Comedy Central) at UCB West’s Whiplash

[FREE] 11:00 pm: If you’re an audience member who loves stand-up, Monday at 11 should beWhiplash! night (see listing above). If you’re a comic who couldn’t get booked on UCBT’s all-star show, though, you can opt to instead practice your skills at this stand-up open-mic hosted by Michelle Wolf and the hilarious Erin Lennox (for a sample of Erin’s dynamite Seriously Sports show, please click here): Fresh

 For full details, please visit HyReviews.com.

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