Best New York Comedy

I’m one of the finest ghostwriters in the country; my 20+ books include two New York Times bestsellers, a phenom megaseller that hit #16 on Amazon.com and has sold over 330,000 print copies to date, and an interview book with legendary author Neil Gaiman that hit #240 on Amazon.com. I’ve also written five Dummies books and a Complete Idiot’s Guide. I cover comedy as a labor of love. But if you need help with a book, let’s chat, because there’s no one better at ghostwriting, editing, and/or coaching. To learn more about my services, please visit BookProposal.net and then email me at hy@hyreviews.com.

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In addition, you can use the links below to explore the schedules of all the major comedy venues in NYC; and you can find excellent live comedy recommendations weekly via The New York Times.

That said, my top NYC comedy recommendations for November 2019 (with much more to come soon) include:

Monday 11/4: Max Wittert, who is both an illustrator for The New Yorker and a stand-up, performs alongside his drawings for a visually driven night of comedy, with openers Ana Fabrega (breakout star of HBO’s Los Espookys; Am Home with Amy Sedaris, Portlandia, The Jim Gaffigan Show, The Chris Gethard Show) and Rachel Kaly (Clickhole): Max Wittert: Portrait of the Artist Seated with Grapes (7:30 pm, $12, Brooklyn’s Union Hall at 702 Union Street; take R subway to Union Street; #NYCF2019)

Monday 11/4: Lindsey Metselaar hosts this show that encourages uncommon openness and honesty in talking and telling stories about millennial dating in NYC, with tonight’s guests Mark Normand, Napoleon Emill, Remy Kassimir, and Ali Kolbert: We Met at Acme (7:30 pm, $22, Chelsea Music Hall at 407 West 15th Street)

Monday 11/4: The annual Roastmasters Tournament returns (after a year’s hiatus), with comics & judges TBA, giving NYC Champion Eli Sairs the chance to defend his title. This competition kicks off tonight at 7:30 pm, will continue Tuesday at 9:30 pm, and then climax Sunday at 10:00 pm, all hosted by master insulter Kim Congdon: Roastmasters NYC Tournament 2019 (7:30 pm, $10, The Stand Upstairs at 116 East 16th Street; #NYCF2019)

Monday 11/4: Aparna Nancherla (co-star of HBO’s Crashing, Netflix’s Master of None, and Comedy Central’s Corporate), Jo Firestone (staff writer for Jimmy Fallon, co-author of #1 bestselling Punderdome: A Card Game for Pun Lovers), and Maeve Higgins (Maeve in America, co-host of Nat Geo’s Star Talk) host TV & movie star Janeane Garofalo, Hari Kondabolu (David Letterman, Conan O’Brien, Comedy Central Presents; fascinating TruTV documentary The Problem with Apu; Netflix special Warn Your Relatives; co-host of Kondabolu Brothers podcast), Lorelei Ramirez (fresh, explosively brilliant stand-up; Adult Swim, VICE), The Lucas Brothers (Jimmy Fallon, 22 Jump Street, FOX’s Lucas Bros Moving Company, Arrested Development), Clare O’Kane (Amazon’s Budding Prospects, Viceland’s Flophouse, webseries Semi-Famous; former writer for SpongeBob SquarePants; stand-up album Let It Be), and Kaleb Stewart (Comedy Central) performing stand-up, plus music from DJ Donwill: Butterboy with Jo, Aparna, and Maeve (8:00 pm, $10, Brooklyn’s Littlefield at 635 Sackett Street—take R subway to Union Street; 10:00 pm afterparty at Parklife at 636 Degraw Street; #NYCF2019)

Monday 11/4: True tales on this month’s theme of Outliers from comedic storytellers and/or scientists Saad Sarwana (physicist; co-host of ScienceChannel’s Outrageous Acts of Science), Bryan Berlin (storyteller; host of podcast Love Hurts), Carla Katz (storyteller; solo show Body Parts), Tazmin Uddin (teacher), and Karen Washington (community activist) hosted by Zack Stovall (Splitsider) & Paula Croxson (neuroscientist; Senior Manager for Education Programs at Columbia University’s Zuckerman Institute; please wish Paula a Happy Birthday!): The Story Collider: Outliers (8:00 pm, $12, LES’ Caveat at 21-A Clinton Street—take F/J/M/Z subway to Delancey Street/Essex Street)

Monday 11/4: Alice Wetterlund (Conan O’Brien; Carla on HBO’s Silicon Valley, TBS’ People of Earth, Netflix’s Glow, SyFy’s Resident Alien) hosts Hari Kondabolu (David Letterman, Conan O’Brien, Comedy Central Presents; fascinating TruTV documentary The Problem with Apu; Netflix special Warn Your Relatives; co-host of Kondabolu Brothers podcast), Dulcé Sloan (powerhouse comic and correspondent for The Daily Show; Conan O’Brien, @midnight), Sonia Denis (HBO’s High Maintenance, Netflix’s Set It Up, Emmy-nominated webseries Brown Girls), James Harris (co-host of JLTV’s James & Sunda), and Zach Sims: Alice Wetterlund and Friends (10:00 pm, $12, Brooklyn’s Union Hall at 702 Union Street; take R subway to Union Street; #NYCF2019)

