NYC Top Comedy Choices for Saturday 7/17/10

July 17, 2010

For full details, please visit HyReviews.com.

For Hy’s take on Last Comic Standing, please click here.

D. L. Hughley

D. L. Hughley headlines at 8 pm, 10:30 pm, and 12:30 am tonight at Carolines

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[TOP PICK] 7:30 pm ($10): Genius improvisor Christina Gausas and friends she originally made in Chicago—which include writers & performers from 30 Rock, The Colbert Report, and The Daily Show—plus a rotating cast of stellar visitors, all joyously declaring Let’s Have a Ball

7:30 pm (no cover, 1-item min.): Sharp NYC stand-ups Kenny Zimlinghaus, Pat Dixon, Pat Stango, and more—including “a special surprise guest”—performing in Ochi’s Lounge at Lil’ Seany Boy

[TOP PICK] [$] 8:00 pm & 10:30 pm & 12:30 am ($46.50 & 2-drink min.): A comedy superstar headlining tonight and Sunday at Carolines: D. L. Hughley

[TOP PICK] [$] [DISCOUNTED] 8:00 pm & 10:30 pm ($26.95 online if you use code VIPJULY, plus 2-item minimum): A star stand-up duo—whose numerous comedy credits include starring in their own MTV show Apartment 2F; performing a Comedy Central Presents half-hour special; guest-starring in an Emmy-winning episode of HBO’s Curb Your Enthusiasm, on Entourage, on ABC’sGrey’s Anatomy (as conjoined twins), and FX’s It’s Always Sunny in Philadelphia; and performing in four seasons of ESPN’s Cheap Seats—headlining tonight at the elegant Comix Comedy Club:The Sklar Brothers

[TOP PICK] [$] [DISCOUNTED] 8:00 pm Tuesday-Saturday ($29.50 online or at the box office using discount code PPBBOX through July 24th): This is a show for which I have enormous affection; although my joy came from not just watching what occurred on stage, but the faces of the women in the audience turning stonier and stonier as they visibly projected the thought, “Dick tricks? This entire show really consists of dick tricks? All my suspicions about men have just been confirmed…” If you cherish bravery in performers, go forth to the 45 Bleecker Theatre (right next to the #6 subway’s Bleecker Street stop) and experience Puppetry of The Penis

[TOP PICK] 9:00 pm ($10): One of the gutsiest and most hilarious troupes in comedy history—and the Cage Match Champion for two years in a row!—genius improvisors Death by Roo Roo

9:00 pm ($5): Organic & energetic improv by the four guys of 4 Track!

9:30 pm ($10): “A cabaret of darkly funny songs and topical sketch comedy about culture and politics,” following sold out shows at Joe’s Pub: Political Subversities

9:30 pm (no cover, 1-item min.): Terrific NYC stand-ups Sara Schaefer (brilliant, inventive, luminous comic; Emmy-nominated staff writer for Jimmy Fallon; VH1’s Best Week Ever), Vince Averill (Comedy Central, co-host of Beauty Bar Comedy), Phoebe Robinson (host of Case of the Mondays Comedy), Costaki Economopoulos (Comedy Central), Rob O’Reilly (Last Comic Standing), and more performing at Ochi’s Lounge with adorably sly host Calise Hawkins: Laugh in Limbo

[TOP PICK] [$] 10:00 pm ($15): Ted Greenberg (Emmy-winning David Letterman writer) performing a fun, quick-paced theatrical comedy show—complete with audience rides home!—at The Complete Performer

[TOP PICK] 10:30 pm ($10): An all-star improv troupe led by brilliant UCBT artistic director Anthony King: Reuben Williams

10:30 pm ($5): Vibrant improv from Nick Kanellis & Peter McNerney (Statues of Liberty) and Leslie Korein as comedy trio Trike

[TOP PICK] 11:00 pm ($10): Hilarious sketch duo Chris O’Neill and Paul Valenti describe themselves as “vaudeville gold for a 2010 crowd.” Whatever. They’re funny. Especially the bit with the nose. Come catch their latest material tonight at The Chris and Paul Show

[TOP PICK] Midnight ($5): “For five years, you have been able to count on the UCBW to bring you hot comedy wrestling action. Plenty has occurred since WrestleSlamMania over three months ago: Little Brother lost the UCBW Championship to Marz and was forced to retire; but a new challenger for the title has emerged in Wall Street. The Bad Boyz continue to be led by evil owner Chuck McMahon. And a partnership of American Heroes, Uncle Eddie and The Fire Man, are here to save the UCBW. It’s revenge. It’s vengeance. It’s hot comedy wrestling action as only the UCBW can bring you. It’s the fifth annual…REVENGEANCE. Hilarious wrestling matches live! Get your tickets NOW! Only 14,000 seats available!:” UCBW: Revengeance

For full details, please visit HyReviews.com.

