Best New York Comedy

For full details, please visit HyReviews.com.

Chris "Shockwave" Sullivan and Eliza Skinner host one of my favorite monthly shows, a comedic rap battle now at the Friday midnight slot at UCBT: 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] [FREE] 6:00 pm: Some of the finest sketch troupes in NYC, including The Harvard Sailing Team and Murderfist, audition for a prestigious comedy festival: The Just for LaughsShowcase

[TOP PICK] 7:00 pm ($5): In this fun show, 16 musical performers turn an audience member’s suggestion into two musical fairy tales that tell what happened from the viewpoint of first the hero and then the villain, with “all the music and magic of a Disney flick…plus the darkness of the Brothers Grimm:” Once Upon a Time

[TOP PICK] 7:30 pm ($10): A groundbreaking and surreal improv/sketch troupe performing with new guests each Friday and making a valid complaint: The Secret Donald Glover Show

[TOP PICK] [$] [DISCOUNTED] 8:00 pm & 10:30 pm ($24.78 online with code VIPMAY, plus 2-drink min.) A YouTube star & Mad TV star headlining tonight and Saturday at the elegant Comix Comedy Club: Anjelah Johnson

[TOP PICK] [FREE] 8:00 pm: Wonderful comics Kumail Nanjiani, Ben Lerman, Rob Cantrell, Louis Katz, Jason Weems, and more performing at Brooklyn’s Coco 66 for hosts Nick Turner’s & Jason Saenz’s Too Cool for School

[$] 8:00 pm ($49 & 2-drink min.) A TV and movie star who first earned fame on Chappelle’s Showheadlining through Sunday at Carolines: Charlie Murphy

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

[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): The Harvard Sailing Team

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

[TOP PICK] 10:30 pm ($10): In this new show, Thomas Middleditch, Jonathan Gabrus, Sue Galloway, and other superb improvisors make up scenes about an audience member’s legal dispute at The Law Firm: Law & Disorder

11:00 pm ($5): Dan Hodapp & Natasha Rothwell, champions of the Magnet Theater’s 2009 Improv Duo Tournament, bring nearly five years of improv collaboration to stage “for an evening of bold, committed characters and truthful, grounded scenework” at Hodapp & Rothwell

[TOP PICK] Midnight ($5): A comedic freestyle rap contest featuring some of the funniest & sharpest comics in NYC…who tonight are Sara Schaefer (Jimmy Fallon), Victor Varnado (Comedy Central’s The Awkward Comedy Show), Mara Herron (That Chick Mara Herron), Tom McCaffrey (VH1’s Best Week Ever), and Sara Jo Allocco (Dream Role)—hosted by genius comedic musical performers Chris “Shockwave” Sullivan (Freestyle Love Supreme) and Eliza Skinner (Baby Wants Candy) at The BEATdown

For full details, please visit HyReviews.com.

For full details, please visit HyReviews.com.

Chris "Shockwave" Sullivan and Eliza Skinner host tonight's Finals to determine the 2009 Champion of comedic rap competition 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 ($5): A now-rare opportunity to see the one-woman show that less than a year ago helped propel NYC comedy jewel Jenny Slate to stardom as a cast member on Saturday Night Live. Jenny’s production “takes place during my funeral, if I died right now as an eccentric millionaire and left 300 million dollars to my dog;” and it shows off Jenny’s immense sweetness, darkness, and wit, with treasured moments ranging from cheese thrown with deadly force to Jenny’s unforgettable pronouncement regarding men and porn. Directed by the witty and razor-sharp John Flynn (The Nights of Our Lives). Don’t miss this wonderful opportunity to see Jenny Slate live in Dead Millionaire

[TOP PICK] [$] [DISCOUNTED] 7:30 pm ($23 online today, or $18 for Friday & Saturday, if you use code VIPJAN [otherwise $30], plus 2-item minimum):A star stand-up who’s performed on David Letterman, Conan O’Brien, and Jay Leno; performed three of his own Comedy Central Presents half-hour specials; was a regular on Comedy Central’s Tough Crowd with Colin Quinn and Shorties Watchin’ Shorties; is a frequent guest on The Howard Stern Show and the Opie and Anthony radio show; hosted his own radio program on NYC’s 92.3 Free FM; creates periodic Web-based free audio shows for Blog Talk Radio; and has acted on such TV shows as HBO’s The Sopranos and Lucky Louie, and was nominated twice for an Emmy award for his writing on The Chris Rock Show, headlinilng tonight through Saturday at the elegant Comix Comedy Club: Nick DiPaolo

[TOP PICK] 8:00 pm ($5): The delightful Andrée Vermeulen performing her new more-or-less one-woman show: “After applying for The Greatest French Person in the World Award, Andrée uncovers a dark family secret (she may actually be…Belgian!), and is forced to decide whether or not believing in something is enough to make it true”—for a hint of how much fun you’re likely to have, view a video scene with Andrée and her real-life boyfriend Thomas Middleditch by clicking here; 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 French Toast and The Worst Guy Ever!

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

[TOP PICK] 9:00 pm ($15): All all-star lineup of top stand-ups—Colin Quinn, Wyatt Cenac, and Morgan Murphy—plus musical guest Bridget Barkan, all performing at Comedy Below Canal

[TOP PICK] 9:30 pm ($5): A comedic freestyle rap contest featuring some of the funniest & sharpest comics in NYC…who tonight are five winners of last year’s monthly contests, battling it out for the Championship crown in tonight’s Finals match—Carolyn Castiglia, Rebecca Drysdale, Utkarsh Ambudka, Bob Kulhan, and Michael Kayne—hosted by genius comedic musical performers Chris “Shockwave” Sullivan (Freestyle Love Supreme) and Eliza Skinner (I Eat Pandas) at The BEATdown

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

[TOP PICK] 11:00 pm ($5): Genius improvisors Jason Mantzoukas (We Used to Go Out, Mother, Baby Mama) and Ed Herbstman (co-founder of the Magnet Theater) show off how breathtakingly quick-witted and skillful they are at creating scenes from air. Time Out New York named these guys Best Improv Duo of 2006. Take advantage of this one-night-only opportunity to see these improvisation comedy stars shine in an intimate setting as The Mantzoukas Brothers

For full details, please visit HyReviews.com.