Tuesday 11/5: Chris Gethard, Mark Normand, Yamaneika, Ian Fidance, and/or more reveal neuroses, addictions, and dark compulsions that either hinder or fuel their comedy, hosted by Ron Bennington: One Flew Over the Comedy Club: Addictions and Compulsions of Stand-Ups (8:00 pm, $15, The Stand Upstairs at 116 East 16th Street; #NYCF2019)

TTuesday 11/5: Emmy Blotnick (brilliant and Emmy-nominated rising star stand-up who’s performed on Stephen Colbert and in a Comedy Central Half Hour; staff writer for Stephen Colbert; comedy album Party Nights), Nicole Conlan (staff writer for Stephen Colbert), Miriam Nielsen (co-host of PBS-sponsored Hot Mess), and more discuss climate change with hosts Rollie Williams (who pretends to be Al Gore) and Mark Vigeant (who pretends to be his trusty sidekick Sandy the Crab): An Inconvenient Talk Show (7:00 pm, $12, LES’ Caveat at 21-A Clinton Street; take F/J/M/Z subway to Delancey Street/Essex Street; #NYCF2019)

Tuesday 11/5: A Broadway, TV, and film star who once said, “There’s no way to predict what is good or bad. You just do what you think is funny, and either it works or you’re finished” tries out new material tonight and tomorrow in an intimate club for his next mass media solo show: Colin Quinn (7:00 pm, $10 plus 2-item food/drink min., West Village’s The Fat Black Pussycat Lounge at 130 West 3rd Street)

Tuesday 11/5: Grammy-winning singer/songwriter Paula Cole helped define the late 1990s with such haunting hits as “Where Have All the Cowboys Gone?” and “I Don’t Want to Wait” (used as the theme song for all six seasons of Dawson’s Creek). She’s released nine albums to date, with This Fire in 1996 going double platinum, and her most recent Ballads in 2017 and Revolution in 2019. And she’s tonight’s guest of this NPR comedy trivia show taped live in Brooklyn hosted by the wonderful Ophira Eisenberg (one of the finest comedic storytellers and stand-ups in the country; author of bestselling book Screw Everyone: Sleeping My Way to Monogamy, comedy album Bangs!; NBC, CBS, Comedy Central, VH1, Showtime) with music by Jonathan Coulton: Ask Me Another (7:30 pm, $20, Brooklyn’s The Bell House at 149 7th Street; take R subway to 9th Street or F/G to Fourth Avenue)

Tuesday 11/5: An LA-based filmmaker and actress (NBC’s Sunnyside, The Mindy Project, Weeds) and stand-up who advocates, Buddha-like, getting into a healthy range (see video here) performs a deliciously long set for one night only in Brooklyn: Kiran Deol (7:30 pm, $12, Union Hall at 702 Union Street; take R subway to Union Street; #NYCF2019)

Tuesday 11/5: A comic who’s starred on shows for HBO and Comedy Central, won Emmy and Peabody Awards for his work at Jon Stewart’s The Daily Show, and is now working for The Late Show with Stephen Colbert, performs a deliciously long stand-up set at an iconic comedy club: Paul Mecurio Headlines at Gotham (7:30 pm, $20 plus 2-drink min., Gotham Comedy Club at 208 West 23rd Street; #NYCF2019)

Tuesday 11/5: A raucous monthly pun competition hosted by Fred Firestone (co-author with Jo Firestone of #1 bestselling Punderdome: A Card Game for Pun Lovers), with 18 audience members (a dozen sign-ups and six returning champions) fiercely competing for wordplay dominance—and the chance to become an instant star based on verbal cleverness, and the ability to drum up the most applause from a packed and loudly cheering crowd. This special Halloween edition also features a spooky Pun-Costume competition: Punderdome 3000: Halloween Special (8:00 pm, $12, Brooklyn’s Littlefield at 635 Sackett Street—take R subway to Union Street; show up early—doors open at 7:00—to nab a seat, or plan on standing)

Tuesday 11/5: Every Tuesday at 8:00 pm, comics creators join super-hosts Alex Zalben, Justin Tyler, and Pete LePage in a lively & hilarious discussion about four-color pop culture, with giveaways of comics and gift certificates: Comic Book Club (8:00 pm, Free!, The PIT Loft at 154 West 29th Street)

Tuesday 11/5: Monroe Martin (David Letterman, Jimmy Fallon, finalist on Last Comic Standing, Comedy Central’s The Jim Gaffigan Show, Netflix’s Master of None; host of podcast No Need for Apologies) performs an autobiographical stand-up show about his growing up in the foster care system, experiencing multiple failed relationships. and now being a newly married man trying to build a family and figure it all out: Monroe Martin: System Failure (8:30 pm, $10 plus 2-item food/drink min., Comedy Cellar’s The Fat Black Pussycat Lounge at 130 West 3rd Street; #NYCF2019)