For Hy’s take on Last Comic Standing, please click here.


NYC Top Comedy Choices for Friday 7/16/10

July 16, 2010

For full details, please visit HyReviews.com.

For Hy’s take on Last Comic Standing, please click here.

D. L. Hughley

D. L. Hughley headlines tonight through Sunday at Carolines

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): 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

7:00 pm ($8): Corinne Fisher performing a one-woman show that details how to keep tabs on someone with whom you’re obsessed: I Stalk You

[TOP PICK] 7:30 pm ($10): Kate McKinnon, Sarah Claspell, Nicole Drespel, Jocelyn Guest, Veronica Osorio, and Aaron Glaser performing a sketch show written by Leila Cohan and Caitlin Tegart about Smith, our nation’s largest and gayest women’s college; and Peter Blomquist and Jeff Wiens performing an all-new multimedia sketch show, in the double-bill This is About Smith and Franco & Billy: Diamonds of Fire

[TOP PICK] [$] 8:00 pm & 10:30 pm ($46.50 & 2-drink min.): A comedy superstar headlining tonight through Sunday at Carolines: D. L. Hughley

[TOP PICK] [$] [DISCOUNTED] 8:00 pm & 10:30 pm ($26.95 online if you use code VIPJULY, plus 2-item minimum): A star stand-up duo—whose numerous comedy credits include starring in their own MTV show Apartment 2F; performing a Comedy Central Presents half-hour special; guest-starring in an Emmy-winning episode of HBO’s Curb Your Enthusiasm, on Entourage, on ABC’sGrey’s Anatomy (as conjoined twins), and FX’s It’s Always Sunny in Philadelphia; and performing in four seasons of ESPN’s Cheap Seats—headlining tonight through Saturday at the elegant Comix Comedy Club: The Sklar Brothers

[TOP PICK] [$] [DISCOUNTED] 8:00 pm Tuesday-Saturday ($29.50 online or at the box office using discount code PPBBOX through July 24th): This is a show for which I have enormous affection; although my joy came from not just watching what occurred on stage, but the faces of the women in the audience turning stonier and stonier as they visibly projected the thought, “Dick tricks? This entire show really consists of dick tricks? All my suspicions about men have just been confirmed…” If you cherish bravery in performers, go forth to the 45 Bleecker Theatre (right next to the #6 subway’s Bleecker Street stop) and experience Puppetry of The Penis

[TOP PICK] 8:00 pm ($10): A groundbreaking and surreal improv/sketch troupe performing with new guests each Friday and making a valid complaint: Centralia: We Were Supposed To Have Flying Cars By Now

[FREE] 8:00: NYC stand-ups Rob O’Reilly, Zach Sims, Drew Michael, and Dan Boulger performing at O’Hanlon’s (14th Street off 1st Avenue), hosted by Matt Ruby: Hot Soup

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

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): 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

[TOP PICK] 11:30 pm ($5): Dru Johnston, Noah Forman, and Alex Demers springboard off an audience suggestion to improvise an entire silly and energy-charged play in 40 minutes; especially keep an eye on Demers, who has a wild Sean Penn quality that makes you think he might explode into violence or insanity at any moment, adding to the edgy quality of The New Deal

[TOP PICK] Midnight ($5): “The most fabulous show on Earth,” hosted by Tim Gunn (John Flynn) and Tim Gunn (Michael Hartney), featuring wonderful comedic performers (both straight and gay)—tonight including Adira Amram, Jeff Hiller, Sue Galloway, and Megan Neuringer—performing at The Same Sex-Tacular

[$] 12:30 am ($31.25 & 2-drink min.) A provocative comedy star who’s written for Richard Pryor, Red Foxx, and Saturday Night Live, and performed on Chappelle’s Show and David Letterman, headlining through Sunday at Carolines: Paul Mooney

For full details, please visit HyReviews.com.

For Hy’s take on Last Comic Standing, please click here.


NYC Top Comedy Choices for Thursday 7/15/10

July 15, 2010

For full details, please visit HyReviews.com.

For Hy’s take on Last Comic Standing, please click here.

