Best New York Comedy

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If you have a thyroid, or know someone with a thyroid, please consider buying my latest book The Complete Idiot’s Guide to Thyroid Disease.

Hysterical force of nature Jawnee Conroy will be stirring things up tonight at "The BEATdown"

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 ($7): Some of The Magnet’s finest comics—including the brilliant and delightful Lauren Olson (powerhouse one-woman show Our Condolences at last year’s FringeNYC)—team up with Magnet co-owner Armando Diaz to deliver sketch comedy in Good Morning, Ladies!

[TOP PICK] 8:00 pm ($5): Pamela Murphy’s autobiographical show is the best-scripted one-act to grace UCBT in the past year, performed with wit, grace, and pitch-perfect comedic timing (for video samples of Pam’s work, please click here). Don’t miss Jane Borden of Time Out New York‘s pick forBest Solo Show of 2010: Pamela Murphy: The C Word

…and for the other half of this double-bill, sketch troupe Bleak! performs a show about internal strife: Stomachtown

[$] 8:00 pm & 10:30 pm ($26.75 & 2-drink min.)  An award-winning stand-up who’s performed onConan O’Brien, Jimmy Kimmel, Craig Ferguson, and his own Comedy Central Presents half-hour special headlining tonight through Sunday at the Carolines Comedy Club: Al Madrigal

8:00 pm ($5; includes copious homemade treats): Joe Mande (Comedy Central, VH1; co-host ofTotally J/K; author of new book Look at This F*cking Hipster), Adrienne Iapalucci (Last Comic Standing), Erik Bergstrom (cartoonist of terrific book Grimmer Tales), and Michael Terry (Onion News Network, Party Central USA) performing stand-up at Karma Lounge (51 First Avenue, off 3rd Street) with hosts Aalap Patel and the delightful Chelsea White (MTV, College Humor): It’s Not That Serious

[$] 8:00 pm ($20): A benefit for cancer research with Matt McCarthy (Comedy Central), Pat Dixon (Comedy Central Presents), Rob Cantrell (CBS, Marijuana-logues), Andy Haynes (Jimmy Fallon), and Seaton Smith (Opie and Anthony) performing at Brooklyn’s Coco 66 for hosts Nick Turner’s & Jason Saenz’s Too Cool for School

8:00 pm ($10): Improvised scenes based on the “Missed Connections” section of Craigslist at Missed Connections Two-Prov

8:00 pm ($7): “In March of 2009 a gaggle of performers were born. Some died, some wandered off into the woods, others went to work in the private sector. Those that remained grew strong by feeding on the nectar of specific choices and the gruel of strong character work. The not quite 2-year-old terror that exists today is akin to watching a Tsunami of hair and teeth attack a baby Blue Whale and destroy it with the will of a thousand hungry Burnese Mountain Dogs. What does it all mean? We don’t know.” Tonight is the Second Anniversary of these sharp improvisors making stuff up as troupe Chet Watkins

[FREE—plus trivia game chances to win free drinks] 8:00 pm: Pat O’Shea (VH1, host of Ed Sullivan on Acid), Justy Dodge, Todd Montesi, Carolina Hidalgo, Robyn Candyce-Schlau, and “a surprise guest” performing at Brooklyn’s The Royal Oak (594 Union Avenue) with host Calvin S. Cato: The Pregame Comedy Show

[FREE] 8:00 pm: Sharp NYC stand-ups (not announced) performing at O’Hanlon’s (14th Street off 1st Avenue): Hot Soup

[TOP PICK] [$] 8:30 pm & 10:30 pm ($25 & 2-drink min.) A stand-up who’s written for ABC, TruTV, feature films, and performed his own hour-long Comedy Central special You’ve Changedheadlining tonight and Saturday at the Gotham Comedy Club: Michael Loftus

[TOP PICK] 9:00 pm ($10): Some of the finest improv in NYC from the comedy genius members of The Stepfathers

9:00 pm ($7): Comedy friends who, by a wild coincidence, have the same name, debuting a sketch show about pioneers: We’re Matt Weir: Trailblazers

[TOP PICK] 9:30 pm ($10): Always fresh and imaginative world-class sketch troupe that uses song, movement, and clever scenarios to turn familiar rituals on their head (for a video about awkward goodbyes at the end of a party, please click here) delivering a brand new collection of sketches titled Ms. Larsen’s Class: The Harvard Sailing Team

10:00 pm ($7): Singing improvisors who use an interview with an audience member to craft The Made-Up Musical

10:30 pm ($10): Jonathan Gabrus, Sue Galloway, and other fine improvisors make up scenes about an audience member’s legal dispute at The Law Firm: Law & Disorder

[TOP PICK] 11:00 pm ($10): TV & movie star Kristen Schaal (one of the funniest women alive; shining star correspondent on The Daily Show; co-star of HBO’s Flight of the Conchords; Comedy Central Presents half-hour special; star of UK TV series Penelope: Princess of Pets; co-host of Hot Tub Variety; co-author of bestselling book The Sexy Book of Sexy Sex), and TV & movie star Todd Barry (HBO, David Letterman, Conan O’Brien, Comedy Central Presents, The Sarah Silverman Program, Adult Swim, feature films The Wrestler and Pete Smalls is Dead), plus wonderful musical guest Ted Leo, performing at this monthly comedy talk show hosted by the Kurt Braunohler (Comedy Central, Hot Tub Variety): Night of the Living with Kurt Braunohler

[TOP PICK] Midnight ($5): A comedic freestyle rap contest featuring some of the funniest & sharpest comics in NYC—who tonight include Jawnee Conroy (a force of nature who was a hilarious agent of chaos on his last appearance), Josh Ruben (College Humor), Alan Fessenden (member of improv troupe 4Track), and stand-ups Joyelle Johnson and Remy Benice —plus a volunteer from the audience!, hosted by genius human beatbox Chris “Shockwave” Sullivan (The Daily Show, The Electric Company, Freestyle Love Supreme) and Victor Varnado (Conan O’Brien,Jimmy Kimmel, Comedy Central) at one of my favorite monthly shows: The BEATdown

For full details, please visit HyReviews.com.

If you have a thyroid, or know someone with a thyroid, please consider buying my latest book The Complete Idiot’s Guide to Thyroid Disease.