Tuesday 11/5: It’s the second night of the annual Roastmasters Tournament, with comics & judges TBA, and the winners from yesterday and tonight facing off at the Finals on Sunday at 10:00 pm, all hosted by master insulter Kim Congdon: Roastmasters NYC Tournament 2019 (9:30 pm, $10, The Stand at 116 East 16th Street #NYCF2019)

Tuesday 11/5: Ace stand-ups Emmy Blotnick (brilliant and Emmy-nominated rising star stand-up who’s performed on Stephen Colbert and in a Comedy Central Half Hour; staff writer for Stephen Colbert; comedy album Party Nights) & Joe Zimmerman (Jimmy Fallon, Conan O’Brien, Last Week Tonight with John Oliver, Comedy Central Half Hour, Last Comic Standing) host fellow comics Michael Kosta, Shalewa Sharpe, Daniel Simonsen, Greg Stone, and Doogie Horner. After each guest’s stand-up set, Emmy & Joe ask follow-up questions to generate yet more and more jokes for an endless conveyer belt of comedy they call the Joke Machine (10:00 pm, $10, Brooklyn’s Union Hall at 702 Union Street; take R subway to Union Street; #NYCF2019)

Tuesday 11/6: Hosts Karen Chee (staff writer for Seth Meyers; The New Yorker, McSweeney’s) & Larry Owens (staff writer for TruTV’s Paid Off; feature film To Dust) fight the power with tonight’s stellar guests Aparna Nancherla (one of the very finest stand-ups in the country; co-star of Super Bowl 2019 commercial, Comedy Central’s Corporate, and HBO’s Crashing; also performed on HBO’s 2 Dope Queens, Netflix’s Master of None and The Standups, TBS’ Conan O’Brien, and Comedy Central’s @Midnight and Half Hour; former writer for Seth Meyers; comedy album Just Putting It Out There), Ana Fabrega (breakout star of HBO’s Los Espookys; Am Home with Amy Sedaris, Portlandia, The Jim Gaffigan Show, The Chris Gethard Show), Ziwe Fumudoh (writer for Showtime’s Desus & Mero; previously writer for The Rundown with Robin Thede; host of hilarious webseries Baited with Ziwe; host of Pop Show), and Randall Otis (writer for The Daily Show): Decolonize Your Mind (10:30 pm, $11, Chelsea Music Hall at 407 West 15th Street; #NYCF2019)

Wednesday 11/6: The National Lampoon Radio Hour ran weekly from November 1973 through December 1974. A number of its comics then moved on to Saturday Night Live, including John Belushi, Chevy Chase, Bill Murray, Gilda Radner, Harold Ramis, and brilliant writer Michael O’Donoghue. Decades later, you can come see NLRH resurrected as a podcast and stage show with a brand new cast of writers and performers: Jo Firestone, Maeve Higgins, Aaron Jackson, Brett Davis, Alex English, Rachel Pegram, Lorelei Ramirez, Meg Stalter, Martin Urbano, and Cole Escola: The National Lampoon Radio Hour (7:30 pm, $25, Brooklyn’s The Bell House at 149 7th Street; take R subway to 9th Street or F/G to Fourth Avenue)

Wednesday 11/6: Comics share their rejected comedy material at this all-star show with Aparna Nancherla (left, abandoned by Elmo; one of the very finest stand-ups in the country; co-star of Super Bowl 2019 commercial, Comedy Central’s Corporate, and HBO’s Crashing; also performed on HBO’s 2 Dope Queens, Netflix’s Master of None and The Standups, TBS’ Conan O’Brien, and Comedy Central’s @Midnight and Half Hour; former writer for Seth Meyers; comedy album Just Putting It Out There), Michelle Collins (middle, holding axed jokes; host of TLC’s 90 Day Live and Sirius XM’s The Michelle Collins Show; former co-host of ABC’s The View and Bachelor in Paradise: After Paradise), and Scott Rogowsky (right, dumped by umbrella; NBC’s The Voice, WB’s Penn & Teller: Fool Us; host of wildly popular trivia game app HQ Trivia), plus music from superb duo Stuckey & Murray, fab band The Defibulators, and SNL Musical Director Eli Brueggemann, all hosted by Jon Friedman (Jimmy Fallon; former writer for MTV’s Guy Code and Girl Code, YouTube series Part Timers): The Rejection Show (7:30 pm, $11, Chelsea Music Hall at 407 West 15th Street; #NYCF2019)