Shayna Ferm

Hilarious and beloved sketch comics including Shayna Ferm (above), Katherine Bryant Flaherty, Alex Goldberg, Chris O'Connor, and Livia Scott perform their spectacular new comedic musical Grease 3:Threase

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] 6:00 pm ($5): The thoroughly wonderful comics of sketch troupe Fearsome—Shayna Ferm, Katherine Bryant Flaherty, Alex Goldberg, and Chris O’Connor—are joined by such other immense talents as Livia Scott to perform a new comedic musical that’s very, very loosely based on a classic Travolta/Newton John vehicle: Grease 3: Threase

[TOP PICK] 7:00 pm ($12): A news-based show with comedy games and funny conversation hosted by by Faith Salie (CBS Sunday Morning) with writer/producer Gideon Evans (The Daily Show), writer/commentator Alison Rosen (McSweeney’s, podcast Alison Rosen Is Your New Best Friend), and more: The News Distillery

[$] [DISCOUNTED] 7:30 pm ($36.66 online if you use code VIPJULY, plus 2-item minimum): A stand-up star from the 1960s who’s since performed in numerous TV shows and movies, including eight HBO specials, headlining tonight through Saturday at the elegant Comix Comedy Club: Robert Klein

7:30 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] 8:00 pm ($5): “Pop culture obsessed Billy Eichner takes you on a fun-filled 30 minute journey through his twisted and topical celebrity-fueled world;” and Paul W. Downs performs another one-man show, in the double-bill Billy Eichner Goes Pop! and The Paul Downs Syndrome

[TOP PICK] [$] [DISCOUNTED] 8:00 pm Tuesday-Saturday ($29.50 online or at the box office using discount code PPBBOX through July 24th): This is a show for which I have enormous affection; although my joy came from not just watching what occurred on stage, but the faces of the women in the audience turning stonier and stonier as they visibly projected the thought, “Dick tricks? This entire show really consists of dick tricks? All my suspicions about men have just been confirmed…” If you cherish bravery in performers, go forth to the 45 Bleecker Theatre (right next to the #6 subway’s Bleecker Street stop) and experience Puppetry of The Penis

8:00 pm ($10): A fun sketch troupe (for video samples, please click here) present its latest work at Inside Joke Films

[TOP PICK] 9:00 pm ($12): Comedy genius Andy Blitz, the Sklar Brothers (prepping for their headlining run this weekend at Comix), hilarious stand-up Dan St. Germaine, sketch comic Andres de Bouchet, and Max Silvestri (co-host of Big Terrific) performing at 92Y Tribeca’s Comedy Below Canal

9:00 pm (no cover, 1-item min.): NYC stand-ups Abbi Crutchfield, Nick Turner, Jordan Carlos, Erin Foley, and Dan Wilbur performing at Luca Lounge (222 Avenue B off 14th Street) for Sean Crespo’s & Carol Hartsell’s weekly comedy show Lasers in the Jungle

[TOP PICK] 9:30 pm ($5): If you’re a fan of CollegeHumor.com, you can see the folks behind it on stage—along with superb stand-ups Myq Kaplan (finalist on this summer’s Last Comic Standing), Adam Newman, and a roast for CollegeHumor’s Amir Blumenfeld—at CollegeHumor Live

[$] 10:00 pm ($31.25 & 2-drink min.) A provocative comedy star who’s written for Richard Pryor, Red Foxx, and Saturday Night Live, and performed on Chappelle’s Show and David Letterman, headlining through Sunday at Carolines: Paul Mooney

11:00 pm ($5): Two improv troupes, Doppelganger and Bully, competing for audience laughs and votes at the raucous Cage Match

For full details, please visit HyReviews.com.

For Hy’s take on Last Comic Standing, please click here.


NYC Top Comedy Choices for Wednesday 7/14/10

July 14, 2010

For full details, please visit HyReviews.com.

For Hy’s take on Last Comic Standing, please click here.

Charlyne Yi

Charlyne Yi, winner of the prestigious Waldo Salt Screenwriting Award at the 2009 Sundance Film Festival for Paper Heart, practices a one-woman show soon to appear at the Edinburgh Festival tonight at UCBT

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:

6:30 pm & 9:00 pm (no cover, 1-item min.): The perfect show for short attention spans—open-mic stand-up with 4½ minutes per set and 25 comics crammed into 2½ hours—with two installments running back to back every Wednesday at John Morrison’s Ochi’s Motel

[FREE] 6:00 pm to midnight: Six free hours of improvisation in The PIT’s Super Free Wednesday

[$] [DISCOUNTED] 7:30 pm ($36.66 online if you use code VIPJULY, plus 2-item minimum): A stand-up star from the 1960s who’s since performed in numerous TV shows and movies, including eight HBO specials, headlining tonight through Saturday at the elegant Comix Comedy Club: Robert Klein