Wednesday 11/6: “Do you ever leave a comedy show saying ‘Hmm, that was pretty funny but not enough reading’? Literati is a night of comics in character performing hilarious readings—sometimes while wearing wigs,” with tonight’s small army of guests John Reynolds (Stranger Things, Search Party), Lorelei Ramirez (Adult Swim, VICE), Clare O’Kane (VICE, Comedy Central Half Hour), Josh Sharp (The Opposition, At Home w/Amy Sedaris), Monique Moses (Netflix, Comedy Central), Sydnee Washington (The Unofficial Expert Podcast), Natasha Vaynblat (Comedy Central), Meg Stalter (National Lampoon Comedy Hour), Alex Song (HBO, Netflix, Tonight Show), Branson Reese (Cartoon Network), Becky Chicoine & Sam Reece (Comedy Central’s Shop Talk), Rollie Williams (An Inconvenient Talk Show), Mark Vigeant (Internet Explorers), and Carmen Christopher (The Chris Gethard Show) hosted by Colin O’Brien & Michael Wolf: Literati: A Comedy Show About Books and the Idiots Who Write Them (7:00 pm, $12, LES’ Caveat at 21-A Clinton Street; take F/J/M/Z subway to Delancey Street/Essex Street; #NYCF2019)

Wednesday 11/6: A Broadway, TV, and film star who once said, “There’s no way to predict what is good or bad. You just do what you think is funny, and either it works or you’re finished” tries out new material tonight and tomorrow in an intimate club for his next mass media solo show: Colin Quinn (7:00 pm, $10 plus 2-item food/drink min., West Village’s The Fat Black Pussycat Lounge at 130 West 3rd Street)

Wednesday 11/6: Mekki Leeper is an LA-based stand-up who grew up in a Muslim-Christian home, has appeared on James Corden (please see his January 2019 set here), wrote & directed the Comedy Central digital series Resolutions, and stars in the Comedy Central digital special Control Room—and he’s performing a solo stand-up show tonight in Brooklyn as part of #NYCF: Mekki Leeper (7:30 pm, $10, Brooklyn’s Union Hall at 702 Union Street; take R subway to Union Street; #NYCF2019)

Wednesday 11/6: Representing some of UCB-New York’s best scripted comedy for the New York Comedy Festival is this double-bill. First up is a mini-play written and co-starring Elena Skopetos titled Impressing My Dad, and then Maude house group The Founation reprises its favorite sketches: The Best of UCBT-NY (9:00 pm, $12, UCB Hell’s Kitchen at 555 West 42nd Street; #NYCF2019)

Wednesday 11/6: Stand-ups tell their darkest and most personal jokes, and then sit down for an intimate conversation with Crystal Marie about the real-life experiences that inspired them, answering such questions as “When and how did you give yourself permission to talk about your trauma?”, featuring guests Chris Redd (cast member of Saturday Night Live; NBC’s Will & Grace, Netflix’s Disjointed, movie Popstar: Never Stop Stopping), Nikki Glaser (host of You Up on SiriusXM; star of former Comedy Central series Not Safe; Comedy Central and Netflix specials; films Trainwreck and I Feel Pretty), Dulcé Sloan (powerhouse comic and correspondent for The Daily Show; Conan O’Brien, @midnight), Andrew Schulz (MTV’s Guy Code, Girl Code, Failosophy), Sam Morril (Stephen Colbert, Conan O’Brien, Comedy Central Half Hour, America’s Got Talent), Petey DeAbreu (host of Petey’s World and co-host of White Chocolate), and Moses Storm (Conan O’Brien, Last Comic Standing): Behind the Bit (9:00 pm, $20 cover and no min., The Stand Upstairs at 116 East 16th Street; #NYCF2019)

Wednesday 11/6: A solo show about losing a sister to suicide, quitting stand-up, and eventually finding joy in comedy again, loosely based on the 2018 memoir Tragedy Plus Time: Adam Cayton-Holland: Happy Place (10:00 pm, $12, Brooklyn’s Union Hall at 702 Union Street; take R subway to Union Street; #NYCF2019)

Wednesday 11/6: Mind reader Eric Dittelman (America’s Got Talent, Ellen) hosts professional magicians testing out new acts—including comedic bits—for this long-running free monthly show: Amazeballs (10:00 pm, Free!, The Creek upstairs theatre in Queens’ LIC at 10-93 Jackson Avenue; take 7 subway to Vernon Boulevard–Jackson Avenue)

Thursday 11/7-Sunday 11/10: Hilarious, quick-witted Norm MacDonald both gets in trouble and is beloved for not being afraid to make waves. For example, way back in 1997 Norm got the biggest laugh ever out of Conan O’Brien when he began by declaring that if Carrot Top is the star of the new movie of another guest, a good title for the film would be “Box Office Poison.” Conan then asked the guest for the actual title, and she responded Chairman of the Board. Conan turned to Norm and said, “Do something with that, you freak.” Without missing a beat, Norm replied, “I bet Board is spelled B-O-R-E-D.” Conan, and the audience, went into hysterics. (Also famed is Norm’s moth story.) Norm was a popular cast member of Saturday Night Live for five seasons and the anchor of Weekend Update for three seasons. He was also a regular on several network sitcoms, and even starred in his own ABC sitcom The Norm Show, which ran for three seasons. More recently, Norm is the voice of Yaphit on The Orville and hosts the Netflix interview program Norm Macdonald Has a Show. Norm is also one of the most acclaimed stand-ups in the biz, and well worth catching. He’s headlining Thursday through Sunday as part of the New York Comedy Festival: Norm Macdonald (8:00 pm & 10:30 pm, $57.25 plus 2-drink min., Carolines Comedy Club at 1626 Broadway; #NYCF2019)