[TOP PICK] 8:00 pm ($5): Charlyne Yi, winner of the prestigious Waldo Salt Screenwriting Award at the 2009 Sundance Film Festival for Paper Heart, will “share songs and tales of doomed love, and perhaps woo you with a little magic, if you know what I mean… wink wink;” help Charl hone her show for the upcoming Edinburgh Festival at A Little Time with Charlyne Yi

[FREE] 8:30: NYC storytellers & stand-ups Kambri Crews, Nate Kushner, Jay Bois, Nick Zimmerman, Michael Fisher, Myka Fox, and Celeste Conrad performing at this free weekly show hosted by Sharon Spell: Shrink

[FREE] 8:30 pm: Matt Mccarthy, Andrea Rosen, Rob Delaney, and Ross Hyzer 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): At this month’s edition of NYC’s best show of comedic sexual tales, the theme is Clueless; and the storytellers are Adam Sank (Last Comic Standing, TruTV), David Dickerson (This American Life, author of House of Cards), and sensual hosts Margot Leitman & Giulia Rozzi’s—plus red-hot rising star musical guest Adira Amram (album Hot Jams for Teens)—all performing at Stripped Stories

[TOP PICK] 10:00 pm ($8): From Examiner.com:” I can sell this show in 10 words or less…pasties, beautiful ladies, hysterical comedy, a house band, and beer…done. The electric trio made up of Jessica Delfino, Diane O’Debra, and Steph Sbelli (who both sing raunchy songs and perform sketch comedy) put on their smashing monthly variety show Skits n Tits that can only be described as hilarious, bad ass, and sexy. Catch some of the hottest up and coming acts in burlesque and comedy.” Tonight’s guests include top stand-ups Todd Barry (HBO, David Letterman, Conan O’Brien, Comedy Central PresentsThe Sarah Silverman Program, Adult Swim, feature films The Wrestler and Pete Smalls is Dead), and Laurie Kilmartin (finalist in this summer’s Last Comic Standing), plus burlesque stars The Chi-Ciones, Dizzy Swank, Lil Stormy, and Lil Miss Lixx, and much more performing in The Bowery Poetry Club at the monthly extravaganza known at Skits ‘n’ Tits

[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 Hy’s take on Last Comic Standing, please click here.


NYC Top Comedy Choices for Tuesday 7/13/10

July 13, 2010

For full details, please visit HyReviews.com.

For Hy’s take on Last Comic Standing, please click here.

Marina Franklin

Delightful stand-up Marina Franklin headlines tonight at Carolines

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] 8:00 pm [FREE] 8:00 pm: Myq Kaplan (finalist on this summer’s Last Comic Standing; Comedy Central), master sketch comic Kurt Braunohler (Comedy Central; co-creator & co-star of UK TV series Penelope: Princess of Pets), Stuckey & Murray (superb comedic singing duo), Ryan Hamilton (semi-finalist on Last Comic Standing), and Kara Klenk performing at Brooklyn’s Bell House Front Lounge hosted by the breathtaking Sara Schaefer (Emmy-nominated staff writer forJimmy Fallon): Get Off Your Knees

[TOP PICK] 8:00 pm ($5): Comics industry pros join super-hosts Alex Zalben, Justin Tyler, and Pete LePage in a lively & hilarious discussion about four-color pop culture at Comic Book Club

8:00 pm to midnight ($5): Four full hours of improv for only five bucks—tonight featuring UCBT house troupes The Opera, Robber Baron, Badman, Sandino, and DeCoster ; and at 11:00 pm advanced UCBT students improving scenes taking place simultaneously—all at Harold Night

[FREE] 8:00 pm: NYC stand-ups Katina Corrao (Conan O’Brien), Katrin Hier, Arthur Carlson, and Nate Kushner performing at Cellar 58 (58 Second Avenue) alongside delightful host Abbi Crutchfield and comedic rapster Andrew Singer: Positively Awesome

[TOP PICK] 8:30 pm ($3): Wyatt Cenac (correspondent for The Daily Show), Arden Myrin(Conan O’Brien, Mad TV, numerous other TV shows & films; for Mad TV samples, please click hereand here and here), Myq Kaplan (finalist on Last Comic Standing; Comedy Central), and David Rees (witty cartoonist of Get Your War On; for fun video interview with him, please click here) performing at the Housingworks Bookstore Cafe for an almost-free weekly show hosted by Joe DeRosa (new comedy CD The Depression Auction): Punch Up Your Life

[TOP PICK] 9:00 pm ($5): Two sharp NYC stand-ups each perform hour an hour of stand-up (to be edited for their DVD demos) at The Creek and the CaveNick Turner and Mark Normand

[TOP PICK] [$] 9:30 pm ($16.50 & 2-drink min.): Irresistible stand-up who’s performed on Last Comic Standing, Chappelle’s ShowPremium BlendTough Crowd with Colin Quinn, and The Awkward Comedy Show headlining tonight only at Carolines: Marina Franklin

[FREE] 11:00 pm: Free open-mic stand-up show that’s seldom much fun for audience members but is a nice opportunity if you want 4-5 minutes to test out your comedy material on stage: Bring It

For full details, please visit HyReviews.com.