Thursday 11/7: Writer/actress/producer/comic Quinta Brunson has co-starred on HBO’s A Black Lady Sketch Show, the webseries Girl Who Has Never Been on a Nice Date, a bunch of Buzzfeed videos, and more—including a pilot she’s developing for CBS. Tonight you can see this red-hot rising star live on stage hosting Sam Jay (writer for Saturday Night Live; performed on Jimmy Kimmel, Comedy Central Stand-Up Presents, Take My Wife), Sydnee Washington (Conan O’Brien, MTV2’s Vidiots, co-host of podcast The Unofficial Expert), Taylor Garron (editor for Reductress), Ayo Edebiri (Comedy Central), and Anthony Moore: Quinta Brunson + Friends (7:30 pm, $20, Brooklyn’s The Bell House at 149 7th Street; take R subway to 9th Street or F/G to Fourth Avenue; #NYCF2019)

Thursday 11/7: Superb UCB character comics—including such rising stars as Desi Domo and Michael Cruz Kayne—perform some of their best solo bits for the New York Comedy Festival: UCBT Character Showcase (7:30 pm, $12, UCB Hell’s Kitchen at 555 West 42nd Street; #NYCF2019)

Thursday 11/7: Open mic storytelling show, with each yarn-spinner whose name is picked from a basket receiving 5 minutes on stage to share something that happened in his or her life (and that’s interesting enough to make the audience feel okay about missing tonight’s debate), hosted by David Lawson (fresh, sharp, edgy storyteller; The Flyer Guy): The Astoria Bookshop Storytelling Show (7:00 pm, Free!, Astoria Bookshop at 31-29 31st Street)

Thursday 11/7: Douglas Widdick & Ken McGraw perform an hour-long musical, directed by Caitlin Bitzegaio, on the many very wrong ways to pick up women and live a bachelor lifestyle: Toxic Masculinity: The Musical (9:00 pm, $12, UCB Hell’s Kitchen at 555 West 42nd Street; #NYCF2019)

Thursday 11/7: With brutal honesty, top comics Dan Soder (one of the very finest stand-ups in the country; Dudley Mafee on Showtime’s Billions; films Trainwreck, Drunk Parents; Conan O’Brien, Comedy Central hour-long special Not Special, Comedy Central Half Hour, Netflix’s The Standups, Inside Amy Schumer, MTV’s Guy Code and Guy Court, upcoming HBO special; hosts with Big Jay Oakerson Sirius XM’s The Bonfire), Robert Kelly (Louie, Trainwreck, HBO, CBS, two Comedy Central specials, YKWD podcast), and Lynne Koplitz (star of stand-up specials Hormonal Beast on Netflix and a Comedy Central Presents; HBO’s Crashing; upcoming Judd Apatow movie Staten Island; Joan Know’s Best, IFC’s Z Rock, host of WB’s Life & Style, Chris Rock movie Top Five) each shares a story of one of the worst things he or she has ever experienced, with periodioc questions and other interjections from host Big Jay Oakerson (Jimmy Fallon, Comedy Central Presents, Louie, Inside Amy Schumer, HBO, Showtime, MTV, IFC; co-host of podcasts Legion of Skanks and The SDR; stellar comedy special Live at Webster Hall): The Worst (9:00 pm, $20 cover and no min., The Stand at 116 East 16th Street)

Friday 11/8: Superb storyteller David Lawson (Comedy Central; solo shows include The Flyer Guy, No Oddjob, The Prequels; host of The Astoria Bookshop Storytelling Show) performs a one-man show “standing onstage judging people who are seeking The White House in 2020. The only qualification David has? He’s read their books:” David Lawson’s 2020 Book Report (7:00 pm, $15, The Kraine Theatre at 85 East 4th Street off Second Avenue)

Friday 11/8: Ace comics Jo Firestone, Ana Fabrega, Sydnee Washington, Catherine Cohen, Natalie Walker, Ayo Edebiri, and James Harvey perform for host Larry Owens (staff writer for TruTV’s Paid Off; feature film To Dust): Larry Owens + Friends (7:30 pm, $15, Brooklyn’s The Bell House at 149 7th Street; take R subway to 9th Street or F/G to Fourth Avenue; #NYCF2019)