For Hy’s take on Last Comic Standing, please click here.


NYC Top Comedy Choices for Monday 7/12/10

July 12, 2010

For videos of Last Comic Standing star Natasha Leggero, click here.

For full details, please visit HyReviews.com.

Wyatt Cenac

The Daily Show's Wyatt Cenac performs tonight at both Tell Your Friends and Whiplash...

Adam Wade

...and award-winning storyteller Adam Wade performs at his monthly extravaganza The Adam Wade from New Hampshire Show

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: Kevin Allison (legendary MTV sketch series The State, HBO, Comedy Central, VH1, host of award-winning storytelling show Risk!) hosts this free open-mic show for storytellers, in which you can put your name in a hat for the chance to tell a five-minute true story…and if it’s a good one, possibly be included in Kevin’s popular podcasts on the Web: Risk! Storyslam

[TOP PICK] 7:00 pm ($5): A monthly storytelling show from the wonderful Adam Wade (two-time Moth GrandSlam Storytelling Champion (2006 & 2009) and record-breaking 15-time StorySlam Champion; The New York Times Magazine; host of Real Tales of College; for Adam’s award-winning tale of being an NBC page on Conan O’Brien, please click here), with guest storyteller Jake Goldman and improv illustrator Sharon Spell at Under St. MarksThe Adam Wade from New Hampshire Show: Tales of Life, Love, and Little League

[TOP PICK] [$] [DISCOUNTED] 7:00 pm ($17.50 online with discount code NIFF): My #1 pick for the2007 FringeNYC Festival, this wonderful group of actresses/improvisors portray characters as if they were in a play, but improvise everything they say and do. The luminous performers include Katharine Heller, Brenna Palughi, Lynne Rosenberg, and Lauren Seikaly, each of whom is immensely appealing and quick-witted. Further, they have an intimate, lovely chemistry with each other; and they’ve all committed to baring their personal lives, thinly disguised via their characters (hence the title’s Naked). As a result, this is one of the most honest and nuanced improvised shows you’ll ever see. Check out some videos of previous episodes here; and then nab tickets for tonight’s sixth installment at the Soho Playhouse of a 10-week Monday night run: Naked in a Fishbowl

[FREE] 7:30 pm: NYC stand-ups Dan St. Germain (quick-witted rising star), Ryan Hamilton (Last Comic Standing), Ilana Glazer (Jimmy Fallon, web series Broad City), Michael Terry (The Onion, Huffington Post), and Jesse Jones performing at a free weekly show in the Manchester Pub hosted by Phoebe Robinson: Case of the Mondays Comedy

7:30 pm (no cover, 1-item min.): The perfect show for short attention spans—open-mic stand-up with 4½ minutes per set and 25 comics crammed into 2½ hours at the Luca Lounge (222 Avenue B off 14th Street)—at John Morrison’s Motel Luca

[TOP PICK] 8:00 pm ($5): A powerhouse lineup of stand-ups including Dave Hill, Wyatt Cenac, Hannibal Buress, and Kurt Braunohler, plus musical guest Mike Doughty, performing in the Lolita Bar at Liam McEneaney’s Tell Your Friends

8:00 pm ($5): Two of UCBT’s fine house sketch comedy troupes, Thunder Gulch and Gramps’, trying out new bits at Maude Night

[TOP PICK] 9:30 pm ($5): Some of the finest improvisors in the country—Thomas Middleditch, Eliza Skinner, Tara Copeland, Becky Drysdale, Jeff Hiller, Mike Still, and Jim Santangeli—making up a musical on the spot (with the help of invaluable improv pianist Frank Spitznagel) at Diamond Lion

[TOP PICK] [FREE] 11:00 pm: Some of the finest stand-ups in the country—tonight including Wyatt Cenac (correspondent for The Daily Show), Myq Kaplan (semi-finalist on Last Comic Standing), and Kate Crown (Comedy Central)—hosted by the wonderful Leo Allen (Saturday Night LiveConan O’Brien, HBO, Comedy Central) at Whiplash

For videos of Last Comic Standing star Natasha Leggero, click here.

For full details, please visit HyReviews.com.


NYC Top Comedy Choices for Sunday 7/11/10

July 11, 2010

For videos of Last Comic Standing star Natasha Leggero, click here.

For full details, please visit HyReviews.com.

Jake Johannsen

Star stand-up Jake Johannsen concludes his NYC headlining run tonight at the Gotham Comedy Club

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] 2:00 pm: Ophira Eisenberg (sharp stand-up and brilliant storyteller; Comedy Central, VH1, Showtime), Carolyn Castiglia (Last Comic Standing, VH1’s white rapper MIss CKC), Craig Baldo (Conan O’Brien), Esther Ku, Rob O’Reilly, and Marianne Schaberg performing for a free outdoor show at Tompkins Square ParkLaughter in the Park

[TOP PICK] 7:30 pm ($10) and 9:30 pm [FREE]: UCBT’s signature improv comedy extravaganza, which typically includes stars in the improv world, and sometimes even TV & movie stars such as Amy Poehler and Horatio Sanz: ASSSCAT 3000

[TOP PICK] [$] 8:00 pm ($26.75 & 2-drink min.): A 10-year veteran cast member of Mad TV, and performer on numerous other top TV shows, headlining at Carolines: Michael McDonald

[FREE] 8:00 pm: James Adomian (Last Comic Standing finalist), Ali Wong (comedy dynamo; MTV, VH1), Craig Baldo (Conan O’Brien), Jason Good, Damien Lemon, and Julia Segal performing at RG Daniels’ free weekly show at the Three of Cups East Village lounge: Sunday Night Stand-Up

[TOP PICK] [$] 8:30 pm ($20 & 2-drink min.) A comedy icon who’s performed on David Lettermanover 40 times and The Tonight Show over 10 times, and did the acclaimed HBO comedy specialThis’ll Take About An Hour and current Showtime special I Love You, headlining at the Gotham Comedy Club: Jake Johannsen

[TOP PICK] [FREE] 9:00 pm: Stand-up star Ted Alexandro, plus Mike Lawrence, Jessimae Peluso, TuRae, and Jeffrey Joseph performing at Brooklyn’s Knitting Factory (361 Metropolitan) hosted by the wonderful Hannibal Buress: Comedy Night

[FREE] 9:00 pm: NYC stand-ups Jared Logan, Greg Johnson, and Dan Soder, and sketch troupe The Jerk Practice, performing in the East Village’s Beauty Bar at Vince Averill’s & Jesse Popp’s free weekly show Beauty Bar Comedy

[FREE] 10:00 pm: Ali Wong (comedy dynamo; MTV, VH1), Brian Barry (Broadway revival of Pal Joey), Shawn Hollenbach (Here TV’s Hot Gay Comics), and Lexi Cullen Baker performing at a free weekly gay-themed show at Therapy guest-hosted tonight by Adam Sank: Electro Shock Therapy Comedy Hour

For videos of Last Comic Standing star Natasha Leggero, click here.

For full details, please visit HyReviews.com.


NYC Top Comedy Choices for Saturday 7/10/10

July 10, 2010

For videos of Last Comic Standing star Natasha Leggero, click here.

For full details, please visit HyReviews.com.

Judah Friedlander

Judah Friedlander concludes his headlining NYC run tonight at Comix

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] 7:30 pm ($10): Genius improvisor Christina Gausas and friends she originally made in Chicago—which include writers & performers from 30 Rock, The Colbert Report, and The Daily Show—plus a rotating cast of stellar visitors, all joyously declaring Let’s Have a Ball

7:30 pm (no cover, 1-item min.): NYC stand-ups Mark Normand, Ross Hyzer, Amy Albert, Steve Bossous, Ken Schultz, Brendan Fitzgibbons, and “a special surprise guest” performing in Ochi’s Lounge at Lil’ Seany Boy

[TOP PICK] [$] [DISCOUNTED] 8:00 pm & 10:30 pm ($34.48 online if you use code VIPJULY, plus 2-item minimum): A hilarious stand-up; cast member of 30 Rock; performer on VH1’s Best Week Ever, HBO’s Curb Your Enthusiasm, MTV’s Wonder Showzen, and NBC’s The Tonight Show; and actor in over 20 films, including such hit comedies as Meet the Parents, Zoolander, Full Grown Men, andAmerican Splendor, headlining at the elegant Comix Comedy Club: Judah Friedlander

[TOP PICK] [$] 8:00 pm & 10:00 pm & 11:45 pm ($25 & 2-drink min.) A comedy icon who’s performed on David Letterman over 40 times and The Tonight Show over 10 times, and did the acclaimed HBO comedy special This’ll Take About An Hour and current Showtime special I Love You, headlining tonight and Sunday at the Gotham Comedy Club: Jake Johannsen