Friday 11/8: Storytelling, catharsis, and laughter as comics who identify as survivors of sexual assault or harassment share their experiences, featuring Amber Rollo, Wendi Starling, Arti Gollapudi, Irene Fagan Merrow, Rebecca O’Neal, and Dylan Adler hosted by Kelly Bachman (filmmaker/comic; recent op-ed in The New York Times). This show will be filmed as part of a documentary: Rape Jokes by Survivors (7:30 pm, $17, UCB at SubCulture at 45 Bleecker Street—take #6 subway to Bleecker Street stop; #NYCF201)

Friday 11/8: Baron Vaughn (Conan O’Brien, Jimmy Fallon, Comedy Central Half Hour, co-host of Comedy Central’s The New Negroes; Tom Servo in the Netflix reboot of Mystery Science Theater 3000; cast member of Netflix’s Grace and Frankie and USA’s Fairly Legal; films Cloverfield, Black Dynamite, and his own documentary Fatherless) and Open Mike Eagle (stand-up and hip-hop artist; Adult Swim; co-host with Baron of The New Negroes) perform and host other notable stand-ups in this stage version of their Comedy Central showcase: The New Negroes Live (8:00 pm, $25, Brooklyn’s Littlefield at 635 Sackett Street; take R subway to Union Street; #NYCF2019)

Friday 11/8: A unique game show in which an oddball Internet video is screened, and then over a dozen contestants have three minutes to prepare a dance routine inspired by what everyone just experienced. It’ll all be judged by typically cool comics TBA: Dancify That! (8:00 pm, $15, The PIT Mainstage at 123 East 24th Street)

Friday 11/8: Sarah Squirm, who created the infamous Adult Swim video here, gifts us with a live show filled with her disturbingly gross dark comedy, plus musical guests Ana Fabrega & Lorelei Ramirez (as duo Beautiful Souls Al Fresco): Sarah Squirm’s HellTrap Nightmare (10:00 pm, $15, Brooklyn’s The Bell House at 149 7th Street; take R subway to 9th Street or F/G to Fourth Avenue; #NYCF2019)

Friday 11/8: A solo stand-up show self-described as “fiercely personal, remorselessly dark, morally bankrupt comedy” from a comic who’s performed on Comedy Central and Amazon Prime: Rosebud Baker (7:30 pm, $15, Brooklyn’s Union Hall at 702 Union Street; take R subway to Union Street; #NYCF2019)

Saturday 11/9: This “woke” Japanese-style game show will push to the max the problem-solving skills of stars Aparna Nancherla (one of the very finest stand-ups in the country; co-star of Super Bowl 2019 commercial, Comedy Central’s Corporate, and HBO’s Crashing; also performed on HBO’s 2 Dope Queens, Netflix’s Master of None and The Standups, TBS’ Conan O’Brien, and Comedy Central’s @Midnight and Half Hour; former writer for Seth Meyers; comedy album Just Putting It Out There), Wyatt Cenac (star of HBO’s Problem Areas and TBS’ Friends of Earth; former star correspondent for The Daily Show; writer for South Park; albums Comedy Person, Brooklyn, and Furry Dumb Fighter; host of Night Train, Shouting at the Screen), and one other comic TBA hosted by the charming Atsuko Okatsuka (HBO’s Room 104; writer for Adult Swim’s wonderfully surreal The Eric Andre Show and Soft Focus with Jena Friedman): Let’s Go, Atsuko! (8:30 pm, $11, Chelsea Music Hall at 407 West 15th Street)

Saturday 11/9: A show celebrating the app that redefined online dating, with the lovely and quick-witted Lane Moore (above middle; author of bestselling book How to Be Alone; HBO’s Girls; Sex & Relationship Editor of Cosmo; writer for The Onion, McSweeney’s) going on a live Tinder safari for guys while a packed audience watches her every choice with fascination. Offering comments and suggestions are guests Jean Grae (left; renowned, seminal hip hop recording artist; also sharp pro comic and comedy host), Connor Ratliff (right; brilliant improvisor & character comic; The Marvelous Mrs. Maisel, Orange is the New Black, Broad City, The Chris Gethard Show, The President Show; co-star of legendary improv group The Stepfathers; host of The George Lucas Talk Show), and Chase Mitchell (staff writer for FOX’s What Just Happened?; former long-time staff writer for Jimmy Fallon): Tinder Live (8:30 pm, $18 at the door or $19.51-$22.76 online; Brooklyn’s Littlefield at 635 Sackett Street; take R subway to Union Street; #NYCF2019)

Saturday 11/9: Gastor Almonte (Comedy Central’s This Is Not Happening, host of Stoops2Stages, co-host of Sandwich, comedy album Immigrant Made) hosts a Brooklyn-style long-form storytelling show (guests TBA) that, like a good meal, will safisfy and sustain you: Beef & Broccoli (8:30 pm, $20 cover and no min., The Stand at 116 East 16th Street; #NYCF2019)

Saturday 11/9: Every Saturday night, a highly talented freestyle rapping long form improv group takes the stage for an hour: North Coast (9:00 pm, $12, The PIT Underground at 123 East 24th Street; #NYCF2019)

Saturday 11/9: Director, writer, actor, and national treasure Kevin Smith (Clerks, Chasing Amy, Comic Book Men, Jay and Silent Bob) and Jason Mewes (co-star of the View Askewniverse; host of popular and long-running podcast Jay & Silent Bob Get Old) perform a storytelling and Q&A show—which I’ll be attending—promoting their just-released latest movie Jay and Silent Bob Reboot: The Jay and Silent Bob Reboot Roadshow (9:45 pm, BMCC Tribeca Performing Arts Center at 99 Chambers Street; take the 1/2/3 subway to Chambers Street; #NYCF2019. PLEASE NOTE: This show has SOLD OUT.)