[TOP PICK] [$] 8:00 pm & 10:30 pm ($29 & 2-drink min.): A 10-year veteran cast member of Mad TVwho’s also performed on numerous other top television shows, headlining tonight and Sunday at Carolines: Michael McDonald

[TOP PICK] [$] [DISCOUNTED] 8:00 pm & 11:00 pm ($37.50 online or at the box office using discount code ALIEN): Sharp comics and 80 Henson puppets collaborating on a show that’s partly scripted and partly improvised: Stuffed and Unstrung

[TOP PICK] 9:00 pm ($10): One of the gutsiest and most hilarious troupes in comedy history—and the Cage Match Champion for two years in a row!—genius improvisors Death by Roo Roo

9:00 pm ($5): Organic & energetic improv by the four guys of 4 Track!

9:30 pm ($10): “A cabaret of darkly funny songs and topical sketch comedy about culture and politics,” following sold out shows at Joe’s Pub: Political Subversities

[TOP PICK] [$] 10:00 pm ($15): Ted Greenberg (Emmy-winning David Letterman writer) performing a fun, quick-paced theatrical comedy show—complete with audience rides home!—at The Complete Performer

[TOP PICK] 10:30 pm ($10): An all-star improv troupe led by brilliant UCBT artistic director Anthony King: Reuben Williams

10:30 pm ($5): Vibrant improv from Nick Kanellis & Peter McNerney (Statues of Liberty) and Leslie Korein as comedy trio Trike

[TOP PICK] 11:00 ($8): NYC’s heavy metal version of a sketch troupe, which doesn’t always ht the mark but provides odd, unsettling, and fearless dark comedy—and recently won this year’s ECNY Award for Best Sketch Group: Murderfist: Late and Dirty

[TOP PICK] Midnight ($5): One of the most fascinating performers in comedy, and star of the upcoming Comedy Central sitcom Big Lake, shosting his own extravaganza—which goes beyond a stage show to have the makings of a hit MTV series—with guests including Shannon O’Neill, Will Hines, Bethany Hall, Don Fanelli, and the Kung Fu Monkeys…and this month’s theme FightsThe Chris Gethard Show

For videos of Last Comic Standing star Natasha Leggero, click here.

For full details, please visit HyReviews.com.


NYC Top Comedy Choices for Friday 7/9/10

July 9, 2010

For videos of Last Comic Standing star Natasha Leggero, click here.

For full details, please visit HyReviews.com.

Judah Friedlander

30 Rock star Judah Friedlander headlines tonight and Saturday at Comix

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:

7:00 pm ($10): Sketch troupe Gentlemen Caller (Emily Altman, Aaron Burdette, Kathy Salerno, and Evan Thompson) spoofs Dianetics and more in Diabetics

[TOP PICK] 7:30 pm ($10): Comedy dynamo Shannon O’Neill performing her extravaganza about an annual talent show in “Charlie Sheen Prison, the only talent show starring the criminally retarded and insane,” directed by the wonderful Will Hines; and Peter Blomquist and Jeff Wiens performing an all-new multimedia sketch show, in the double-bill Prison Freaks: A Talent Show andFranco & Billy: Diamonds of Fire

[TOP PICK] [$] [DISCOUNTED] 8:00 pm & 10:30 pm ($34.48 online if you use code VIPJULY, plus 2-item minimum): A hilarious stand-up; cast member of 30 Rock; performer on VH1’s Best Week Ever, HBO’s Curb Your Enthusiasm, MTV’s Wonder Showzen, and NBC’s The Tonight Show; and actor in over 20 films, including such hit comedies as Meet the Parents, Zoolander, Full Grown Men, andAmerican Splendor, headlining tonight through Saturday at the elegant Comix Comedy Club:Judah Friedlander

[TOP PICK] [$] 8:00 pm & 10:30 pm ($29 & 2-drink min.): A 10-year veteran cast member of Mad TVwho’s also performed on numerous other top television shows, headlining tonight through Sunday at Carolines: Michael McDonald

[TOP PICK] 8:00 pm ($10): A groundbreaking and surreal improv/sketch troupe performing with new guests each Friday and making a valid complaint: Centralia: We Were Supposed To Have Flying Cars By Now

[TOP PICK] [$] [DISCOUNTED] 8:00 pm ($37.50 online or at the box office using discount codeALIEN): Sharp comics and 80 Henson puppets collaborating on a show that’s partly scripted and partly improvised: Stuffed and Unstrung