Sunday 11/10: Each of us endures a lot more, and is far tougher, than is apparent from surface appearances. And that refers to not only emotional and spiritual hardships, but permanent bodily mementos. In this show, Ophira Eisenberg (one of the very finest storytellers in the country; NBC’s The Today Show, CBS’ The Late Late Show, Comedy Central, VH1, Showtime, 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) reveals “I have a lot of scars. And I don’t mean metaphorical ones, I’m talking actual physical scars. I’m actually covered in them. They stem from incidents throughout my life, from putting my finger into a meat grinder at age 4 to surviving a near-fatal car crash. This show is about my scars, filled with both comedic and tragic stories, and how to accept these patterns etched in my skin day after day after day.” Opening for Ophira during this 90-minute show are storytellers Michaela Murphy (recommended by The New Yorker) and Mike Albo (writer for The New Yorker, The New York Times, New York Magazine; author of novels Homito and The Underminer): Ophira Eisenberg: How to Get Rid of Scars (2:00 pm, $20, The Kraine Theatre at 85 East 4th Street off Second Avenue)

Sunday 11/10: Mothers, and nonprofit group MIMSI that “offers life-saving prenatal care to mothers in areas of the world that need it most,” are celebrated by Judy Gold (star of HBO’s At The Multiplex With Judy Gold; star of multiple stand-up specials on HBO, Comedy Central, and LOGO; former writer & producer for The Rosie O’Donnell Show, for which Judy won two Daytime Emmy Awards; Showtime’s I’m Dying Up Here; Stephen Colbert, Conan O’Brien, Jay Leno, The View; popular weekly podcast Kill Me Now), Karen Chee (staff writer for Seth Meyers; The New Yorker, McSweeney’s), Krystyna Hutchinson (with comedy partner Corinne Fisher, host of popular Guys We Fucked podcast and author of F*CKED: Being Sexually Explorative and Self-Confident in a World That’s Screwed), Chris Distefano (star of Comedy Central’s hour-long special Size 38 Waist and weekly interstitial series Stupid Questions; David Letterman, Seth Meyers, MTV2’s Guy Code), and Lucas O’Neil in this fundraiser hosted by X Mayo (The Daily Show): Another Mother’s Day (7:30 pm, $15, Brooklyn’s The Bell House at 149 7th Street; take R subway to 9th Street or F/G to Fourth Avenue; #NYCF2019)

Sunday 11/10: It’s the final night of the annual Roastmasters Tournament, with comics who survived the first two brutal evenings facing off to determine the competition’s champion for 2019, with judges TBA, all hosted by master insulter Kim Congdon: Roastmasters NYC Tournament 2019 (10:00 pm, $10, The Stand at 116 East 16th Street #NYCF2019)

Tuesday 11/12: Every Tuesday at 8:00 pm, comics creators join super-hosts Alex Zalben, Justin Tyler, and Pete LePage in a lively & hilarious discussion about four-color pop culture, with giveaways of comics and gift certificates: Comic Book Club (8:00 pm, Free!, The PIT Loft at 154 West 29th Street)

Wednesday 11/13: Josh Gondelman (one of the sharpest comics in the country; writer/producer for Showtime’s Desus & Mero; previously Emmy & Peabody Award-winning writer/producer for HBO’s phenom Last Week Tonight with John Oliver; Conan O’Brien, The New Yorker; author of book Nice Try; stand-up albums Dancing On a Weeknight and Physical Whisper), Katie Boyle (co-host of podcast The Shift; host of Transplants Comedy), Zain Sharif, Jared Goldstein, and Ronnie Fleming perform stand-up hosted by Emily Winter, Julia Shiplett, Carolyn Busa, and/or Ben Wasserman: Side Ponytail Comedy (8:00 pm, Free!, Brooklyn’s Friends and Lovers at 641 Classon Avenue)

Wednesday 11/20: Mike Drucker (left; hilarious stand-up and staff writer for TBS’ Full Frontal with Samantha Bee; previously staff writer for Comedy Central’s The President Show and nearly 400 episodes of NBC’s Jimmy Fallon, and contributing writer for Saturday Night Live), Caitlin Peluffo (right; Stephen Colbert), Richie Owens, and more TBA perform stand-up hosted by Emily Winter, Julia Shiplett, Carolyn Busa, and/or Ben Wasserman: Side Ponytail Comedy (8:00 pm, Free!, Brooklyn’s Friends and Lovers at 641 Classon Avenue)

Friday 11/29: Patrick McCartney (member of acclaimed theatrical improv group Centralia) performs a comedic solo show about addiction and recovery, directed by Shira Piven (HBO’s Divorce and Room 104, Amazon’s Transparent), that’s received raves from the likes of Elizabeth Gilbert (superstar author of Eat Pray Love), who wrote, “Patrick McCartney is a phenomenally gifted performer, whose work I have admired for years. But we almost lost this extraordinary artist to alcoholism and drug addiction—which would have been a tragedy on so many levels. Now McCartney has returned to the stage with a one-man show about his struggle with substance abuse. Miraculously, it manages to be simultaneously brilliant, devastating, hilarious, humble, searching, and triumphant. Go see it. It’s a beautiful piece of work:” Sinister Kid (7:00 pm, $12, The PIT Loft at 154 West 29th Street)

Sunday 12/1: Michelle Buteau (HBO’s 2 Dope Queens and High Maintenance, Netflix’s Russian Doll, Comedy Central’s Key & Peele, Amazon’s The Tick, VH1’s Morning Buzz and Best Week Ever, FOX’s Enlisted, Craig Ferguson, Last Comic Standing, @midnight; films Always Be My Maybe and Someone Great; comedy album Shut Up) performs a deliciously long stand-up set: Michelle Buteau (7:30 pm (sold out) & 9:30 pm, $20, Brooklyn’s The Bell House at 149 7th Street; take R subway to 9th Street or F/G to Fourth Avenue)

You can find the vast majority of notable NYC live comedy shows by using the links below to explore the schedules of the following top NYC comedy venues:

Best Inexpensive Stand-Up, Improv, Sketch, and Storytelling

Upright Citizens Brigade Hell’s Kitchen
555 West 42nd Street; 152-seater; one of the most respected comedy showcases in the world; especially strong on improv, sketch, solo shows, and one-act comedic plays; shows free-$12

Upright Citizens Brigade at SubCulture
45 Bleecker Street; What used to be a top comedy venue called UCB East has sadly gone under, but some of its shows live on Friday, Saturday, and Sunday nights at respected East Village indie theatre SubCulture at Bleecker & Lafayette Streets, direclty by the #6 subway’s Bleecker Street stop; shows $7-$14

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; the third of The PIT theatres, located separately on the West side, hosts a wide range of comedy, but is especially effective as a home for intimate solo and/or theatrical shows; free-$20

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 weeknight shows free; weekend shows free-$10

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/W 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.

Fat Black Pussycat Lounge
130 West 3rd Street; Comedy Cellar’s smaller, intimate, and lower-priced sister venue (next door to Village Underground), which serves as its primary home for solo shows and experimental shows—which means it’s sometimes the most exciting choice; 2-item min.

The Stand
116 East 16th Street; Club closest to competing with Comedy Cellar, featuring top stand-ups on a main stage and upstairs stage; 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
487 Atlantic Avenue (near the Barclays Center); only comedy club in Brooklyn; strong weekend lineups; no cover using code HyReviews; some shows have 2-drink min., but many don’t

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.

NYC Stand-Up Open Mics & Improv Jams

If you want stage time, you can find one or more stand-up open mics virtually any night at Manhattan’s The PIT, Eastville Comedy Club, and Stand Up NY Comedy Club, and at Queens LIC’s The Creek and Astoria Queens’ QED.

In addition, at the East Village’s UCB East you can typically find a stand-up open mic Thursdays at 6:00 pm, an improv jam Wednesdays at 11:15 pm, and a rare bring-your-own-group improv/sketch open stage Sundays at 11:00 pm. And in Chelsea, The Magnet offers an improv jam on Wednesdays at 6:00 pm, and a rare musical improv jam on Tuesdays at 6:00 pm.

All of the venues above typically provide you the stage time either for free or for $5.

There are also numerous other open mics throughout the city. For a more comprehensive list, please visit FreeMicsNYC.

Special Thanks to Mindy and Anya

Special thanks to comedy photographers supreme Anya Garrett and Mindy Tucker for creating so many of the stellar photos that grace this site…and the sites of hundreds of NYC comics.

Contact Hy

From legendary NYC comedy site Brooklyn Vegan: Thank God for Hy Bender’s religiously updated show bible Best New York Comedy (and HyReviews.com). He is literally the only person in NYC providing daily summaries of what’s happening comedy-wise. 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, provide feedback on my cross-genre short story anthology Ghosts on Drugs, hire me to develop your book or screenplay (please visit BookProposal.net or HyOnYourScript.com), or for any other reason by emailing me at hy@hyreviews.com.

You can also find me on Twitter at @hybender, Instagram at @hybenderny, and Facebook at https://Facebook.com/hybender.