[FREE] 8:00:NYC stand-ups performing stand-up at O’Hanlon’s (14th Street off 1st Avenue), hosted by Matt Ruby: Hot Soup

[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): 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

[TOP PICK] 11:00 pm ($5): Top UCBT talents—tonight featuring Nate Lang, Kate McKinnon, Thomas Middleditch, Ben Rodgers and Andrée Vermeulen as the performers, and Adam Conover, John Frusciante, Kevin Hines, Anthony King, Shannon O’Neill, Craig Rowin, Jim Santangeli, Eric Scott, Nate Smith, Gavin Speiller, Erik Tanouye, Caitlin Tegart and Greg Tuculescu as the writers—creating a one-night-only sketch comedy show directed by comedy genius Gavin Speiller, with musical guest The Falsies: Beneath Gristedes

For videos of Last Comic Standing star Natasha Leggero, click here.

For full details, please visit HyReviews.com.


NYC Top Comedy Choices for Thursday 7/8/10

July 8, 2010

For videos of Last Comic Standing star Natasha Leggero, click here.

For full details, please visit HyReviews.com.

Rachel Feinstein

Last Comic Standing finalist Rachel Feinstein performs tonight at Comedy Below Canal

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 ($15): Top comics and comedic storytellers—who tonight are Elna Baker (brilliant storyteller, talented cartoonist, and bestselling author of the comedic book The New York Regional Mormon Singles Halloween Dance), Matt McCarthy (beloved stand-up and comedic actor; Comedy Central, AMC, Verizon FIOS guy, Front Page Films, comedy CD Come Clean), Victor Varnado (Conan O’BrienJimmy Kimmel, Comedy Central, NBC’s My Name is Earl, Adult Swim, The Awkward Comedy Show; films Pluto Nash, End of Days, A Guy Thing), Katina Corrao (HBO, Logo), and Lee Camp (Comedy Central, The Onion)—joining brilliant sketch comic and storyteller Kevin Allison (The State) to share tales on tonight’s theme “Heroism: Saving the Day” at one of the finest storytelling shows in the country: Risk!

7:00 pm ($5): A sketch show from Chris & Rebecca Smith, two members of world-class sketch troupe The Harvard Sailing Team who are married to each other: The New York Smiths

[TOP PICK] [$] [DISCOUNTED] 7:30 pm ($34.48 online if you use code VIPJULY, plus 2-item minimum): A hilarious stand-up; cast member of 30 Rock; performer on VH1’s Best Week Ever, HBO’s Curb Your Enthusiasm, MTV’s Wonder Showzen, and NBC’s The Tonight Show; and actor in over 20 films, including such hit comedies as Meet the Parents, Zoolander, Full Grown Men, andAmerican Splendor, headlining tonight through Saturday at the elegant Comix Comedy Club:Judah Friedlander

7:30 pm (no cover, 1-item min.): “Alternative and mainstream comedians who don’t quite fit in” performing in Ochi’s Lounge at a monthly show hosted by Grant Gordon and the delightful Helen Hong: Odd Baggage

7:30 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] [$] 8:00 pm ($26.75 & 2-drink min.): A 10-year veteran cast member of Mad TV who’s also performed on numerous other top television shows, headlining tonight through Sunday at Carolines: Michael McDonald

[TOP PICK] [$] [DISCOUNTED] 8:00 pm ($37.50 online or at the box office using discount codeALIEN): Sharp comics and 80 Henson puppets collaborating on a show that’s partly scripted and partly improvised: Stuffed and Unstrung

[TOP PICK] 9:00 pm ($12): Christian Finnegan (three Comedy Central specials, commentator on MNBC’sCountdown with Keith Oberman and VH1’s Best Week Ever; Chappelle’s Show, The Today Show), Leo Allen (former writer for Saturday Night LiveComedy Central Presents, Conan O’Brien, HBO’s Funny or Die, host of top NYC comedy show Whiplash), Rachel Feinstein (finalist on this summer’s Last Comic Standing; Comedy Central; opens for Sarah Silverman on tour), Sean Crespo, and musical guest Mike Doughty performing at 92Y Tribeca’s Comedy Below Canal

9:30 pm ($5): Two talented sketch comedy troupes and a delightful solo act—BriTANick, CollegeHumor, and Andrea Rosen—each performing one of their most popular sketches and one of their personal favorites in a fun revue hosted by James Eason & Aaron Kheifets: A-Side/B-Side

11:00 pm ($5): Two vibrant troupe troupes, Doppelganger and The Opera, competing for audience laughs and votes at the raucous Cage Match

For videos of Last Comic Standing star Natasha Leggero, click here.

For full details, please visit HyReviews.com.